5/30/01 A bit early for my birthday, the M Coupe arrives at the dealer. The major differences from the '99 I used to have are the engine (now 315hp vs 240hp of the old car), and the two-tone interior in place of all-black. Need to put on some miles before the Seattle track day on the 9th...

I really like the new interior colors in combination with the silver exterior...

The garage is now awaiting the installation of a lift so that I can stack two cars in the space of one. For now, the dealer agreed to store the 325 for a few days. Ultimately the Coupe will go to California, the Focus will most likely be sold, and a Westfield kit (a Lotus 7 replica) that is on order will reside on the lift in the garage... Musical cars - this is a good kind of thing to worry about :)

6/02/01 Had both the Coupe and the Elise out of the garage, seemed like a good time to take a couple of pics... I think I want to get an upgraded, lower suspension for the Coupe :) Hard to imagine two sports cars that are more different.

After a trip to the coast, the Coupe now has 475 miles on it. It's a lot of fun - passing is totally effortless, even keeping RPM below 5500 for breakin period. More than once I'd press half-way on the gas, leap around the car in front, and look down to see the speedo edging past 100. Neat!

6/10/01 Had to miss the track day in Seattle yesterday due to work, so as a consolation today (it being my birthday and all) I took a quick run in the coupe on my favorite local twisty road. The video (9.8M) shows that in the coupe I do this run 10 seconds slower than in the Lotus. Since this is a public road and I'm not pushing either car too hard, it is not really a direct indication of performance, but rather the relative degree of confidence each car inspires... Also, running the two clips back to back gives a good comparison of what each is like to drive :)

7/5/01 Taking some pictures in the garage, decided to snap one of the motor.

It's a lot of machinery in a small space. Pretty impressive, too, getting 315hp from 3.2 liters. And gas mileage is about the same as the Focus, 20-25MPG so far. The car now has 750 miles on it, and is scheduled for its first service in a couple of days in preparation for its trek to California.

7/9/01 The Coupe is going to California. On the way I'm stopping exacly half-way at Thunderhill racetrack for a Lotus club track day. The car is an awesome GT - the miles just disappear (500 of them in just over 6 hours, to be exact ;) In the mountains of southern Oregon and norhtern California, entertainment is provided by a previous generation M5 who was in the mood for a run through the curves at speeds rarely seen in this country. Traffic slowed us down less than a minute before passing two cop cars by the side of the road. We get away with it :)

There are several automatic radar-driven speed signs along the road, which is when I discover that my speedometer reads 10% too high. Hmmm...

Later, cresting the summit of a mountain pass, the Michelins prove their worth as a surprise torrential thunderstorm awaits on the other side. It's like driving into a carwash. Not a hint of hydroplaning from the tires at 75+, despite rivers flowing down the road.

7/10/01 An excellent track day. There are about 30 cars split into two groups, but you can run whenever. Basically unlimited track time. The track is very long, with a lot of turns and elevation changes. The straights are shorter than PIR, so top speeds are much lower.

It takes quite a few laps to get used to the track and how the car behaves on it. Later in the day I purchased a couple action shots from the event photographer:

To be honest the car is more at home on the road in its stock form. Maybe the Lotus spoiled me... Not to take away from the Coupe, it's still a very fast and capable machine - but everything from suspension/tires to interior is geared towards being a great GT. Which it is. That said, I had a blast on the track. A rather lengthy video (18M) of a lap behind a race-prepped Lotus Europa below:

A bunch of neat machinery showed up:

The F40 and F50 did a few parade laps together for photos, and I got to follow them around. And NO, the Coupe can't actually keep up with either of the cars (we're talking 500+hp, massive slicks and less weight!). When they were done posing for the photographer that was all I saw of them. The video is 10M:

After the track day, a 500+ mile drive to Orange County (7 hours).

8/09/01 After the shift knob came off in my hand (I paid HOW MUCH for this car?) I decided to replace it with an aftermarket titanium item. The new one from Titanium Cavallino in California is very cool, looks and feels much better than original and shortens the throw a bit for more precise shifting. Should have been standard (compare with original at bottom of page).

Interesting how such a simple thing can increase the enjoyment of driving the car by so much. I should really swap the steering wheel too, but not quite ready to lose the airbag yet...

8/12/01 Got the new G-Tech accelerometer and decided to test it out. Found a flat, straight piece of road, reset the device and floored it. The result: 5.1 sec 0-60 and quarter mile in 13.4 at 114 mph. Considering I still had traction control on it's not bad at all.

10/04/01 Picked up and put on the new Kumho V700 tires, the rears being a bit larger than the original ones. These are very sticky and should last all of 5000 miles (about a year for me, I hope). Maybe this would give the traction control some relief :) The car certainly feels a lot more planted and 'livelier' on the new rubber. Significantly better confidence in turns. I don't care if it lasts 1/4 as long as stock tires, it's 4 times more fun! Well, at least until it starts raining....

Also, while at the shop I popped the coupe onto the dynamometer to see what power it actually develops. The result is rear wheel HP of 267.7 at 7100 rpm (would be more if the guy ran it to redline, since the power was still climbing at that point). This translates to 314.9 HP at the engine - right in line with manufacturer claims. Torque curve is amazingly flat. Cool!

10/06/01 Autocross at former El Toro Marine base. First autocross for the Coupe, and the first one for me in two years. Rather educational. It's the safest and best way to find out what the car is like at the limits, and beyond. Quite a bit of fun, too. I met up with a couple fellow M Coupe owners whom I previously only knew through an Internet message board. Always cool to put faces with virtual names. I started out kinda slow, but with the help of a few tips was able to improve considerably throughout the day. Of course I made a video of my best run :)

The pavement at the base is poured concrete and is notoriously abrasive. My day-old tires are already looking pretty worn out....

Oh well, such is the price for having fun.