[calbears]

Originally Posted by NightWriter

It's been a busy month for me, but I'm finally catching up. Below are an assortment of photos I took during the PC delivery of my G80 "Pure" (6MT) a couple of weeks back. I know there have been a number of other PCD threads, so I won't belabor the details, but I will underscore the brilliance of this program and encourage everyone to try it out. (Interestingly, though, the delivery itself does not go through every nook and cranny of the iDrive menu system and barely even touched on the different drive modes, perhaps because these cars have gotten so complicated and they simply don't have time for it all, the way they did in my previous PC deliveries. Read the manual.)

In addition to the delivery day itself, my son and I stuck around for an extra day, him to attend the Teen Driving School that BMW runs, and me for some adult fun with their lead instructor, Derek. Long story short, I had originally hoped to attend a 1-day M Driving School; schedules wouldn't allow it, but Derek reached out and organized a three-hour driving program in spurts before and after -- and during the lunch break -- of the Teen School, to make use of the track when it was free. It may not have been a full-day M school, but I have no doubt that I learned just as much with the one-on-one program. It was incredibly fun -- far more advanced and technical than the typical PC track time -- and Derek was simply awesome about helping his ham-fisted student unlearn some bad habits and pushing him hard.

The M3 is, in a word, brilliant. It's not perfect -- what car is? -- but it's just an incredible car and delivers endless fun (even when neutered to 5500 RPM). The carbon buckets, as we all know, are tricky for ingress/egress, but were incomparable around the track, and were comfortable for our long drive back home. Anyone who's driven a BMW manual will feel at home with this gearbox, and I think it's slightly more precise and enjoyable than I remembered previously. Braking and handling are awe-inspiring, and the power builds relentlessly. It's addictive.

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Derek Leonard is a fantastic instructor and a great guy

[calbears]

Originally Posted by NightWriter

It's a great program. Some of it is similar to the PC track exercises (e.g. panic braking and skidpad), but they build on that by focusing more on maintaining car control. I think it complements traditional driver's ed pretty well. Keep an eye open for 20% off deals, which they have at certain events (eg UDE).

You can get 15% off with a BMW CCA membership and 20% if you are part of the BMW CCA M Chapter.

[Takumi587]

Wow absolutely beautiful build! I’m torn between the red interior or the grey interior. I would love the carbon bucket seats but still on the fence because I love ventilated seats.

Also always great to hear good feedback on the manual. The E92 M3 manual first to second always felt weird to me which is why I went with DCT on my F80 M3. Never again I’m going back to manual on the next one.

[NightWriter]

Originally Posted by Takumi587

Also always great to hear good feedback on the manual. The E92 M3 manual first to second always felt weird to me which is why I went with DCT on my F80 M3. Never again I’m going back to manual on the next one.

The 1-2 upshift is still tricky, but I've learned to adapt my technique to mitigate it, and it still isn't enough to dim my enthusiasm for being able to row my own gears. (Some folks also swear by adding a beefier clutch stop and/or removing the CDV, which I'm somewhat skeptical about.)

#savethemanuals

[mrmikeca]

Looks great!!! How did you get competition seatbelts on a 6 speed car? I have a 2023 thats done being built (Stick non comp) and on my 2018 comp its one of my favorite features!!!

[kaveh_h]

Gorgeous build. Long live the manual

[NightWriter]

Originally Posted by mrmikeca

Looks great!!! How did you get competition seatbelts on a 6 speed car? I have a 2023 thats done being built (Stick non comp) and on my 2018 comp its one of my favorite features!!!

Slipped my CA a twenty.

Actually just luck, I guess. They appeared on my build sheet from the outset.

[weingarm]

Originally Posted by mrmikeca

Looks great!!! How did you get competition seatbelts on a 6 speed car? I have a 2023 thats done being built (Stick non comp) and on my 2018 comp its one of my favorite features!!!

There are several instances I've seen lately where 2023 G80 6MTs have been built with the M belts.

My personal incoming 2023 G80 6MT build sheet, My Garage on BMWUSA.com, and online M VIN decoder all show it equipped with the M belts. It's still floating on a boat in the English Channel so we'll have to wait and see when it comes.

[BMW1983]

Asked my CA, SM and Genius about getting these M3C belts.
They said they spoke with regional rep from BMWNA. No one had any idea on how to add to a 6sp MT build.

Anyone know the magic combination?

[edwinm3]

Originally Posted by Takumi587

The E92 M3 manual first to second always felt weird to me

E9x manual sucks, I had one

[danbone7]

Did you take a factory tour as part of your PCD?

[NightWriter]

Originally Posted by danbone7

Did you take a factory tour as part of your PCD?

Yep. I'd seen it twice before, but it's always a fascinating operation.

[SGHCU95]

Same...got lots of weird looks on the ride home, but worked like a charm

[khoa@x-ph.com]

Congrats! Thank you for sharing this great experience!!

[bozman42]

It was a great day, and it was awesome to meet a fellow forum member! I took a lot of video that day, still working on getting it edited and uploaded.

Delivery day:


So far have gotten XPEL Stealth, Ceramic tint, reflector delete, LED door projectors, cleaned it up yesterday:

[cfm56d7b]

What a memorable experience. Thanks for sharing! The car looks sharp.

[LuvMyE92]

Great thread, thanks for sharing and congrats.

Now I want to buy another one...