BMW CCA Peachtree Chapter Cars & Coffee

/in , /by

I am not sure why I waited until I bought the M2 to join my local BMW CCA chapter as I could have been going to Peachtree Chapter events for the last couple of years. After deciding to stick with a BMW for my track car, I signed up for the BMW CCA and marked my calendar for all the upcoming club events.

February 2021 Cars & CoffeeMy first club event was a Coffee and Cars, which ended up having a big turn out. There must have been 50+ cars in the parking lot. I brought my nephew who, like most teenagers, never looks up from his phone. During the event the only time he took his phone out was to take pictures of the cars.

I also invited my friend Rich who has an original Z3 that he loves to drive just for fun. He is part of the Z club and has participated in a ton of their events. We ran into one of Rich’s friends who has an awesome wide body 2002 that he rebuilt from the ground up over the last 16 years. That car is an absolute beast, it weigh 2200 pounds and is pushing 300hp at the wheels.

M2s In The WildWhile Rich geeked out about seeing the latest Z car up close and personal, I was excited to see an M2 CS that had just been picked up at the BMW facility in South Carolina. It was parked next to a 2019 M2 Competition in my favorite color, Long Beach Blue. There were a ton of M3s and M4s, a few M5s and a bunch of other models in various degrees of tune.

The best part of the event was talking with other BMW owners about why they chose their car and what they love about it. I met a group of guys that love to go on spirited drives and I hope to hook up with them on a great driving road soon. I also got a few more tips about preparing for my first Autocross and HDPE events.

It was a fun morning and I look forward to the next one.

Where's Bernie?

Is The M2 My Mid Life Crisis?

/in , , /by

This February I turned 45 which is by my account the middle of my life expectancy. My main reason for buying a BMW M2 was as an upgrade to my M235i for use at the track. I have always loved cars and “racing” cars has been a life long dream. So now that I have started down this path, I am wondering if this is nothing more than my mid life crisis.

2017 M2 Delivery

I have to give a big shout out to my wife who is typically supportive of all my crazy ideas. About the only thing she doesn’t “allow” me to do is have a motorcycle. That is a small price to pay to keep my wife happy. I am surprised she still “let” me keep pursing track days after we went helmet shopping. You should have seen the look on her face when the salesperson encouraged me to get a full face helmet so my jaw doesn’t get broken when I wreck my car!

My wife made me a birthday card this year with a picture from the day we picked up my 2017 BMW M2 with the caption,

“May This Be Your Best Year Yet.”

What you may not notice is that Bernie Sanders is sitting in his now famous inauguration day outfit watching us pick up the car. My wife has a great sense of humor and loves life as much as I do. Mid-life crisis or not, I can’t thank her enough!

Tracking any car is an expensive and time consuming hobby so the main point here is your family has to be supportive. I have only been to one BMW CCA event so far and that was just a Cars & Coffee a few minutes from my house. I have spent countless hours working on my car and I have spent a good bit of money on new tools to maintain the car as well.

If you are like me and your love of cars is inspiring you to move from dreaming to doing, make sure you budget some extra funds for the gear you need to keep you car track ready. I would also pre-negotiate for how much time you will spend away from home and family to hit the track. Both time and money add up quickly…

What The Hell Is A Snell Rating?

/in , /by

One of the first things I needed to prepare for my first track day event was a helmet. I noticed on the tech sheet that the helmet needed to be rated SA2010 or higher. Not knowing what the SA2010 stood for, I started doing some online shopping to get an idea of helmet types and cost. Ultimately, I knew I needed to go try on helmets before I bought one to make sure the fit was good. A friend recommended I go to Discovery Parts at Atlanta Motorsports Park (AMP) and I am glad I did!

The open face helmet on the Discovery Parts clearance page would have been the absolutely wrong one for me to buy.

It looked like a great “deal” online as it was over 75% off. First of all it was a Bell helmet and it turns out Bell helmets are not a great fit for my head. Each helmet brand fits a bit different, so it is critical to try them before you buy one. After trying helmets from Bell, Arai, Stand and Simpson it was the Stilo helmets that were the most comfortable fit for my head.

The next wrong move would have been an open faced helmet. I wish I had a picture of my wife’s face when the salesperson recommended a closed faced helmet so I don’t break my nose and face when I put my car into the wall. I thought my track days were over before they started! The closed helmets give me more options for driving karts, convertibles and dedicated track cars as well as offering a bit more protection.

The biggest take away from my helmet shopping experience was learning about the Snell Foundation Rating. If I had ordered that “great deal” helmet with a SA2010 rating, I would have learned the hard way that the 2010 part of the rating is the expiration date and the helmet would need to be replaced in just a few months. My Stilo helmet has a SA2020 rating and should be good for years to come. Be sure to check your local/event helmet rating requirements as not just any old helmet will do.