chill man, the germans have it covered=hauling ok (archive)

After today, I felt like I almost abused my M3, but I doubt it; just that the car is such a precision instrument, any hard driving seems almost like a violation. Let me explain. Coming home with my wife and daughter, three especially potent sportbikes were behind me. I ride these kinds of biks as well, so knew the Yamaha R1, Ducati 996, and Honda 929 would eat the M3 alive on acceleration and with a good rider, be very tough on corner speed and brakes. I waved the R1 rider past on a bumpy, but medium speed road (Norris Canyon, Castro Valley to San Ramon, CA). The lead Yamaha rider waved back and did not pass, waving me on. So, I kept acceleration to a minimum, never really even getting to 4500 revs, and never even half throttle. But, did push on corner speed, especially where the pavement got smoother. The Continental tires made this weird noise, like a cross between squealing and hissing. But, they never cut loose, and the car never got out of shape. Only the Yamaha R1 rider stuck behind me, pretty much still there even on in the corners. The other dropped back. As we got into civilization, the R1 rider gave me a thumbs up.
When I got home, I could smell a light odor of burning rubber, but could see nothing wrong. The tires were hot, but not noticeably abraded. I know it sounds stupid, but I feel like I just beat the car a little, but on the other hand, I know this kind of driving is what it is built for, and it did deliver. Sometimes I think, the car is just not that tough, and I guess that is what makes me wonder about the wisdom of driving like that. Others here drive much harder, much more often it seems, so I'd guess I am way over concerned. But, it only stems from concern for the car.
- Phil

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