Frozen lake + BMW = Fun

I took my BMW 535i out for a spin on a lake this weekend. Unfortunately,
it snowed a few days ago and with the sun out that meant 3-4 inches of
crusty snow on top of the ice, so speeds of 100+ mph were impossible.
All the people walking on the track didn't help either. You would think
that if they didn't like cars driving past at speed they would walk
somewhere else. The lake is almost 5 mi across, after all...

Anyway, despite the almost non-existent grip it was way more fun than
driving the Jeep, but with AWD it could have been awesome.

Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg_wGRxsi-g


Ulf

On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:49:54 +0100, Ulf > wrote:
>I took my BMW 535i out for a spin on a lake this weekend. Unfortunately,
>it snowed a few days ago and with the sun out that meant 3-4 inches of
>crusty snow on top of the ice, so speeds of 100+ mph were impossible.
>All the people walking on the track didn't help either. You would think
>that if they didn't like cars driving past at speed they would walk
>somewhere else. The lake is almost 5 mi across, after all...

>Anyway, despite the almost non-existent grip it was way more fun than
>driving the Jeep, but with AWD it could have been awesome.
Being in it while it rolls at 100+mph might not be.

AZ Nomad skrev:
> On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:49:54 +0100, Ulf > wrote:
>> I took my BMW 535i out for a spin on a lake this weekend. Unfortunately,
>> it snowed a few days ago and with the sun out that meant 3-4 inches of
>> crusty snow on top of the ice, so speeds of 100+ mph were impossible.
>> All the people walking on the track didn't help either. You would think
>> that if they didn't like cars driving past at speed they would walk
>> somewhere else. The lake is almost 5 mi across, after all...
>
>> Anyway, despite the almost non-existent grip it was way more fun than
>> driving the Jeep, but with AWD it could have been awesome.

> Being in it while it rolls at 100+mph might not be.

While that could have been a probability in an SUV, I don't see it
happening in a sedan. A rough calculation, assuming 90 mph to zero in 4
seconds, gives me 1 G. That's not even close to the force needed for a
car to flip.


Ulf

On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:07:54 +0100, Ulf > wrote:
>AZ Nomad skrev:
>> On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:49:54 +0100, Ulf > wrote:
>>> I took my BMW 535i out for a spin on a lake this weekend. Unfortunately,
>>> it snowed a few days ago and with the sun out that meant 3-4 inches of
>>> crusty snow on top of the ice, so speeds of 100+ mph were impossible.
>>> All the people walking on the track didn't help either. You would think
>>> that if they didn't like cars driving past at speed they would walk
>>> somewhere else. The lake is almost 5 mi across, after all...
>>
>>> Anyway, despite the almost non-existent grip it was way more fun than
>>> driving the Jeep, but with AWD it could have been awesome.

>> Being in it while it rolls at 100+mph might not be.

>While that could have been a probability in an SUV, I don't see it
The jeep isn't a SUV?

AZ Nomad skrev:
> On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:07:54 +0100, Ulf > wrote:
>> AZ Nomad skrev:
>>> On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:49:54 +0100, Ulf > wrote:
>>>> I took my BMW 535i out for a spin on a lake this weekend. Unfortunately,
>>>> it snowed a few days ago and with the sun out that meant 3-4 inches of
>>>> crusty snow on top of the ice, so speeds of 100+ mph were impossible.
>>>> All the people walking on the track didn't help either. You would think
>>>> that if they didn't like cars driving past at speed they would walk
>>>> somewhere else. The lake is almost 5 mi across, after all...
>>>> Anyway, despite the almost non-existent grip it was way more fun than
>>>> driving the Jeep, but with AWD it could have been awesome.
>
>>> Being in it while it rolls at 100+mph might not be.
>
>> While that could have been a probability in an SUV, I don't see it
> The jeep isn't a SUV?

Of course, I thought you meant the BMW. I'm glad I didn't drive my
Cherokee this time, going sideways in that at 90 mph with 4 inches of
hard snow could most definitely have been interesting.

BTW, an article on ice-racing on autoblog I just saw:

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/22/i...racing-part-1/


Ulf

On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:49:06 +0100, Ulf > wrote:
>AZ Nomad skrev:
>> On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:07:54 +0100, Ulf > wrote:
>>> AZ Nomad skrev:
>>>> On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:49:54 +0100, Ulf > wrote:
>>>>> I took my BMW 535i out for a spin on a lake this weekend. Unfortunately,
>>>>> it snowed a few days ago and with the sun out that meant 3-4 inches of
>>>>> crusty snow on top of the ice, so speeds of 100+ mph were impossible.
>>>>> All the people walking on the track didn't help either. You would think
>>>>> that if they didn't like cars driving past at speed they would walk
>>>>> somewhere else. The lake is almost 5 mi across, after all...
>>>>> Anyway, despite the almost non-existent grip it was way more fun than
>>>>> driving the Jeep, but with AWD it could have been awesome.
>>
>>>> Being in it while it rolls at 100+mph might not be.
>>
>>> While that could have been a probability in an SUV, I don't see it
>> The jeep isn't a SUV?

>Of course, I thought you meant the BMW. I'm glad I didn't drive my
>Cherokee this time, going sideways in that at 90 mph with 4 inches of
>hard snow could most definitely have been interesting.

Sounds like the BMW was a blast.

Last time I did anyting like that was in a mall parking lot. It was
just 25mph and I had to do it in reverse as it was a FWD car. You
sure can get spinning pretty good when the driving wheels are turned.

As I was leaving, a mall cop drove up. "Had enough?" "Yup."
And that was it.