[mobike008]

Originally Posted by GTO

What a great meet, guys! Fabulous-looking cars & handsome dudes This one is going to our homepage today.
Guess life in the USA is almost back to normal, huh, with mass vaccinations? India is still crawling back to normalcy. Am craving a road-trip like this and have to make do with day-trips in and around Bombay currently.

Thanks Rush! It was an awesome and one of it's kind meet where we spent less time talking to each other and more time driving on those crazy winding roads

Originally Posted by rohittunga

Same route again?? Nah. The element of surprise will be missing if we drive on the same route again. Let’s research and find other gems like this one. I’m sure there are plenty that perhaps may be even better. The backroads in and around the Tail of the Dragon is one such road off the top of my head.

Distance and time is the biggest issue. If I had the luxury, I would love to drive from NYC to LA over 4 weeks sinking in sights along the way.

Whichever is closest wins my vote hands down.

Originally Posted by rohittunga

Yeah, that had something to do with it. Total distance door-to-door was around 1000 miles (1600kms) and used up 73 gallons (276 liters). Average fuel economy was around 14 MPG (6 kmpl)

14mpg is not bad for that high revving engine.

Originally Posted by nikhilarni

The second section was pure thrill. I guess every driver was pushing their cars to the road’s limits. The elevations, drops, banked curves and turns were something to be experienced. Adding to the whole thrill were the blind drops and immediate turns after that. Brake – Turn - Accelerate – Turn - Brake – Turn – Accelerate. Getting out of those turns felt nothing short of a sling shot. I seriously wish I had a GoPro mounted behind the front wheels to capture the turns and tire movement. Now that I said it, I’ll probably make sure to have it on the next drive.

Like a video simulator, that drive is still playing in my mind. Like a fellow member said, the meets and drives continue to linger for days after the meet. Such is the fun and thrill of these meets.

When we took the second stop at the end of the second section, the adrenalin was so high, that my legs were still shaking even after parking the car. For a few mins, I could barely stand straight.

Nicely described. I reckon all of us more or less felt the same after getting down from car. Dizzy and disoriented for a few seconds.

Originally Posted by GTO

A thought ran through my head = imagine having a rev battle in a Team-BHP meet in India! 1.2L K-Series & 1.5L turbo-diesels....aargh. Killed the thought instantly.

LOL Rush! It would sound like some tin cans clanking against each other and wheezing loudly

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Man, what a great collection of driver's cars! This looks like so much fun!

Thanks. Your point made me think. Between 6 of us we had :

~ 2500 Horsepower

That's an average of > 400 horsepower per car.

Originally Posted by Ashwin Morey

Never have i ever drooled over and got green with envy at the same time ever before for any other TBHP meet or anything TBHP for that matter. What a collection of cars!!

A very well written article to give us a glimpse of how sweet this entire meet was. I will always envy people outside India simply because they have access to such a wide range of vehicles with all sorts of make and model. Add to that the fact that they are accessible money-wise too.

I am green with envy but drooling again as i scroll through the pics multiple times

Thanks. I would like to make one correction here.

While the point of cars being accessible is correct. But, buying an enthusiast's car is our choice. Not everyone who lives here does that. Majority of population still buy the run of the mill or safe-bet versions vs. odd ball cars like we chose...LOL!

Originally Posted by Rambo-RS

Lovely pics of great beauties and roads. Its so clean and green thereMe too eagerly waiting to join team-bhp meet(my first ever), whenever it would happen after these tough times are over.

Thanks! Your first team bhp meet will always be memorable. Mine was back in 2007. Imagine, I feel so ancient just saying that. Haha! Enjoy your meet in future.

555 sticker on my car

[nikhilarni]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Man, what a great collection of driver's cars! This looks like so much fun!

Hi v1p3r,

True. It was indeed a handsome lineup. Like Mobike008 mentioned, there was no dearth of horsepower combined with the nimble agility.

Originally Posted by Ashwin Morey

Never have i ever drooled over and got green with envy at the same time ever before for any other TBHP meet or anything TBHP for that matter. What a collection of cars!!

A very well written article to give us a glimpse of how sweet this entire meet was. I will always envy people outside India simply because they have access to such a wide range of vehicles with all sorts of make and model. Add to that the fact that they are accessible money-wise too.

Thanks Ashwin,

I am sure you'll get your dream car soon!

Agreed that cars here are within reasonable affordability and accessibility. You just need to find like minded folks around to give you that push. I got that push when I attended my first meet in Detroit. Avinash aka Mobike008's review of his M40i and help was a major catalyst during my decision process.

While exchanging notes, Rohit mentioned that he changes the brake pads and oil ( on his M5) on his own. This sort of drives down the point that along with affordability, that if you have the tools, you can even do periodic maintenance on your own. Saving you lot more.

Originally Posted by Rambo-RS

Lovely pics of great beauties and roads. Its so clean and green there

Me too eagerly waiting to join team-bhp meet(my first ever), whenever it would happen after these tough times are over.

Add bumps, potholes and cows right in middle of the race to that

Hi Rambo-RS,
Its definitely clean and green this time of the year in this part of the country, with summer at its peak. Like Rehaan said, the country side looks like a black silk ribbon placed around the meadows and hills.

I just love this pic


Talking about the bumps, stray animals and speed breaks ( read Car Breakers ) back home... there isn't much you can do about it.

I am sure your first meet will be truely memorable. The best part is, putting face to the names and handles, which will generally segway into bonds and friends for life. And this circle of friends will be those who you can truely share your passion of cars with!

The cleaner roads here along with adherence to traffic rules / discipline is a big plus while enjoying the drives.

Originally Posted by mobike008

I reckon all of us more or less felt the same after getting down from car. Dizzy and disoriented for a few seconds.

And for a moment, I thought something was wrong with me

Originally Posted by mobike008

While the point of cars being accessible is correct. But, buying an enthusiast's car is our choice.

Affordability and Access-ability do play a major role.

[fusionbang]

Originally Posted by rohittunga

Well, the meet finally happened and what a great trip it was.
One thing I’ve learnt attending a few Team BHP meets in the past is how valuable planning is.

Finally got to be part of my first teambhp meet in US and realized the enthusiasm has never gone down a bit, which I used to see among the bhpians back in India. Special thanks to Rohit, Nikhil and Avinash for initiating this meet and making it happen.

Originally Posted by rohittunga

Even though it was just a day trip, all of us had to travel a long way to reach the starting point. For instance, I had to cross an entire timezone and others had to drive well north of 400 miles (640kms) to reach there. In spite of this, we all arrived within 30-45 minutes of each other.

I was skeptical initially if I should drive down 480 miles (773 Kms) one way for this meet or not, but boy the beautiful winding roller coaster roads complemented my decision very well and I enjoyed a lot. I was able to put my Highlander V6 to test on those winding roads and use the power mode extensively. I remembered my XUV days back in India, even though I was missing the turbo kicking off on the Highlander.

To be honest, I started thinking if the Highlander is the right car for me, especially after driving this beauty.



Also, got a chance to drive this beast for a brief period of time in the parking lot at the end, and man I miss driving the manual cars. Thanks to Abhijit for letting me drive his car!



And a big shoutout to Nikhil and his wife, for inviting me to stay over the night before which helped in cutting down the journey a bit and enjoy the meet with full enthusiasm. Also, thanks for letting me drive his 340i and enjoy the pleasure of those sweet exhaust notes in Sport plus mode. In fact I am leaning towards getting a M performance car as soon as possible, and bored of the Highlander

I burnt approx 39 Gallons (~150 Liters) of fuel for approx 1000 miles (1609 Kms) giving me an average of 25mpg.
Finally, it was great catching up with all new BHPian's and can't wait for the next meet to happen. Looking at the discussions happening on the WhatsApp group may be we will be meeting shortly folks .

Until Next time!


Rohit - Time for you to pull up the socks and start planning!

[kiku007]

Now that's a true petrolheads meet! Great choice of driver focused cars and I love the diversity.

Thanks for the pictures and videos. It was a pleasure to hear the exhaust notes.

Good on you for traveling far to make this happen.

I hope this inspires more petrolheads to migrate and live their dream in the land of possibilities.

[GTO]

Everyone is posting about how many liters they used up. Shows that 'kitna deti hai' is ingrained in our DNA . It stays around, even if you move to faraway lands with cheap fuel & drive 400 - 500 horsepower

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_s9e600Af0

[nikhilarni]

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Finally got to be part of my first teambhp meet in US and realized the enthusiasm has never gone down a bit, which I used to see among the bhpians back in India. Special thanks to Rohit, Nikhil and Avinash for initiating this meet and making it happen.

Hi Sunay aka Fusionbang,

We finally met! I guess we exchanged contact details way back in 2017/2018 .

The first meet is probably the most memorable, and the icing on the cake this time was the Triple Nickel. All credit for the planning and details goes to Rohit.

Originally Posted by fusionbang

To be honest, I started thinking if the Highlander is the right car for me, especially after driving this beauty.

Thanks a ton for the compliment and clicking those lovely pictures for me.

Originally Posted by fusionbang

And a big shoutout to Nikhil and his wife, for inviting me to stay over the night before which helped in cutting down the journey a bit and enjoy the meet with full enthusiasm. Also, thanks for letting me drive his 340i and enjoy the pleasure of those sweet exhaust notes in Sport plus mode. In fact I am leaning towards getting a M performance car as soon as possible, and bored of the highlander

I am glad the plan fell in place, with you and Jeeva being able to take a break. It would have got too tiring otherwise. I am sure you would have done the same for me too. After all the adrenalin rush, I seriously enjoyed your Highlander. It had power but at the same time, but was nice and quiet. Allowed me to settle down a bit.

As a former Bimmer owner, unlike me, you are not new to the Bimmer club. Cannot wait to see a new Bimmer in your garage. I am sure it'll come, Sooner than Soon!

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Finally, it was great catching up with all new bhpian's and can't wait for the next meet to happen.

Ditto

Originally Posted by GTO

Everyone is posting about how many liters they used up. Shows that 'kitna deti hai' is ingrained in our DNA . It stays around, even if you move to faraway lands with cheap fuel & drive 400 - 500 horsepower

Hi GTO,

That comment got me

True, at times the genes are just too engraved, isn't it! I guess this time it was more just listing down the fuel burnt which sort of segway-ed in the mileage of the cars

But true to the comment, no matter what we drive, we will invariably look up the fuel consumption stats on the dials.

[VijayAnand1]

What a fantastic and warm post this was. When lads and machine combine, it's rapture indeed.

The BMW V10 sounds like an F1 car from the rear, with a Magnaflow or Borla, that should sound truly like an F1.

BMW lad: Man, your whole car shakes"
Dodge lad: TORQUE!!
Me: lol

Wonderful log.

Cheers!
VJ

[mobike008]

Here are some videos of Ohio Triple Nickel 555 section :

https://youtu.be/ydrv7wYnJxc

https://youtu.be/bE23OjHhq_o

https://youtu.be/Y5b6NzyZgyc

I repeat myself. These videos are just to give you an idea but, cannot do justice to curves, elevation nor the sudden drops in elevation.

The real deal is being on 555

[designersf]

Hello fellow petrolheads. I haven't been active on tbhp since I left India in Fall 2012. This thread caught my attention. Please keep me in the loop for any future drives in the Detroit region. Looks like you all had a blast!

I live in Ann Arbor and the triple nickel has been on my list.

[vish_wagon]

What a Lovely Meet-Up! So cheering to see such a community hanging out with some beautiful machinery .

Only if something like this could happen around PacNW, or at least on the West coast for I could put in my Jag V8 for a rev battle .

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by designersf

Hello fellow petrolheads. I haven't been active on tbhp since I left India in Fall 2012. This thread caught my attention. Please keep me in the loop for any future drives in the Detroit region. Looks like you all had a blast!

I live in Ann Arbor and the triple nickel has been on my list.

Nice to hear from you. We had quite a few Team-BHP meets in Detroit over the last 2-3 years. You missed all of them

There is another one being planned for early August'21 in Detroit area. Keep you eyes glued to this thread or if you wish to join the WA group, most welcome.

Originally Posted by vish_wagon

What a Lovely Meet-Up! So cheering to see such a community hanging out with some beautiful machinery

Only if something like this could happen around PacNW, or at least on the West coast for I could put in my Jag V8 for a rev battle.

Thanks for your nice words. It's always fun to hang around with like minded folks.

That's a gorgeous car that you own and I am sure it would have given a competition to the rev battle loving folks...LOL! Why don't you share a video of how your exhaust note sounds?

Coincidentally, I represented Team-BHP at the Paris Auto Show back in 2012 when Jaguar-F Type was launched. Check the thread here :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/inter...ml#post2916374 (Reporting from Paris : The Jaguar F-Type Roadster & 4th Gen Range Rover)


I was fortunate to meet the great Mr. Ratan Tata and also WRC legend- Sebastian Loeb in person during this launch

Btw, where do you live in Seattle area? Redmond or Bellevue?

[thecarguy]

Originally Posted by rohittunga

Quick mini review of my car (E60 BMW M5) - This old car can still teach a few tricks to the newcomers. I am still just as amazed with the engine as I was 4 years ago. That probably will never change. While almost all cars run out of steam by 6500rpm, this car comes alive after 7000 rpm and what a joy it was revving that V10 all the way to 8250 rpm. The immediacy in throttle response (courtesy 10 Individual Throttle Bodies), hydraulic steering, no fakery with engine sound or the complete lack of burbles & fart sounds makes this car truly an icon, and a great one at that. Couple that with sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires makes this one of the revered Ultimate Driving Machines. Just be ready to fill up a lot. I mean A LOT of fuel. During the course of this day trip, the car consumed over 275 liters of petrol (that too premium only). Thank heavens fuel is still cheap in the United States.

Wow, I am glad a fellow Bhpian owns this car. I have so many questions for you. I'm based in Boston and am looking to buy one next year or so.

If you don't mind can you shed some details on the maintaince frequency and cost. Read that the Rod bearings need to be changed 60k miles or so and the automatic variant of this car is a much more risky buy than a manual. Is it true?

Congratulations on owning the best super sedan of all times

[rohittunga]

Originally Posted by thecarguy

If you don't mind can you shed some details on the maintaince frequency and cost. Read that the Rod bearings need to be changed 60k miles or so and the automatic variant of this car is a much more risky buy than a manual. Is it true?

Thanks ! I’ve owned this car for 4 years and it’s almost time to auction this off at Carsandbids. I am too scared to own this car out of warranty. Every single thing is damn expensive. If the car even sniffs the air at a dealership, that’ll be $500.

So just a little backstory. I bought this car at CarMax after getting inspired from Doug DeMuro’s Range Rover Warranty saga. Like him, I too got the B-U-M-P-E-R T-O B-U-M-P-E-R warranty (read it in his voice) from CarMax for 5 years or 100,000 miles with the intention of milking the warranty company because the internet makes you believe that this car breaks down every 5 minutes. Well, that wasn’t my case. Got the car with just 27,000 miles and now it’s at 57,000. In the initial 1 month a lot of stuff broke like the alternator, suspension bushings & O2 sensors probably because the car sitting idle at a lot for months. But after those initial hiccups nothing major broke till today.

These cars are maintenance heavy. I change all the fluids myself (thanks to FCP Euro and so it’s free for life) and do them far more regularly than BMW recommends. For instance I change the oil every 3000 miles(initially I was changing them every 1000 miles !) and send a sample to a lab for analysis every single time. This tells you the health of the rod bearings & other components. An Indy shop charges $200 for an oil change.

The rod bearings are a real issue IF AND ONLY IF the previous owners didn’t drive them properly. Plenty of examples of cars over 150k miles on original bearings as well as plenty that spun a bearing within 30k miles. You see these cars use 10W60 oil, which has a consistency of honey when cold. So if you rev all the way to glory when the engine is cold, obviously your rod bearing will fail. Therefore a good maintenance history is extremely critical. Here’s what a good oil analysis looks like. Bonus points if a history of such analysis is kept. Important thing to look for is the amount of Copper & Lead because those are present in the rod bearings.



Mine is the SMG. I spent 8 months diligently browsing Carmax’s inventory for a manual M5 or a M6. These cars are rare man and now they command at least $10k premium over the automatics. About the SMG - Yeah they are terrible. Period. But you’ve gotta remember that the E60 M5’s drivetrain was a clean sheet design which meant this transmission was tailor made to the engine (w.r.t ratios). SMG is fantastic at the limit where it shifts ferociously and super aggressively.

Since you live in Boston, you have winters to deal with. Snow tires + wheels is at least $1500. And snow tires are highly recommended, unless you have a beater car (like I did). Owning this car is like owning a thoroughbred. You'll have to make sacrifices. Whether or not it’s worth those sacrifices depends on how much you love that engine. God I love that engine. It easily cracks 200mph and has an induction noise to die for. Go for manual if you can find one. Maintenance is king and prepare to walk away if the maintenance is sketchy. Even if you buy one with good history, budget at least $3k for expenses. Rod bearings cost approximately $2k and lots of people do it for the peace of mind.

Here’s my best case scenario for you: Buy a manual M5 with good history, spend 2k changing the rod bearing, keep additional $3k for expenses such as tires, brakes or suspension and enjoy the V10. Even still, don't expect this to be your daily driver. Far too special for that. Since I had the warranty I didn’t have to worry about any of this and CarMax’s warranty is pretty stout. If you are ok with an automatic, you could bid on mine in a few weeks time. Remember that warranty is transferable

Last year I collaborated with Everyday Driver crew (such gentlemen) and they reviewed my car. They talk about my experience with it and the car in general. Probably reiterate what I’ve just said. Go watch it.

https://youtu.be/5SHr5SVzi_4

[thecarguy]

Originally Posted by rohittunga

Here’s my best case scenario for you: Buy a manual M5 with good history, spend 2k changing the rod bearing, keep additional $3k for expenses such as tires, brakes or suspension and enjoy the V10. Even still, don't expect this to be your daily driver. Far too special for that. Since I had the warranty I didn’t have to worry about any of this and CarMax’s warranty is pretty stout. If you are ok with an automatic, you could bid on mine in a few weeks time. Remember that warranty is transferable .

Yes, I do understand this isn't a daily driver. For now, I can't bid on yours. I will wait till January-Feb to look for a car. Hopefully, I find something as well maintained as yours. I am okay with DIY oil/filter changes but yeah it'll have to go to a garage for rod bearings and pretty much anything else.
Thank you so much for this information.

[Jomz]

Nice report, Looks like it was a fun time.

Anyway here is a route from autoblog, which shows another driving section. I might check that out when I'm in Indiana next time.

https://www.autoblog.com/2021/06/29/...na-nurburgring

Apparently they do have a rally sort of competition with pictures and POI's, with gifts to the person with most points.

https://schweinefiletring.com/