The primary goal of this site is to teach people how to launch and shift the M5 without endangering the clutch. Although this has been written about extensively on the board, I felt some people may benefit more from hearing and seeing the proper technique. Because there have been many questions on related topics, it also covers some more advanced techniques, such as heel-and-toe and double-clutching.

The M5's engine produces gobs of torque. A clutch is designed to transfer a small amount of torque while slipping, and a large amount when it is not. Asking the clutch to transfer the engine's full power while it is still slipping produces a lot of heat in a hurry. This heat will quickly destroy a clutch. Proper launch and shift technique requires you, the driver to ensure the clutch is fully engaged, or "hooked up" before your right foot commands the engine to produce significant power. Taking your foot all the way off the clutch pedal does not mean the clutch is hooked up! (However if you shift properly, the clutch should get fully hooked up before you let the pedal all the way up!)

Treated properly, the M5 clutch will last a long time. One of the bmwm5.com board's earliest member/owners has about 60,000 miles on his original clutch, which is still going strong. He also drives his car on the track frequently. The car is not babied. Other members ruined clutches in as little as 5000 miles. What is the difference? Technique!

A word about me

So what qualifies me to talk about this? Truth is, I'm just an average guy who likes cars. I was a professional mechanic when I was going through school. My first car was a '63 VW Bug that had worn synchros and a clutch cable that broke frequently. I learned techniques such as clutchless shifting and double-clutching in that car. Since then I've been a student of physics and performance driving, having attended several high performance driving classes. I am not, however, a BMW representative, a race driver, or a self-proclaimed expert. Watch these videos. They're free. If you agree with me, great. If you disagree, that's OK too. What have you got to lose?

A word about the videos

First, and most important, when you view these videos, please download and save them to your computer first. (PC users should "right-click" the video link and choose "save as" from the menu that pops up.) This minimizes the load on the internet and the server where these videos are hosted. Second, the videos were produced at fairly high video resolution and very high (CD quality) audio resolution. Hearing the way a launch or shift is supposed to sound is the most important element of these videos. Finally, the videos were recorded in stereo. One microphone was placed in the cassette slot to capture my voice clearly. The other was placed under the right front floor mat to capture mostly engine sound. You can and should watch the videos multiple times, and use your computer's (or media player software's) "balance" control to focus on, or tune out my voice.

The Instructional Videos

IMPORTANT: PLEASE GO HERE for all videos.

Rev 1.0 - November 9, 2001
Rev 1.01 - March 6, 2003 - Move to host videos at BMWM5.com
Rev 1.02 - November 2003 - Minor updates
Rev 1.03 - May 2004 - hosting server move
Rev 1.04 August 2004 - hosting server changed URLS out from under me. Dropped "Bonus Videos" entirely.