Friday, May 28, 2021

The BMW M3 and M4 feature a "drift analyzer" that measures and awards stars for your drifting


BMW blog:

The M Drift Analyzer works by actually measuring your drift; the length of time, distance, and even the slip angle; then giving it a score out of five stars. It’s a dangerous tool to use on the road but on a race track (where permitted, not all tracks allow such tomfoolery), it’s probably a hilariously fun tool to use.

Auto Evolution:

Surprisingly similar to what you find in racing games, this feature will analyze your drifts based on distance, time, and angle, rating each one with up to five stars. All the information is displayed on the central infotainment screen, and drift sessions can be stored, compared, and analyzed further when the track day is over.

Autoweek:

“The drift analyzer is more or less designed to help you to improve on your own skills,” said [the BMW spokesman]. “Because actually, what helps you to control the car is the M Traction Control slider, which is a different thing that actually determines the behavior of the car. The drift analyzer itself, it’s just a recording function to show you how you performed your drifting—what was the angle? what was the length of the drift?—in order to give you a hint of what to do better the next time. So it’s not a drift mode in the sense where you push a button and the car starts to drift by itself without you being in charge of controlling it.”