One of the features of the M Drive Professional package, the new M Laptimer does much more than merely record lap times. The lead or deficit compared to their personal best lap time on the course is displayed to drivers at all times along with their current lap time. Both on the instrument panel and briefly in the head-up display after each lap that is completed. You can bring up the overall distance traveled, the number of laps done, and the run’s duration on the Control display.
BMW M3 and M4 M Laptimer Detailed in Video
The M Laptimer is covered in the most recent film in a series of videos introducing various features of the new BMW M3 and M4.
With the optional Connected Drive package, all BMW M3 and M4 cars will receive the M Laptimer, which is exactly what it sounds like it is. It basically times your laps and shows them on the iDrive screen, the digital gauges, the head-up display, or any combination of those three. The head-up display is cool since it only shows the lap time as you cross the starting line and the difference in time between your fastest and most recent laps.
This lap timer might be very helpful and enjoyable for anyone wishing to track their M3 or M4. Without having to time the laps manually or wait till you get out of the car to view your times, seeing the delta times will help you improve in real time. Although Porsche has been installing lap timers in its vehicles for a long time, and BMW M isn’t the only manufacturer to provide this, it’s fantastic to see it in the new BMW M3 and M4.
The BMW M3 and M4 also record your drift data, which is much cooler. After a drift, for instance, you will be able to see a variety of information, including the distance you drifted, the greatest angle of your drift, and your drift rating out of five stars. Drift data may be a lot of fun for enthusiasts during track days.
There is also a mobile phone connection for video filming of your track sessions. The phone is mounted to the windshield after being synced to the iDrive. Once everything is synced, you can tap record on the iDrive interface to start recording a video to your phone and have an overlay of the track session data appear over the video as well. You can examine your lap timings, g-forces, throttle, braking, and speed information, for example, together with the video.
Any enthusiast who wants to improve on the track or who just wants to have fun and record their lap times will find this to be a terrific tool. Its remarkable mobile phone integration should result in some truly enjoyable track days.
Although I can understand how the M Drive Professional would be useful for individuals who frequently track their automobiles, I guess I’ll pass.
1. Does the system make use of the phone camera or the in-car cameras?
2. Showing top view or even perspective views of the recorded drifts using the 360 degree camera capability (usually utilized for parking) would be really nice. That’ll be on another level now!
damn… I had no idea what I would lose when I decided against the package at the time, including the M lap timer, traction control from 1 to 10, track mode, etc. They need to have released this video sooner.
damn I had no idea what I would lose when I decided against the package at the time, including the M lap timer, traction control from 1 to 10, track mode, etc. They need to have released this video sooner.
I find it surprising that you can’t record video using the camera that’s mounted in front of the rearview mirror. I suppose having the option to mount your phone is very cool, though I wouldn’t want to do that since I have a BlackVue 2 channel dash cam.
Are only vehicles manufactured after November 2020 eligible for this update? Or any vehicle with the Connected Drive Package and iDrive 7?
I currently have it in both of my cars, both of which were built in late 2019 and have an ID7 version for 11/2020 that allows linked driving (using an iOS mobile).
Is the app installed on your car? That must be started first. If you have 3/2021 but can’t find the app, click “Update applications and services” from the settings menu while you’re hovering over the app store. It should appear shortly once that is finished.
And it looks that BMW has disabled this feature. App removed from app store; received notification via in-app email that BMW M had shut down the app.