[Biginboca]

So I finally got around to running an official 1/4 mile time with my 2009 e92 328i. This was my first time ever at a dragstrip I was surprised how much technique there is to getting a good time. My first run I spun the tires all through first and then was frustrated and missed second gear. Got a 15.197 @ 96.6. Then second run I had a better launch but missed my shift to 3rd (lol) and got a 14.568 @ 95.69. Finally last run had a decent launch and made every shift, I got a 14.018 @ 97.84



There’s a little more in the car. Last run I decided to be a little conservative cause I knew it would be my last chance and I was tired of screw ups. So I feel with some practice, better shifting, and a really great launch I could maybe get 13.8-13.9. Mods on the car are:

AFE Intake Scoops
K&N Drop In
Charcoal Delete
Rev Motoring Silicone
West Coast Riots Big Bore Throttle Body
3 Stage Intake
MILVs
AA Headers
3.73 Diff
275/35 r18 Ventus V12 rear tires
BPC Tuning

My take away was that I really can't keep up with any “tuned” turbo cars but the car makes good power for what it is and is very balanced. Good handling, good power, very comfortable, and my N52 has been quite reliable. Really happy with my e92!

[Biginboca]

Btw the car in the other lane shown there was a modded Focus ST. I know it was modded because it made lots of whooshy wastegate noises. He beat me off the line then I pulled ahead for a bit like 20-50, which I believe is due to the 3.73 diff. It really gives you a jump up to about 50. Then after that I believe his HP kicked in and he overtook me and pulled away from 60 and lengthened the gap to the finish. He had me by .03 seconds and almost 10mph at the end.

My take away is The 3.73 diff gives a great torque boost at the lower speeds but then the N/A 328 doesn’t have the HP to keep up as speeds pass over 60. A lot of faster cars I’ve raced they go like this.

[Phyrexia]

Pretty good 60 ft, good trap speed. Looks to be a pretty good representation of the car. I was hoping you'd bust into the 13s.

I ran 13.5s at 98 or 99 in my M3; I thought I'd be past the finish line at the top of 3rd, so I didn't shift into 4th. WRONG! And the timer failed on my last and best run when I actually did shift into 4th, so I never got an ET or an MPH.

What was your rear tire pressure at? If you get your 60ft down you'll be in the 13s.

Were you shifting at 7500rpm like in your videos? Shifting at 6900 or 7000 might net you better times, seems the 3IM causes power to drop off pretty rapidly after 6900. I'm not sure what the ideal shift points are for these cars.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Phyrexia

Pretty good 60 ft, good trap speed. Looks to be a pretty good representation of the car. I was hoping you'd bust into the 13s.

I ran 13.5s at 98 or 99 in my M3; I thought I'd be past the finish line at the top of 3rd, so I didn't shift into 4th.

What was your rear tire pressure at? If you get your 60ft down you'll be in the 13s.

I didn’t play with tire pressure at all it was probably 34. Whatever the door jam says for pressure lol

[hassmaschine]

nice! It's funny because ~14 seconds really isn't all that slow (despite the trolls determined that an N52 is slower than a 4cyl minivan). But I think the 6mt helps a lot more than people are willing to admit - and you can't paper over the efficiency/power loss with more boost like the turbo guys can.

Also it turns out drag racing is harder than it sounds. The first time I went, somehow I screwed up my first run and didn't even get a time, lol. I was determined to get a time slip, regardless of how slow it was after that (and boy was it slow). BMWs were never meant to be drag racers anyway.

[Biginboca]

I was shifting around 7000-7100. I think it will do better running it higher but I was being a bit conservative cause I didn’t want to chance hitting the rev limiter. I was tired of screw ups!

For these N/A motors I feel the extra torque of riding the lower gear to redline always trumps shifting early to a higher gear. Plus shifting late (7300-7400) puts me deeper into the power on the next gear. I want to land over 5k after each shift because there’s that dead spot we have all seen around 4500.

I believe getting under 14 would take shifting at 7400 and a little better 60’ time, like 1.85-1.9. I think those 2 things, which are just practice and experience on my part, would get this car a 13.8xx time.

[hassmaschine]

Heh, I bet an N54 manifold and matching BPC tune would have you in the high 13's no problem. It makes power after 7000, where the single stage and 3 stage really run into resonance issues.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

Heh, I bet an N54 manifold and matching BPC tune would have you in the high 13's no problem. It makes power after 7000, where the single stage and 3 stage really run into resonance issues.

I did some searching about n54 manifold on N52 and seemed like people were disappointed with this swap. The thread I found one guy ended up going back to a 3IM. Is anyone running the N54 manifold with good results?

[CobraMarty]

I'll give you 14.0 @ 98. That's great!! These cars are not dragsters.

Like you said, it's all about the 'balance' of the car. Make a 90* sharp right turn at the end and see who is ahead then. Ha.

It is hard to keep up with a tuned turbo car when N/A.
A small 25-50 shot of nitrous...

Here's my old bench mark.
In '92 my GMC Syclone with just bolt on's ran 13.1 @ 99 mph. That is turbo, auto, 4wd, 4.3L V6 and 1.6 sec 60'.
And about 300hp/360tq. IDK what wheel power was back then.
That was the fastest production car back at that time. After it was built, about 500hp it would do 11.5 and lift the drivers front tire about 1".
Then it got stolen. Insurance did pay me IIRC $32k and I bought it back stripped but with the running gear for $1k and sold for $4k.

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

I did some searching about n54 manifold on N52 and seemed like people were disappointed with this swap. The thread I found one guy ended up going back to a 3IM. Is anyone running the N54 manifold with good results?

I think that guy had an N53 (BudVlad?). I don't think they got it to run right, it's similar but not exactly the same as the N52.

The last dyno BPC posted was pretty impressive IMO. Again, it's something best used for some sort of racing, for most people these cars are just DD's. While that will change as these cars get older and cheaper, most people aren't interested in trading a little low end torque for some high end horsepower.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

I think that guy had an N53 (BudVlad?). I don't think they got it to run right, it's similar but not exactly the same as the N52.

The last dyno BPC posted was pretty impressive IMO. Again, it's something best used for some sort of racing, for most people these cars are just DD's. While that will change as these cars get older and cheaper, most people aren't interested in trading a little low end torque for some high end horsepower.

Yeah that’s the thread I found also. I agree the 3IM mid range is attractive on a dd which mine is. At this point I feel like I’m near the end of the road for what I can do on this platform. I don’t want to get into mods that need custom/extensive dyno tuning so at this point I’m still looking to do:

-something with the intake (homemade ram or something with a cone filter, maybe AFE)

-something with the exhaust (still have stock secondary cats, resonator, and muffler)

-maybe some lighter wheels (Right now I’ve got 23.5lbs wheels)

Those mods would pretty much finish up this car as far as I’m concerned.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by CobraMarty

I'll give you 14.0 @ 98. That's great!! These cars are not dragsters.

Like you said, it's all about the 'balance' of the car. Make a 90* sharp right turn at the end and see who is ahead then. Ha.

It is hard to keep up with a tuned turbo car when N/A.
A small 25-50 shot of nitrous...

Here's my old bench mark.
In '92 my GMC Syclone with just bolt on's ran 13.1 @ 99 mph. That is turbo, auto, 4wd, 4.3L V6 and 1.6 sec 60'.
And about 300hp/360tq. IDK what wheel power was back then.
That was the fastest production car back at that time. After it was built, about 500hp it would do 11.5 and lift the drivers front tire about 1".
Then it got stolen. Insurance did pay me IIRC $32k and I bought it back stripped but with the running gear for $1k and sold for $4k.

I remember those Syclone and Typhoons! I actually saw a Syclone on the interstate about a month ago they were great looking trucks... as long as you liked black lol. Great sleepers, which I’m a fan of. There was a killer CTSV wagon with a 6 speed at the track last night. GM has made some great sleepers over the years

[E91Swagger]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Yeah that’s the thread I found also. I agree the 3IM mid range is attractive on a dd which mine is. At this point I feel like I’m near the end of the road for what I can do on this platform. I don’t want to get into mods that need custom/extensive dyno tuning so at this point I’m still looking to do:

-something with the intake (homemade ram or something with a cone filter, maybe AFE)

-something with the exhaust (still have stock secondary cats, resonator, and muffler)

-maybe some lighter wheels (Right now I’ve got 23.5lbs wheels)

Those mods would pretty much finish up this car as far as I’m concerned.

Agreed, AFE stage 2 intake and lighter wheels would compliment your setup nicely. Stick with the stock exhaust if you like the sleeper look.

[Bob@BPC]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

I think that guy had an N53 (BudVlad?). I don't think they got it to run right, it's similar but not exactly the same as the N52.

The last dyno BPC posted was pretty impressive IMO. Again, it's something best used for some sort of racing, for most people these cars are just DD's. While that will change as these cars get older and cheaper, most people aren't interested in trading a little low end torque for some high end horsepower.

Actually he went back to using the n54 intake. I just received this message from him a few days ago hope he doesn't mind me posting.

"I resigned on the Alfa N tune and 3stage manifold for now since I had success with N54 manifold and your software (I won 2017 Cup in 3 l class)"

[InControl]

Decent numbers. Hate to play the devil's advocate but a base 328i auto runs the 1/4 mile at 14.5s and 95mph.

[avocet]

Originally Posted by InControl

Decent numbers. Hate to play the devil's advocate but a base 328i auto runs the 1/4 mile at 14.5s and 95mph.

Stock high 14's at best with a manual from what I've seen from reputable sources. Getting low 14's without alot of track time is pretty impressive, IMHO.

[Phyrexia]

According to Road & Track:

0–100 MPH 16.4 sec
QUARTER-MILE 14.7 sec @ 96 mph

Those two numbers don't really add up, do they?

I don't think there's any way a stock 328i runs a 14.anything.

[Blueeyesredpanda]

Originally Posted by CobraMarty

Like you said, it's all about the 'balance' of the car. Make a 90* sharp right turn at the end and see who is ahead then. Ha.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by InControl

Decent numbers. Hate to play the devil's advocate but a base 328i auto runs the 1/4 mile at 14.5s and 95mph.

I don’t know where you got that, but even if it were true (which it’s not) you need to remember my times reflect my driving ability and my cars capability, not just the car itself. You are judging the car based on my driving which isn’t fair to the car lol.

For you to say you can take out a car with you driving and compare yourself directly with Motor Trend professional driver who got 14.7 or whatever, well then I admire your confidence and salute you because you are a much better driver than probably 99% of people. I did not understand myself how much technique there is at the track until a few days ago. If you want to compare with other people’s times in all fairness we need a better experienced driver to take my car and make a few passes. I’m not going to lie, when I took this pic before my second pass a ZR1 corvette was doing his burnout next to me and my heart was racing.



I can’t even tell you how loud that car was doing his burnout lol. Here’s a video of the pass you can’t even hear my car. I’m not going to lie I was intimidated AF and missed my shift to 3rd on this run:

MT got a 14.7 on a Manual Tranny while using professional experienced drivers who I’m guessing are very consistent unlike yours truly. My only 3 passes ever have a huge spread in time over 1 second difference. I launched with a clutch on a surface I have almost no experience with and then shifted gears 3 times each pass. And I don’t drive cars for a living. Motor Trend doesn’t have to contend with any of that.

What I’m finding very encouraging is I realized that if even one of my 3 shifts were .02 seconds faster that would have been a time in the 13’s which is something I have never seen with a N/A 328i.

The car will definitely do better than what it did with some driver mod and experience.

FYI Here’s a stock 328i auto at the same track I was on with another amateur driver. This is pretty typical of what I’ve been seeing for Auto 328i when I was searching to see what other amateur drivers got in 328’s for quarter mile times.

[InControl]

I am not judging you or your driving abilities. The video you posted is an old e90 auto on a wet track at 15.6, not to shabby. Not that difficult to have a strong launch after few tries. Manual does take practice.
To me the n52 is a sweet balanced car in e9x.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by InControl

I am not judging you or your driving abilities. The video you posted is an old e90 auto on a wet track at 15.6, not to shabby. Not that difficult to have a strong launch after few tries. Manual does take practice.
To me the n52 is a sweet balanced car in e9x.

So you still seem convinced a stock E9x 328i auto does 14.5? Let’s see it. Post it up video or reference let’s see how you got that it’s faster than the MT professional driver test for a manual transmission I’d love to see it.

I ordered a GPS timer (Dragy) last night. Want to be able to track mods effects on the car without paying for dynos or waiting for track days. I can also work on my driving lol

[CobraMarty]

'Driver Mods' ... That's funny.

So in everyday driving, do you think that the bigger TB made any difference?