1/4 mile times

[poboyis]

just out of curiosity, i took my '88 325iS to the local dragway and had a best run of 17 seconds flat with intake, chip, and exhaust. by best 60' time was just over 2.6 seconds, i dont think this is quite acceptable, if i can pull a 2.1 60', i should be in the low 16's. is this normal or just an automatic tranny thing. its kinda frustrating because i can out run a Nissan Sentra SER on the freeway without a problem, but cant take a 97 Monte Carlo LS from a stop. anything anyone can tell me tohelp would be awesome.

 

[nadroj]

umm the e30 isnt made for drag racing, especally if its auto!

 

[SpeedPhreak]

what was your reaction time?
what rear end do u have (gears, lsd)?
what tires do u have? were they warm? how did they launch? size?
how were u launching (from nuetral, w/brake on?)?
what elevation are you at there? what was the air temp?

in my case i dont care much about 1/4 mile times.. i used to be a bit more when i had a nova & a charger. but im getting into bmws because after motorcycle road racing i am all about the corners (always have been.. just a lot more now). i dont want the same ole rice mobile. & i could probably still get a respectable 1/4 mile time with the right mods/driving skills (personally i would like to see 13s w/my turbo.. but can live w/14s).

dedicated drag cars have quick rearends. i had some friends that drag raced their sport bikes & they had huge rear sprockets & tiny front sprockets so they could go through the traps in 6th gear near redline. my late step-brother in law had something like 4.57 in the rear for his 4th gen camaro.

last summer i painted an 88 honda crx that runs estimated high 8s at sea level (http://www.racefan.com/ContProv/Belleville/BHB_Results.asp?StoryID=25923&TrackID=1186 donnell branch.. this was before the rebuild/paint & 35lbs of boost).. it was so light i could push it up hill w/out any effort.

if u want a fast drag time.. u will probably have to do a lot of work.. if u want low 16s.. probalby reaction time, launch, & maybe some slicks mounted on 14s. talking to other drivers at your track would probably be the best thing to do.

 

[equate]

yeah lol, auto trannys and racing dont mix to well, and these cars are not drag cars stick to the auto-x and you will see why its good.


and if that monty was a z34 it would kick my ass lol (well maybe not)

 

[epj3]

Yup auto trannies, that sounds just about right.

The manual is something like 15.7 second quarter mile.

 

[poboyis]

I realize that BMWs are not 1/4 mile cars, but i was just curious. Perfect R/T at our track is .000 and mine was .117, 3.73 gears, 195/65R14 BFG Traction T/A, I would have to kick my own a$$ if i were neutral dropping it, foot on the brake launching from about 1600 RPM no tire slippage. I live in SE Wisconsin, not sure on elevation, but i had assumed it was just an auto tranny thing, n e one know the stall speed of the stock converter?

 

[jrt67ss350]

yeah lol, auto trannys and racing dont mix to well

Maybe not in a BMW, but alot of the really fast drag cars out there (Pro-stock - 200+mph quarters) are autos. In fact, the Powerglide (a GM two speed auto) is one of the more popular pro drag racing trannys. A proper auto can simply shift a hell of a lot faster than you can. It is alot easier to get a quick time with an auto built for drag racing (high stall convertor) than with a manual.

That being said, BMW does not build automatics with drag racing in mind, so they will be a lot slower than the manual counterpart.

I've never driven an automatic E30, but I imagine that the stock stall speed is going to be pretty low on these cars - they are not built for racing - the engineers' desire for quick throttle response and driveability would have far outweighed the decision to put in a higher stall convertor.

You need to work on that .117 reaction time!!! [8)]

 

[poboyis]

ditto to the draggin auto trannies. I have seen a 1300 HP corvette, 100% street legal, running 7second runs with an auto tranny

 

[bichmgnt]

I drove an e30 auto the first time I got into a BMW and was very disappointed. I drove a 325es manual shortly after that and was so amazed at the difference in response I bought the second car. I still have it.

Steve

 

[brahtw8]

You really can't compare purpose built drag-automatics to the 4HP22 or any other BMW automatic transmission in a passenger car.

A 2.6 60" is pretty weak. What was your trap speed? That should tell you if the car is as fast as it should be. ET is more a measure of the quality of your launch and run than the speed of your car.

 

[equate]

Maybe not in a BMW, but alot of the really fast drag cars out there (Pro-stock - 200+mph quarters) are autos. In fact, the Powerglide (a GM two speed auto) is one of the more popular pro drag racing trannys. A proper auto can simply shift a hell of a lot faster than you can. It is alot easier to get a quick time with an auto built for drag racing (high stall convertor) than with a manual.


You need to work on that .117 reaction time!!! [8)]

Yeah I was talking about BMWs sorry for not being clear, just look at GTPs

 

[poboyis]

trap speed was between 83 and 84 mph, my 1/8 mile speeds were between 66 and 67 mph, its like the car doesnt move till i hit 3000 rpm (around 25-30 mph)

 

[e30fr3@k]

trap speed was between 83 and 84 mph, my 1/8 mile speeds were between 66 and 67 mph, its like the car doesnt move till i hit 3000 rpm (around 25-30 mph)

Mine's sort of the same, especially in higher gears. It doesn't have much power til you hit 4500 RPM, but when you do, you really really feel it pull. I have a transmission for sale with low miles (whole car actually)...might wanna give it some consideration. Manual transmissions are way more fun, at least in my opinion.