AndrewAZ

Raced my buddies 2001 540i (has M sport package), he thought he was going to dust me and I thought the same that car moves.. But when we raced I was dead even with him on rolling starts no one could pull away we were dead even. From a dig we got 1 race and I beat him by 1-2 car lengths because he left traction control on and it slowed him down.

Militant-Grunt

He should've dusted you, must've been a poor driver, theres only a 350 lb difference between the cars, and 50hp / 124lb feet of torque difference. The 540i 0-60 is 5.5 if he has stick while 6.3sec for the 328i if you have stick (6.9 auto). Maybe you guys should switch cars and then race, see if there is any difference, chances are its the driver..

Acez

the e46 328i is quite powerful, never underestimate it by power figures.

AndrewAZ

both of our cars are auto. I let him get the jump a few times and even then I would fall back a foot or two then stick at the same point.

also I have an e90 not an e46

transferred

How many miles on his 540i? Maybe his engine is on the wane as he really should be faster. It's a real q-ship the V8 5.

ChicagoX

Mag racing is for the weak.

MB AMG

I swear BMW lied about the 328i power output. It's a 3.0L I6 correct, same as the previous years or whenever the E90 330i existed right? Or is it just a brand new engine with the same displacement?

baybenzo

His car wasn't running well, maybe he needs a tune up

edit: just saw that you have an E90. i guess it might be believable, that car has 230hp right? seems like it would trap around 95-96mph like the average 540

AndrewAZ

It shares the same motor as the X3 which is rated at some 260 some odd HP but the 328i is de-tuned from that 260 hp.

As BMW says this 230hp motor will be unlike any other 230hp since it has an electric water pump which allows for more power to the wheels instead of running a pump with pulleys. Also it has a new engine lining and different lighter camshafts than the outgoing 325i and it has a dual stage intake which is more like the 330i.

A few companies have claimed to have a chip for the 328i that will bring it back up to the x3's 260hp rating. If I owned the car I would spend the $1200 but since I am leasing and turning it in in less than 2 years I am not going to waste the money.


But as for his 540i it recently had work done and it is higher milage but he made no comment about it being any slower than it usually is. It was a real shock to him since he talks about how fast it is all the time.

MidniteBluBenz

I'll say that in a race from a dig an E90 328 can hang w/ a 540. They're slow off the line. However, if you're beating him from a roll I have to call b.s. 540's top end is strong.



You might also want to post this on bimmerforums.com. You'll find more enthusiasts of the brand there than here.

AndrewAZ

Ok... I am not a member on bimmerforums. I posted it on e90 post and didnt get a BS flag. Next time I see him I will get it on video.

I was shocked also and so was he, I rode in his car before and the torque made if feel incredibly fast and I was thinking yea he is going to toast me, then I started to watch the speedo as he accelerated and was like humm my car is just as fast.

So far people are posting mid 14's at 96 mph for the 328i drag time which is in line with the 540i's (auto) numbers.

tee_tz

The 328i has 230HP, my ZHP 330i has 235HP and is much more aggressive - also an increase in torque and red line, also has a limiter for 155MPH (328i is at 130MPH), its lighter and quicker off the line and I STILL couldn't keep up with my brother-in-law's 540i -- both cars are 6-speed manuals and 2003 models.

So maybe it happened for you, but his 540 is not in good shape. Also, on the highway, or rolling, once that horsepower kicks in, you won't see it.


Tee_Tz.

MB AMG

My friends who has an E46 330xi said he was flooring it beside a E90 328i (the 328i claims he was not flooring it) and I think he said they were even...

tee_tz

Well I'm talking about the ZHP, which has an increase of 10HP/8Torque, and also red lines further than a normal 330i, and if you're friend had a "xi", I believe that doesn't help too much in performance -- statically cars with 4-wheel motion have actually been slower, although give better handling.

Also, as I pointed out, I've had the 2007 328i loaner and while it's quick and nimble, it's no ZHP (330 Performance Package) and it's certainly cannot reach the heights of a 540i.


Tee_Tz.

AndrewAZ

Whats your redline? Mine is 7k RPM the only higher BMW I know of is the M3 which hit a tad over 8k RPM. My engine has electric components that dont take power away from the motor, so your 235hp you have to take into account for the junk the motor has to run so take off 10-12 hp for that.

This years 328i is supposed to be faster than the E46 330's. And what does it matter if your limiter is 155mph a 328i can do that no problem. My limiter is 135mph and has plenty of room to keep going. Also you have to keep in mind the E46's and 540i's have a 5 speed older auto I have a newer 6 speed which has closer gear ratios and is quite quick at shifting.

tee_tz

The ZHP redline is increased by 300 to go up to 6800, so yours is a tad higher (that's good, improved engine). The 328i cannot get to 155 MPH (nor 135), first of all you do not have the tires for it. The ZHP was given 18" M Wheels (very wide) with great tires, which is why they allowed it to reach 155MPH (your is limited at 130mph as per BMWUSA.com).

Now, in comparison to the 540i - especially stick shift, remember, your 328i AUTO is slower than the manual, they (BMW) have the manual at 6.9 seconds/AUTO at 7.1. In fairness to you, I've seen as low as 6.7 seconds for the 328i (manual! Not AUTO). BMW's claimed 5.9 seconds for the ZHP, but Car&Driver claimed 5.6. And the 540i? BMW claimed it at 5.7 seconds, I don't remember what others claimed, but it was slightly lower.

So the breakdown:

BMW Claim's (Manual shift -- which are/were ALL faster than AUTO):
2007 328i = 6.9 seconds
2003+ 330i ZHP = 5.9 seconds
2003+ 540i = 5.7 seconds

So there's NOOOO way in hell that the 540i can lose to a 328, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT to the 328, it's a great car - good engine, but the 540i's V8 is waaaay to powerful for the 328/330. If you said you were driving a 335i, in acceleration I would agree with you, but not a 328.


Tee_Tz.

tee_tz

And as I said, I've driven the 328i (E90 - LOANER), I've driven the 540i (E39 - BROTHER-IN-LAW), I've driven the ZHP (E46 - MINE), I've driven an M5 (E39 - BROTHER-IN-LAW's BEST FRIEND), I've driven an X5 (E53 - SISTER), I've driven an X3 (E83 - LOANER) and I've driven a 325i (E46 - BROTHER), so I'm not trying to brag ... But I know BMW's quite well (not an expert, but I remember how each feel). OHHH, and I've driven the 330i (E90 - LOANER!) <- That was an extremely fun joy-ride.


Tee_Tz.

Militant-Grunt

Completely agreed and thats what I was trying to get at before. Ive driven a 01 330ci, its slower than my A4, while Im 90% sure if I lined up with a 540i id loose.

AndrewAZ

First off dont tell me how fast my car can go.. I have had it pinned at 135mph several times including a run for a good 5mins strait at 135mph. You can get the limiter moved to 155mph if you get the right tires (which come on the sports package).

Second 6.9 is the rated time from BMW and its not accurate at all. Car and driver did a 6.2 0-60 and a member on E90 with a 325i was able to hit a recorded 6.2 seconds over and over again recorded using his G-tech pro. Also a member with a 328i was able to hit a 14.6 1/4 mile time which is inline with the 540i auto.

The 540i is rated at between 6.2 and 6.3 seconds 0-60 for the auto, his car is older also it has over 80k miles on it. Second like I stated his car is an 2001 not an 2003. I am just telling you guys the outcome over several runs we had and I am sure like someone mentioned his car is older and slower and probably has something wrong with it.

But going from butt feel I say my 328i is faster than the E350. Just by going WOT in both cars getting on the same onramp I can get the BMW up to 5mph faster than the E350 but as one of my passengers pointed out it could be because the BMW can take the corner from the street faster than the E350.

MercedesFTW

at Gtech Pro and C&D!

tee_tz

That's per BMW -- actually BMW's accurate figure is 6.1 seconds (for manual trans 540i) I can scan the brochure if you need. And as I said, BMW claims a 6.9 seconds (for the manual) 328i (E90). So if you say that BMW is wrong about the 328's 0-60 time (which I agree, they may be conservative), then we can apply the same philosophy to their timing of the 540i -- meaning that the 6.1 seconds they claim is more like 5.7 seconds, which I've read on forums/magazines.

But even if, the ZHP is DEFINETELY faster than 328i (E90), and I do know that the ZHP was/is not faster than the 540i. Maybe it's the mileage - my ZHP had 25K miles (2003 model) and the 540i had 20K miles (2003 model) - so these are new to new cars, whereas your is new and his is old (80K miles). So maybe your friends has lost power or something.

On the speed limiter issue, don't be so harsh. My C320 is also limited at 130 miles per hour too. Sure the digital read out say 135 miles per hour when I'm flooring it to the max, but it's only because I'm going downhill, if you take it to a track, it'll be clocked at 130-132, not 135. Note, the M5 says 160 MPH, however, at the track it was detected at 157 MPH.


Tee_Tz.

tee_tz

Exactly, the 540i from 2001-2003 didn't change - it didn't gain horsepower nor torque, so unless his friend's engine was messed up or maybe the tires aren't good or something, the 540i should win.

If you have driven a V8 engine you'll know more than anything. It's effortless power!! With V6, there's a lot of shifting and downshifting and this and that to get power from the engine ... a V8 is just sooooo smooth, it's so powerful and it's just FAST (short of a better way of putting it).


Tee_Tz.

transferred

I'm sure with 230bhp the 328i can do 135mph. However, it would take an age for that car to reach 155, and maybe need a hill too.

AndrewAZ

The car easily moves from 80-135mph its not slow at all when you hit 135mph you can feel the acceleration being stopped its not a gental ooo struggle to reach 135mph like say going back a few years having my ML hit the limiter now that took a mile to move up 3-4 mph.

On a side note I ordered a GPS unit today it will be shipped out tomorrow and hopefully I will get it on thursday.

Give me some time and I have a few videos of my 328i a while back this was the night I raced my buddies GTI which is 3,000lbs and has a conservative 200hp (its a 1.8T with a few mods). At that time I would walk away from him. We did all rolling starts to eliminate launch problems for him since he has a manual. (I did about 6-7 runs with him on a 1/4 mile stretch of road, measured it on google earth and the braking point we use is just after .26 miles)

Anyways give me like 30 mins to upload stuff on youtube.

AndrewAZ

One vid is up..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drdnMq1fKy4