Had a little run with a (presumably stock) E92 M3 today around 11:00 a.m. on the freeway (touring Mexico, of course). Unfortunately, at the time, I had my second set of tires and wheels in my trunk and back seat heading over the shop, so I was carrying about 200 pounds of extra weight!

M3 was a sort of gun metal grey color. Really great looking car. My favorite color on one of my favorite cars. . . nice!

In any case, M3 came up behind me like a BOOH, and then slowed down quickly right next to me. I'm sure he saw the AMG badging, and was going to show me some "M Power." The traffic opened up in the fast lane only, so we were stuck doing a train race (me behind him). It seemed like we both hit it pretty much simultaneously at about 80 MPH, and ran up to about 130 MPH. To my surprise, he did not pull me, but nor was I closing the gap on him. It would have been really interesting if we had been able to line up side-by-side and had been able to run longer. I think that, without the 200 extra pounds of tires and wheels I might have been able to edge him slightly. Maybe, dunno.

I know that the E92's forte is really not straight-line stuff, and that he would absolutely kill me in twisties. I also know that I would trade my C32 for an E92 in a hot second (but would not trade my C32 plus $50K for one, which is probably what it would take).

My mods are 178 pulley, Powerchips, wires, plugs, SL55 intake, Optima, resonator removal, K&Ns. Best 1/4 is a 12.8/112

 

oh no, here come the haters cause you were doing the "train race" ...

Nice run, wonder if he was 6 speed or DCT... if he was 6 speed, Im sure the DCT would have pulled ever so slightly.

 

Good write up buddy....but he'd probably kill himself in the twisties if he drives anything like most other M3 drivers I see...

-Rob

 

sounds about right. without the 200lbs extra, you woulda pulled a lil bit. with my mods, i pulled quite decently on one.

 

Says it all right there - good run although.....

It is effin' stupid. Maybe the draft helped him.

The DCT isn't geared as aggressively in the triple digits so that isn't exactly true.

 

time to get a 185 pulley.

 

On the topic of M3s. I talked to this guy in a e90 M3 and asked if he was interested in running. He turned me down because he said he got his *** handed to him by a C63. But I want to find out for myself

 

Was his a manual?

 

Well in real world races, that I have witnessed and not read, the dct with its faster than human shifts pulls on the 6 speed- stock vs stock even into triple digit speeds. Obviously the human aspect (driver skill or not needing as much with the DCT) plays a big role.

 

Road and Track had the M3 Coupe DCT at a 12.7/112.4 quarter (see Road Test Summary on page 118 of June 2010 R&T). Seems lower than what I have seen for manuals, but not sure.

 

Above 120mph, the manual pulls away. 26 seconds vs. 24.3 to 150mph is a huge margin.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...cker_3f_page_2

 

Remember, in magazine tests it can often have more to do with conditions and engine variances from the factory rather than JUST the transmissions....

-Rob

 

Ahhh yes the magazine races ... I like my perspective with MY eyes, Ill let C and D enjoy their unbiased tests.

 

You are correct, I've done quite a few comparo's with 6MT's, stock and modded, in most cases the DCT has pulled well into triple digits, only one other heavily modded 6MT gave me any kind of trouble, but I had an extra set of DR's and a jack in the trunk as well on that run.

In Vbox 60-130MPH runs, even an RD Stroker 6MT making at least 70whp more than my DCT could not match my times, 10.71s vs. 11.02s. The fastest 6MT with comparable bolt ons is 11.58s in perfect conditions, I also managed a 119MPH trap, the highest 6MT with bolt on's is 115 I believe, so yes in most cases the DCT is faster, even well into triple digits.

 

1.7 seconds isn't from condtions and LESS THAN a 2% hp production variance.

And they are biased testing 2 BMW models exactly how?

Driver mods obviously needed in the stroker example. Or who knows what else. A DCT isn't going to make up a 70rwhp deficit.

115mph is hardly into the triple digits and that is awfully low for a bolt-on 6MT car.

From what I could find, at 124mph the DCT shifts into 5th, a 4.38 overall ratio and the 6MT is 4.58 overall ratio (4th gear) up to 143mph.

At 150mph, the DCT car drops to a 3.79 ratio to 173mph and the 6MT car is in 5th, a 3.85 ratio all the way to 171mph.

I also found several mistakes on the m3 forum, using the wrong final drive ratio and not taking into account overall gear ratios including the final drive. Hopefully what I supplied is accurate.

 

The DCT takes the driver mod out of the equation. So in real life situations your going to have more consistent performance from the dct.

It just reminds me of that one quote from jay leno. "Racing is like sex, every guy thinks he's good at it. Most arent." lol.

 

Is this you on the main dragtimes page? Nice 131+ trap speed. That should be a 10-second car.
http://www.dragtimes.com/blog/bmw-e92-m3-supercharger

 

and exactly- The DCT makes driving easier, maybe not more fun- but yet easier.

Deuuuce thanks for the facts; I am sure you are correct. My experiences obviously involve driver input and real world conditions which take away from the gearing advantange that the 6 speed would have up top with two exact same cars driven in the exact same conditions with perfect driving. The DCT is just stupid easy IMHO.

 

I agree regarding the advantages and consistency of the DCT.