540I vs. 1/8th mi track
 

After selling the CYM I picked up a E39 540I 6 speed. I didn't buy it to be a fast car, I just needed something rear wheel drive, it had to be a 4 door and it had to be a manual. That pretty much leaves mostly German or a couple of Japanese sedans, so I picked up the 540I.

Anyways, my 540I is stock. It has two bad catalytic converters and as a result is throwing a bad cat Check Engine Light(I have two magnaflow 2.25" hi-flow cats and O2 simulators on the way).

So a few months back I raced my buddies 04 Base 350Z fully expecting to lose by a full zipcode, but rather it was a close race. I think I lost by about a quarter car from a 40-ish roll. Others who saw it felt the race was nearly a dead even outcome. Obviously this piqued my interest on what the car might be able to do at the track. I did some research and found that most people typically run around a 14.3-14.7 with the 540I 6 speeds bone stock. My buddy with the 350Z has run a 13.7@100 stock.

So last weekend we headed out to Mooresville, NC where there is a 1/8th mi track. I took the 540I out, complete with check engine light(probably pulling timing) to see what she would do. I expected nothing better than a 9.5 in the 1/8th, which would work out to be around a mid 14 second pass in the quarter.

With a questionable original stock clutch that had just over 125kmi on it, I eased the clutch out, recorded a sizzling hot 2.2 60 ft and ran a 9.49@78mph. This would be about a 14.60@98-99mph.
Then I ran another 9.4@78mph.
Then I ran spun bad coming out of the hole, feathered looking for traction, came up empty handed and just decided to coast the rest of the way to a sweet 14.3@39mph 1/8th :D
Then I finally ran a 9.002@80mph. This would have been about a 13.87@100-102mph if I had went a full 1/4 mile:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...7/DSC00026.jpg
Throughout the day, the left lane board starting malfunctioning and wasn't properly displaying the correct times or mph. Eventually the board malfunctioned completely and they stopped showing times on the left lane board. Heres the video of the 9.002@80mph run. If you listen at the end, you can hear the announcer say " 9 flat at 80mph" for the left lane:
http://videos.streetfire.net/Player....F-E2EE2AFFC6A2

I honestly didn't expect this car to be this quick. For a 3800lb slug I expected it to be maybe a mid to high 14 second car, but was pleasantly surprised. Now I can't wait to throw the hi flow cats on her, O2 sims, remove the resonator and see what she'll do.

Force fed I know what you mean these things are quicker than most people including myself thought but once you flash the ecu and start tuning it they get even faster. I have a 98 Dinan 740il and for a large sedan this car moves. I picked it up from Braman in Miami. I always wanted on of these and when i found a black with grey leather I jumped on a plane and had them pick me up fromt he airport. Anyways they also had a black 99 Dinan 750il that had 502ftlbs of tq. I drove both and the 750 roasted the 295 tires on the back with ease from a 40mph roll. But in the end I already had a car that got 8mpg in town so I got the 740. I am going to start tuning the ecu soon and maybe add a supercharger.

Good deal. Do you know anyone besides Dinan who does ECU work for these things? I'm wondering if there is a relatively cheap(er) way of squeezing a few more ponies out of the ECU.

yeah there is a guy here in MD right down the street from my house who tunes these things and told me that I am at my limit right now with my version 5 software now and its time to get larger injectors and he flash my ecu to do a full tune with or without a supercharger. I am PM'ing you his contact info.

dinan supercharger kit for the win. my mom was going to buy a pretty nice 540i auto with HRE rims, angel eyes, and pretty much converted to the 02 (iirc) 5series. but meh...

The Dinan stuff is wayyyyyyyyyy overpriced. $9999.00 for a supercharger for my E39 540I from Dinan? LOL. For 10 grand not including labor that blower better suck me off for the rest of my life. Come on, 10 grand for a blower.
I'd rather pay half that(or less) and have a bracket custom made, then get some ECU upgrades and injectors and still come out thousands on top vs. the Dinan setup. Thats one thing I've noticed with these cars is that everything is way overpriced. $600+ for a muffler with a foot long of tubing that clamps on(no bolton for the 540), $1000/side for OEM cats(ROFL), $10K or in some instances, $16K for a supercharger system for a E39 540? The prices they charge for BMW parts is just plain ridiculous.

nice numbers but isn't the formula for 1/8th mile to 1/4 is double the 1/8th mile time then subtract 3? so you would be running 15's. which is still good for a car that has 282 flywheel hp. and weighs 3800lbs w/o driver

nevermind low 9's is comparible to low 14's

Yeah dinan stuff is overpriced but none of it voids the factory warrantees. And I will be dropping a vortech supercharger $1600 from jegs and fabbing up the piping. Also my friend says adapting the pulley to the stock is a soild 4hr job. Compared to my complete t2 swap in the vert, then a e6k install, then a full t04 single, bolting on a supercharger and making a few pipes will be a walk in the park. The local bmw guys consider this a huge install. I just laugh

I know exactly what you mean.

No. In the past I used the following formula for NA cars:
1/4(est.) = (1/8th mile ET +.223) / .665
This has been nearly spot on (within a few thousandths) for most NA cars I have run at the track. Turbo cars tend to pick up a little more on the back 1/8th.
For example, my stock CYM ran a 8.5@84 1/8th on the original OEM tires from 1993 and ran a 13.0@107. The 8.5 run according to the formula should have been around a 13.11.

i found some 0-60 and 1/4 numbers for you

1997 BMW 540i 6.2 14.6
1998 BMW 540i Sport 5.5 14.0
2001 BMW 540i (Automatic) 5.7 14.3
2001 BMW 540i 6-Speed 5.5 14.0

Found? Those numbers have been on this site in General Automotive for like 4 years now.

I never ran the 1/4 when i had mine but your estimates are about right according to the test numbers.

Well if we're magazine racing then I guess I did well considering I have a 97 E39 540I. :D

Fd to e39 540/6
 

ForceFed,

I'm just checking in, however, I did the same thing. I sold my FD and purchased a 98 540/6.

I've had it for about 1.5 years. I removed the resonators, added a magnaflow exhaust, Conforti intake, dinan software.

These cars are quick, I think you can pull a 350z easily on the HWY.

In terms of options:

RevHigh Motorsports (software, intake)
BenferPerformance (intake)
Dinan (you know the routine)
Powerchip (a lot of M5 guys use this)

I think Jim Conforti and Active Autowerke will have software out soon, not listed on their websites (you have to call.

ESS Superchargers seem to be a good way to go also if you want the FI route.

www.bmwtips.com will have some helpful resources.
http://bmw540ifun.com/Dynos&QtrMile.htm has some dyno ahd 1/4 mile info.

In no way can the 540 replace the feeling of driving an FD. However, it's quiet, torquey, luxurious and refined. All in the trade offs I guess, I like each of them for their own reasons. If you tune it and work on the suspension, the 540 is definately a wolf in sheep's clothing.

I'm actually considering selling my FD and getting a 540-6speed also.
We just had a baby and I have no time to go on joy rides in the FD anymore, all it does is sit in the garage. So I'm thinking of making the switch. This way you get the comfort, the luxury and still some power.

But.... I like the FD even if it does sit in the garage!!!

Well, pretty close. My buddy with a stock 04 350Z(and a rather quick bone stock Z at that) and I raced from a 40ish roll and it was close. Here's the vid:
http://videos.streetfire.net/search/...E62B9B5B87.htm

Yeah I've been looking at some of that stuff. I think I'm just going to get rid of the resonators, get an intake, a B&M short throw and a CDV and call it quits.
Yeah I saw a complete ESS kit used on the Roadfly forums the other day for $3250. It was only missing an A/C line but it definetly sparked my interest. I tried to email the guy but got no response.
Yep, I'm finding out that this car, despite its size and the fact that it doesn't feel fast, is actually reasonably quick and it simply rolls on the highway. I don't regret my purchase one bit :D

I'm not going to try and sway you to purchase a 540I6, but I don't think you would regret the purchase :)

cool times

Great vid! At what speed did you let off? When I added the conforti intake I noticed a bit of difference, mostly sound. Exhaust made mostly a sound difference again. Then when I added the software, it seemed to pull it all together. Maybe this is the difference for me vs. Z's?

:icon_tup:

yeah mine is a wolf in a black tux.

Haha, I am about to pick up a 95 540/6 myself. Still keeping the TII. Bukwild, I'm coming up to Maryland again to pick up this car also. Weird.

oh yeah. I planned to build a 500rwhp vert from the day I bought it and I am closing in on that now. I can have my weekend toys and I am ok I just cannot drive a sports car as a daily. My back is not as limber as it once was. In my Navy days I was injured during a "training op" but as you know its only a training op if someone gets hurt or worst. Anyways all they give you is a red document that goes into your service record that reads "injured during naval high risk training." Long story short when you get out and try to get the VA to take care of you they cannot determine what was was damaged because all you have is that form in your record with no details only that you were cleared back to full operational status and returned to your Command Master Chief. So you get the golry and memories and some Air Force puke who has never done a thing can get out and claim 50% disability because of a blown knee during a basketball game.

Anyways you have been at Camp Lejeune for a while. When you headed to Iraq?

I think I lifted somewhere between 120-125ish. I'm looking forward to getting a CAI not only for the power increase, but that 4.4L V8 has such a NICE growl to it. I'm hoping I can get just a few decibels more of that sweet engine sound. As for the software, I'm sure that is where you are getting a good bit more power, probably enough to walk away from those stock or lightly modded Zs. I can't help but feel like this BMW 4.4 V8 has the potential to make 330+ crank HP with some bolt ons and a good tune.
As for me, I gotta get rid of my CDV. I'm shifting on average probably half a second faster than the tranny will engage/disengage. You can hear it in the video of me against the Z. I'm shifting and going WOT before the CDV has even allowed the hydraulic pressure to disengage the clutch completely. I also suspect that I may pick up a tenth or so in the 1/8th just getting rid of that CDV.