Tips for racing w/ an automatic?

[APenev230]

Can anyone give me some tips on how to race with an automatic bmw?

[valkyrie98]

yep, race only another automatic. LOL! sorry i had to go there. i'm an auto owner too.

[Robstah]

What type of racing? drag? track?

[APenev230]

Drag and track

[APenev230]

mainly drag tho

[force34]

mainly drag tho
sell it and get a manual. or auto to manual swap..

[APenev230]

how much does a swap cost

[force34]

how much does a swap cost
i have never done it so im not positive, but i have heard people only doing it for around 500 but thats all work done by themselves..

[APenev230]

oh, i see you have uuc exhaust, how is that, cuz i want to get one. Is it too loud or what? Ricey noise?

[force34]

oh, i see you have uuc exhaust, how is that, cuz i want to get one. Is it too loud or what? Ricey noise?
Best out, IMO, very easy to install, very nice, not too loud, perfect, would recommend it to everyone..

[nj318i]

Challenge them to a run through the twisties.

[hellrot325]

Cheat? :D

[leedawg]

Best out, IMO, very easy to install, very nice, not too loud, perfect, would recommend it to everyone..
UUC System U:buttrock Rice is not the way to describe the sound at all. Once you hear one you will dream about it and it will consume your thoughts day and night. System U is loud but sounds incredible and looks great too. I too recommend it to everyone.

[camiloteram]

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=220868

good info on that thread.

[Alpine 318is]

i think it would be cheaper to sell your car and buy a similar one that is manual.

[camiloteram]

i think it would be cheaper to sell your car and buy a similar one that is manual.
that's what i was thinking of doing, but frankly, its too much work and not worth it. just be happy with your car for now.

[M3Alpine99]

alright since no one here will answer your question...

notice that all the really fast drag cars run auto? cause it is faster... dont rip on his car and tell him to get a manual..

Heres what you do... get up and stage at the light... then put as much pressure on the brake as you can and then push in the gas till you feel the backend squat a little bit and the brakes can just BARELY hold the car from moving... light turns greens release the brake and MASH the gas to the floor and let it run through the gears... if u have a sport mode it should be in sport mode :) and most manual driverrs cant really drive manual anyways so you will prolly beat them... but alot of people on here think they can drive the manual so good but sadly they cannot...

[lovesm3s]

loud exhausts sound weird on an automatic car. I'd go for something quieter. But if you had a manual it would be fine

[patrickrolfsen]

Challenge them to a run through the twisties.
Very good point.............

sell it and get a manual. or auto to manual swap..
i was thinking it, and i was right, i knew this would show up. i agree:)

but seriously, if your car has the steptronic like my dads old e46, it should have a sport mode... otherwise im at a loss, unless you can upgrade your tranny software

[JayL]

Get a modified valve body that will force the transmission to shift faster and go with a torque converter with a higher stall. You'll get off the line very quickly and it will shift faster than you could with an stick. Not to mention, when an automatic transmission shifts faster it causes less wear on the transmission itself (although other parts of the car may have increased wear because of this). There is also certain programming that can increase line pressure to get it to shift faster, but I wouldn't ever recommend going that route.

[hellrot325]

notice that all the really fast drag cars run auto? cause it is faster... dont rip on his car and tell him to get a manual.. But none of them are an E36 w/ a slushbox.

[m0ng0]

notice that all the really fast drag cars run auto? cause it is faster... dont rip on his car and tell him to get a manual..


i don't think so... 10 sec's or less are usually manual for a very good reason, sometimes auto for those that want to take advantage of some cars torque or can't drive manual.

now if you're talking about those funny cars... imagine trying to shift a car that does the 1/4 mile in 4 seconds... yea... makes me wonder if any of them are manual.

Manual is proven to be faster, but auto seems like an easier choice when it comes to the idea of shifting twice in the same second.

[Chea]

get a tranny chip if you have a e36 worth the money imo i have a dinan tranny chip

[leedawg]

Actually all the drag cars are auto trannys cause the computer can shift a lot better than any human and faster. But in the case of the bimmer auto id say the manual is still faster if the guy driving the manual knows what hes doing. Its even in their published numbers that the manual gear box is faster.

[Chea]

i beat my buddy that got a tranny swap in his 325 on the highway oh i also got an auto

[Naw T 3]

Im a AUTO 325i and on the freeway i was nose to nose with a SRT 4 today from 60-110mph before shuttin off. And yes, he was trying.

[Storamin]

you put your right foot down.


that is all.

[Mr.M]

you put your right foot down.


that is all.

Pretty much.

[KBtoys]

here's a tip..........don't...

[LWRNCE]

Im a AUTO 325i and on the freeway i was nose to nose with a SRT 4 today from 60-110mph before shuttin off. And yes, he was trying.
That is bs.... lay off smoking the crack.

[camiloteram]

Screw you all manual batards.
WHat i do is when ever I want to launch the car I just put it in 3rd, and then when ever i want to kill it i shift to D, it ussually lets go and shifts to the next gear when I do that.

[XanDer]

I HAVE AN AUTO.....sorry juss wanted to be part of the crowd....:(

[Naw T 3]

That is bs.... lay off smoking the crack.

Of course the hating. Try it for yourself. Those things are slow top end..ask around.

[XanDer]

im starting to sense some hostility guys...y dont we juss get along and take a deep breath of some rich exhaust....?

[reefdaze]

dinan makes the auto trans chip i think it runs around 250 300
but seriously you can race an auto but you dont want to constantly be dragging an auto it will ruin the tranny. I had a 92 auto supra and i raced the life right out of itthe tranny failed and cost me 1800 to rebuild same with a 91 jetta i owned the only auto tranny i ever saw that could take massive amounts of abuse was my 91 mr2 that thing was bulletproof

ps if you are wondering why i get sports cars in auto i am slightly disabled from a car accident and also to lazy to shift all the time lol

[Mistermotorist]

I tried a relatively quiet exaust system last year- Edge "quiet" - for about three hours. It sounded so damn stupid with my auto trans I went back the next day and had my stock M3 system put back in! Auto trans with loud exhaust sounds absolutely lame - and you don't get any appreciable performance improvement with just an exhaust system. As far as acceleration is concerned, an auto trans (same final drive ratio) will usually pull the same car with a stick for about the first 50 feet, then the stick will catch up and pass the auto (assuming the stick car is proplerly driven; however, I've seen a lot of mis-shifts and missed opportunities in my day) - It's really about how much power is geting to the rear wheels - a stick is faster because there is less power loss with a clutch than a torque converter.

[Naw T 3]

Its basically how good of a driver that manual person is. I see Auto's winning thanks to drivers not knowing how to shift. a Win is a win. And what was said above earlier, dotn drag a auto, tranny will die on you.

[adamnur]

I tried a relatively quiet exaust system last year- Edge "quiet" - for about three hours. It sounded so damn stupid with my auto trans I went back the next day and had my stock M3 system put back in! Auto trans with loud exhaust sounds absolutely lame - and you don't get any appreciable performance improvement with just an exhaust system. As far as acceleration is concerned, an auto trans (same final drive ratio) will usually pull the same car with a stick for about the first 50 feet, then the stick will catch up and pass the auto (assuming the stick car is proplerly driven; however, I've seen a lot of mis-shifts and missed opportunities in my day) - It's really about how much power is geting to the rear wheels - a stick is faster because there is less power loss with a clutch than a torque converter.

I completely disagree. My Stromung sounds amazing on my auto. I love every minute when I'm driving and get to hear that thing purr. Combined with CAI ftw.

[lovesm3s]

stromung is fine. just loud exhausts sound really dumb when the tranny shifts into the next gear. stand outside and let someone drive off

[Mr.M]

Yeah I'd imagine the shifts would sound really wierd.