What Are The Fastest Trap Speeds E39 with BMW V8 (M60, M62, or S62)

[tptrsn]

Since I've been harping on a few of you F/I guys on here to begin collecting some trap speeds, I started wondering what is out there already. Also I was curious what sort of acceleration I might be able to expect out of the 540i6Turbo, since I know that a car feels pretty fast/powerful when it can trap 120 or better. Also I went out in my POS E36 328i turbo the other night and did a 13.3 @ 106 on 8psi with the factory slushbox trans that has to coast a significant part of the quarter mile to shift gears. So, curiosity got me.

dragtimes.com seems to have the largest collection of stats from dragstrip performances. What I found on there was a couple or few S/C E39 M5s that trap 122, and E39 540s trapping up to 116 with S/C. The fastest nitrous E39 540 shows 103.5mph.

On one hand, these numbers aren't super encouraging, but on the other hand, maybe the E39 F/I crowd (especially the 540 contingent) just haven't been posting their respectable times... I hope the latter is true!

So does anyone on here have any E39 with (BMW) V8 trap speeds to share?

Alright, I'm going to kick this off and see if I can get the "one-upmanship" ball rolling!

This slip is from last night when I took out my '97 540i6 with front mount turbo for a baseline run on 3psi of boost and a very soft tune with WOT AFRs in the mid-10s. 13.1@107.1:

3psi Soft Tune Shakedown Slip.jpg

ADDING:

Zep: 13.7@102.4
VF Supercharger kit, M60 Manifold, AEM methanol injection, Larger K&N Air Filter

Timeslip%202015.jpg

qcdstick:
13.914 @100.97mph on a 2.181 60'
166,000 miles and original clutch at the time. Resonator delete ("Y" and rear dummy can), Zionsville radiator, EAC Coilovers, and Swaybars. Still running the open 2.81 diff, stock trans, etc etc. Nothing at all done to the engine. Tires were Hankook RS3's on stock 17" wheels.


AngelEye5 info
I went to the drag strip a while ago in my 2003 540iA M-Sport to get a idea of how quick the car really was and did 5 good runs. It was in sport mode DSC off, had 93 octane on style 65's with 275 rears, spare in trunk and 3/4 tank both times, temp 72F. Did Brake Torque Launches at 1500rpm and no wheel spin on all runs, second time at the track temp was 65F.

Before

Mods- M62B44 Non Vanos Intake Manifold

After

Mods- M60B40 Velocity Stack Intake Manifold, 84mm Throttle Body, 84mm Bored out Flange, 4" CAI and 4" MAF DUDMD Tune on M60 Manifold, Spal Electric Fan Conversion, 88C Thermostat, Gutted Pre Header Cats, Alpina B10V8S TCU Tune letting it shift itself in manual mode not Drive for higher rpms.

For me the 1st run down the track happens to be the best time and after that its just about consistency, car has 132K now.

JimLev info. I'll have to scan the slips, here are my trap times.
My best trap time was 105.85 MPH, the other 2 were 104.95 and 104.73.
ET's sucked, PS2's couldn't hook up, was too cold.

[dannyzabolotny]

I think a big part of it is that most E39 guys don't take their car to the drag strip. I've had a few people look down on me for wanting to drag race my 540it, because apparently drag racing is a low-class redneck sport and E39's are too classy for that, or some bull like that.

[tptrsn]

Yeah, there are some weird predispositions among the E39 540 crowd. The E39 M5 crew seems fairly interested in measuring performance on tracks. I mean acceleration is acceleration, it's not really anything to do with the sport of drag racing.

Maybe the lack of 540 data is also because the 540s really push the luxury end of the scale a lot more than the sport end. But still, there are a lot of 540 guys with superchargers... One thing I do notice is that the faster the car is, the more drag strip data there is for them. As in, the newer M5s have a lot more numbers posted, and they are FAST. The V10 M5s were pretty fast, and they have a lot of numbers posted. Similarly, E55s have a lot of data, and they are FAST! Like trap 132 with a pulley fast.

[philly98540]

I will oblige the traps at some point! I wish a strip was more local and had a street night.

[jp5Touring]

I think it might be, cause only 540 owners think 540's are fast ?

[JimLev]

Thad, I'll have to find my slips. They are probably packed is a box somewhere.
The 540 on nitrous you mentioned only did 103.5? Think mine was a little quicker back when I was only running a 2 stage 100HP shot. I remember my 60' times were crap, couldn't get any traction.
13.3 on the RSB is pretty good, get the slush box out and put a stick in it.

[tptrsn]

Thad, I'll have to find my slips. They are probably packed is a box somewhere.
The 540 on nitrous you mentioned only did 103.5? Think mine was a little quicker back when I was only running a 2 stage 100HP shot. I remember my 60' times were crap, couldn't get any traction.
13.3 on the RSB is pretty good, get the slush box out and put a stick in it.

That's great that you have slips for the "database" already Jim, and it will be cool to see what you can do in the fall. 60' times seem not to matter to trap speeds, at least in the time ranges we are looking at, so trap speeds are pretty useful indicators of what a car can really do.

Regarding the RSB/LRS, I doubt it will even have a manual trans in it, and I can pretty much guarantee it won't while I own it. I have much "wronger" ideas for it that will allow it to shift in boost, and probably double the boost without much trouble.

- - - Updated - - -

I think it might be, cause only 540 owners think 540's are fast ?

Could be!

[geargrinder]

I think a big part of it is that most E39 guys don't take their car to the drag strip.

Yeah. The E36 Turbo guys are all about slips and ETs and traps, IME the E39 guys tend to be more road-course or just street-car guys. I think its just not many guys make it there. I'm not hugely interested in the strip myself... not that I poo poo it for anybody else, just if I'm going to go to a track I'd rather watch cars go around corners that straight lines...

Thad, I'll have to find my slips. They are probably packed is a box somewhere.
The 540 on nitrous you mentioned only did 103.5? Think mine was a little quicker back when I was only running a 2 stage 100HP shot. I remember my 60' times were crap, couldn't get any traction.
13.3 on the RSB is pretty good, get the slush box out and put a stick in it.

Jim was that still w/ open diff? That would assplain a lot. Why do think it was quicker before?

[JimLev]

GG, don't remember if I had the open diff or the LSD. Will need to look at some diff install pic file dates and the time slip dates when I find them.
I was saying (meant to say) is my car with a 100 shot had a faster trap speed than the car Thad referenced.
Back then I only had a front and rear injector, (50 shot each), now I've got the port injection thing plus the front and rear injectors.

[tptrsn]

What range do you recall your trap speed being with that setup Jim? And it will be interesting to know your diff setup, but really it won't make much if any difference to trap speed, only to the elapsed times. My reason for being interested in trap speeds is because it is a lot more comparable indicator of acceleration than dyno numbers are. Dynos are great for tuning, but there are just so many variables it's kind of ridiculous to compare two numbers, especially from different dynos.

Besides that, it's fun to go have a few runs in your car without spending much money to do it, and get a good solid read on what your car will do for outright acceleration. Then maybe sit around and have a cold one while you watch some other cars run. There's always something interesting to watch.

[tptrsn]

Anyone, anyone... anyone? Bueler??

I'm hoping to get the 540 out to the track on super low boost sometime fairly soon if things work out well, just to start getting some trap speeds in the database.

[JimLev]

I haven't forgot, just need to find the slips.

[tptrsn]

Excellent Jim, potentially you have slips from when you were on a minimal system, and then maybe you will get out again this fall to see what she does with additional gas, huh? (albeit at much tougher elevation I expect)

[JimLev]

So far all I found was I installed the LSD in 2006. Thought I had scanned the slips but they aren't on my HD or I can't remember the folder name. Still looking.

[tptrsn]

Do you remember your best trap speeds from different setups Jim? It's not like we need your slips for proof or anything.

[JimLev]

Don't really remember which is why I want to find the slips to get the speed. I know I have them here somewhere, I wouldn't throw something that "important" (LOL) out in the trash.

[tptrsn]

No, certainly not!

[tptrsn]

Alright fellas -- and ladies if there are any on here -- I just posted a slip from last night in the first post. If we can get some more datapoints I will create a list or something in the first post.

I think it's useful to have the numbers and a brief description of the setup that includes at least the main pertinent points. That way maybe someone can find it to be a useful comparison tool.

[JimLev]

Thad, 13.1 is very respectable with only 3PSI of boost, crank it up!.
Pretty sure I could add Zep's time slip to your 1st post if I new where to find it......send me a link, I'm to lazy to go looking for it.

[tptrsn]

Thanks Jim, I was very pleasantly surprised! I have a bit of work to do on the car for a few days, and then I will definitely be starting to crank it up.

Here is possibly the link to the image I was looking to have inserted into that first post:

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/a...2&d=1444812465

It's the faster of the two time slips in the first post of this thread:

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...elming-VF-540i

[dannyzabolotny]

I'm going to the drag strip tomorrow with my bone stock 540it, should be fun to see how it does.

[tptrsn]

Excellent, post up a slip if you feel like it!

[dannyzabolotny]

Excellent, post up a slip if you feel like it!

Will do! I'm gonna bring my video cameras with me too, so I'll get videos as well. The supposed ET is 14.2, so let's see how close I can get it to that.

[JimLev]

Thanks Jim, I was very pleasantly surprised! I have a bit of work to do on the car for a few days, and then I will definitely be starting to crank it up.

Here is possibly the link to the image I was looking to have inserted into that first post:

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/a...2&d=1444812465

It's the faster of the two time slips in the first post of this thread:

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...elming-VF-540i

Thad...Done.
When I find my slips I was racing another 540/6 with a Dinan SC.
I'll post that info too.

[tptrsn]

Will do! I'm gonna bring my video cameras with me too, so I'll get videos as well. The supposed ET is 14.2, so let's see how close I can get it to that.

Good luck! And even if your ETs are off, your trap speed should be relatively consistent. Trap speed is a good indicator of how much average horsepower you are putting to the ground over the distance of the quarter mile (relative to the total weight of the vehicle), whereas the ET has a lot to do with the first 60ft.

Thad...Done.
When I find my slips I was racing another 540/6 with a Dinan SC.
I'll post that info too.

Thanks Jim! That slip with your car and the Dinan SC car will be a nice add when you find it too. Who was faster?