"Near" stock E36 M3 1/4 mile run

[stimpee]

Took my car to the strip yesterday for the first time. Test n Tune, with a nearly empty track, so I got to do LOTS of runs!

It was cold (32-38F) and dry.

Car:

1997 E36 M3 Sedan
100,300 miles
Active cat-back exhaust
Active short shift kit and shift knob (worth 15hp easy!)
UUC Stage II LTW FW with Spec Stage III clutch
UUC red trans mounts and enforcers
Stock software
Stock intake
18"x8.5" BBS RGRs all around with 235/40-18 Pirelli P Zero Nero all-seasons

Save for my first run, where I forgot to turn off the traction control, nearly all the runs were in the 14.03-14.16 range. Best trap was 99.15 mph.

Best timeslip below:

13.970 @ 98.91 mph

[xeler8]

Those are very good times especially for your first time. I did horrible my first time but the car was new to me at the time also...

The cold weather really helps though..

Jason

[M52 POWER!]

Somehow my friend who's not such a great driver got a 13.89 1/4 with a stock 96 Luxury M3 5spd. It was his first run to, after that all other runs of the day were slower lol! Like wtf right?

[Rob Levinson]

I wonder if you would have done even better if it was another 10-20 degrees warmer. With temps that cold (as they've been in NJ lately), I can't seem to get traction.

- Rob

[sxevegan]

a 2.0 60' isn't all that bad for those tires either. Good runs!

[stimpee]

Just to clarify, it was not my first time at the track "ever", just in this car. I have been there a few other times with my former galant vr4, and my previous 325is.

There was a very fine line between bogging the motor, and getting MAD wheel hop. I think some real tires would do wonders. I wish I could find some decent 17" drag radials that would fit in the fenders to run on the stock wheels (either the 7.5s or the 8.5s). I would keep the old wheels around with the tires on them just for the track! It would be nice to give the car some more revs off the line and know that I wouldn't break traction. The wheel hop that ensues with the current setup scares the crap out of me, as that is what will start breaking stuff.

Steve

[JonF]

I hit up the local strip back in September with my (new to me) 5MT E36 M3 sedan with 32K orig miles. It is bone stock with well worn 245/40 Conti ExtremeSomethingOrOther tires on the back. Dropped the rear pressure to about 28 PSI and launched somewhere experimenting between 3000-4000 RPM's per the advice in the 1/4 mile tips sticky thread. This was the first time i've dragged any vehicle whatsoever. My last performance vehicle was a WRX moderately-modified for autox where straight-line traction was a non-issue. I'm quite familiar with feathering the clutch (to preserve my old subaru glass-tranny) but still that takes much more fine control with RWD to launch hard. I was hoping for a sub 2.0 60' but couldn't crack it. Temps were around 70* F ambient or so. Bested with a 14.292 @ 97.03 MPH. Red-lighted on my last run of the night.

[calypso]

great runs!

what was running in the other lane that was trapping 123?

[stimpee]

It was a Lingenfelter supercharged C5 vette convertible if I remember correctly. He was ordered to slow down, since although his vert had a hardtop on it, it had no cage...



Steve

[MrBlonde]

I wish I could air that cold here!

[gldntkt]

those are nice times man...i'm trying to get myself in th 13s as well but haven't been able to get a good launch down.

my fastest run so far has been a 14.13 @ 97..will post the slip when i get home from work. This is also in florida, temps were around 65-70, low humidity

i hope i can drop some more time off that...aa intake, track pipe, cat-back, flywheel and shifter, 255s @ 27psi. I had much the same trouble with the fine-line between bogging down and lightin 'em up....it's tickin me off.

what RPMs have you had the best luck launching at?

[JonF]

those are nice times man...i'm trying to get myself in th 13s as well but haven't been able to get a good launch down.

my fastest run so far has been a 14.13 @ 97..will post the slip when i get home from work. This is also in florida, temps were around 65-70, low humidity

i hope i can drop some more time off that...aa intake, track pipe, cat-back, flywheel and shifter, 255s @ 27psi. I had much the same trouble with the fine-line between bogging down and lightin 'em up....it's tickin me off.

what RPMs have you had the best luck launching at?

Can't really say as i only was able to make 9 runs that night and that's exactly 9 runs in my entire drag racing career. Each run was a different experiment in the amount of RPM's, clutch slip, wheel spin, etc. The parked drag thread at the top of the forum has lots of specific advice from a guy whose made thousands of runs.

[stimpee]

I was holding the rpms at about 2800 on the launch. At 2500-2600 I was running consistent 14.0's - 14.1's. I didn't really try much more than that, since even at 2800, if I engaged the clutch too quickly I would start to break traction and get some wheel hop. Of course, I don't think traction was that great at 32-38 degrees F either...

Steve

[M3 Pete]

It was a Lingenfelter supercharged C5 vette convertible if I remember correctly. He was ordered to slow down, since although his vert had a hardtop on it, it had no cage...



Steve

I was wondering what was running in the low 11's against you too ... I've seen video where the guy is ordered to slow down and then counts to three after the lights go, he's way over the trap speed but has a low enough ET that they can't throw him out .... He was running some monster turbo in a Cobra IIRC.

[stimpee]

Unless he moved enough to get his front wheel out of the staging lights, and then waited to actually move, sitting at the line when the light turns green has NO bearing on your ET. The ET is measured from the time you depart the line (your front wheel moves out of the staging lights), until that front wheel breaks the beam at the finish line. The reaction time has NO bearing on your ET.

One one of my passes, I was beside a 2003 or 2005, 405HP Z06. He beat me at the line by 0.0095 seconds (it would have been so cool if I beat him), but his ET was a full second quicker than mine (which is still horrible for a Z06). Reason being his reaction time was like 1.2 seconds. No impact on his ET, but it affects when you cross the line relative to the person beside you. That is all it does!!

Steve

[M3 Pete]

UNless he moved enough to get his front wheel out of the staging lights, and then waited to actually move, sitting at the line when the light turns green has NO bearing on your ET. The ET is measured from the time you depart the line (your front wheel moves out of the staging lights), until that front wheel breaks the beam at the finish line. The reaction time has NO bearing on your ET.

Steve

IIRC, he did move just a bit at the start, then did the three count before he launched. He was running against a lesser car and smoked him by the end of the run.

[stimpee]

Looks like a couple of the last posts before the crash are gone from here. We were having a convo about wheel sizes to fit on the back of an M3 and techno550 implied that 15's would fit? I have heard that before, but also heard they will not?

I can only find 15x7" wheels that are available, but I would certainly think that a 15" drag slick would do wonders for my short times. Any suggestions from anyone on what can be stuffed back there?

Steve

[Jenna87]

damn, 13.9 is as fast as my friends turbo datsun 240z, and tahts like 0-60 in 5 flat.. i didnt think stock m3s were that fast

[SilverStreak]

Nice run, Stimp!

Jenna, with the right driver and conditions... we've seen a few stock E36 M3's in the mid 13's...

I got my bone stock ZHP to a 14.0... but I've been drag racing 18 yrs, and ran at Atco, a sea level track in NJ....

[MrBlonde]

Looks like a couple of the last posts before the crash are gone from here. We were having a convo about wheel sizes to fit on the back of an M3 and techno550 implied that 15's would fit? I have heard that before, but also heard they will not?

I can only find 15x7" wheels that are available, but I would certainly think that a 15" drag slick would do wonders for my short times. Any suggestions from anyone on what can be stuffed back there?

Steve

Steve, I'd say you can fit a 26"x8.5" MT ET Drag slick there.

[stimpee]

Steve, I'd say you can fit a 26"x8.5" MT ET Drag slick there.

Izzat okay on a 7" wide rim?

If so, I have a fender roller, and will get that done over the winter and be ready for spring!

Any recommendations on 15" rims that might clear my M3 rear brakes? I am willing to make slight modifications if required, but don't want any major surgery!

Steve

[MrBlonde]

Izzat okay on a 7" wide rim?

If so, I have a fender roller, and will get that done over the winter and be ready for spring!

Any recommendations on 15" rims that might clear my M3 rear brakes? I am willing to make slight modifications if required, but don't want any major surgery!

Steve

Have some custom wheels made up.

[stimpee]

Could you be a little more vague please?



I need remedial assistance!

Any suggestions on sizes, offsets, manufacturers, width, etc for things that are likely to be able to be shoehorned onto the back of my M3?

[card counter]

Steve I made the last day at Cecil only got two runs the second run I blew the head gasket trying to dial in the boost gauge (went way over) 30+psi
Still was not getting any traction spun first real bad shifted early bogged car
when shifted and still ran a 134.6 mph and not at full boost
www.bmwturbo328.com got the vid of it here

[stimpee]

Sweet!

I still need more assistance with getting some real tires on my car. I first need to break into the 12's with the supercharger, then hit my 12.3-12.4 for Kenny, then it's time to head for the 11's!!

It's going to take some real tire to do that! Combined probably with some driving skills that I do not possess!!!



Merry Christmas!!