Well, in this months issue (Sept '02) there is a little write up on SMG vs Manual at a drag strip. Both driver's were definitely not drag racing pros... tho.

They needed Dave out there to show them what's up...

WOW Kevlar, your E36 M3 is very cheap, your takin' a big hit on that thing! :( i had an E36 '97 M3 with some mods, crashed\repaired and sold it for $23,500!

That really sucks! :(

Originally posted by marwan
WOW Kevlar, your E36 M3 is very cheap, your takin' a big hit on that thing! :( i had an E36 '97 M3 with some mods, crashed\repaired and sold it for $23,500!

That really sucks! :(

Yeah, I know... it's killing me, but the garage only has room for one toy at a time... and now I'm under pressure because the new toy will be here in 30-45 days.

Everybody said it would be easy to sell an M3... but wow, it's damn near impossible for me.

Originally posted by Kevlar


Yeah, I know... it's killing me, but the garage only has room for one toy at a time... and now I'm under pressure because the new toy will be here in 30-45 days.

Everybody said it would be easy to sell an M3... but wow, it's damn near impossible for me.

with all the mods you got on it, it's easily worth atleast 27k!!! ....anyways, once you get your new toy you'll forget all about it! :cool:

Kev, can you copy/paste some of the article for us here? I'm curious as to what those guys accomplished (or didn't accomplish) and at what rpms they launched each, etc...

I'm going to try and scan it when I return to work on Monday...

Thanks, Kev. Bottom line, what results did they get from each in the 1/4 mile?

It was an 1/8 of a mile... The manual won twice, the SMG one once. They were no where near as hard on the clutch as a professional would have been on the launch (both SMG and Manual)... so that leads me to believe the manual should win everytime.

The SMG however did make up major time between the 2->3 shift.

There's a guy from MM&FF a few mos back, it was a Cobra article, but he has a manual E46 M3, and up at Englishtown he managed some 12.7's in his car.

And in the summer of 2001, I managed a 12.56 at 109.1 at Atco in an S54 M Roadster, bone stock, OEM tires, etc. I know the S54 Roadster is a few ticks quicker than the S54 M3, given the power to weight ratio advantage despite the lesser power, lower redline, and less favorable gearing, but still....

I don't think I've seen any SMG times anywhere near the 12's yet... let alone 12.5-12.7...

The key is the launch... both drivers compained about horrible wheel hop off the line tho.

I'm suprised to see times in the 12s... Nobody I know has gone that fast yet in the M3.

The key to good ET's is always the launch, you're right. The first 60 feet are very telling. Every 1 tenth in the 60' time = .15 - .25 in the 1/4 mile ET.

Keep in mind, both Englishtown and Atco are sea level tracks, and are routinely well-prepped, and have reps for being "fast tracks" as a result...

There was a guy I saw down in Austin who hit a 12.79 in an SMG II cosmos black E46 M3.

Brian

That's awesome, Brian. Bone-stock? OEM tires?

Awesome... I was expecting 13.6s. There is somebody down here that cant' seem to break 13.6 with her M3.

Air density plays into the equation quite a bit too, Kev. Not sure of the conditions that exist down there in FL... :dunno

Originally posted by SilverStreak
Air density plays into the equation quite a bit too, Kev. Not sure of the conditions that exist down there in FL... :dunno

Mid 90s, 90-95% Humidity. :embarrasm

Well... that's part of the problem... get to a sea level track on a 65 degree day when the humidity is around 25-30%... :D

Originally posted by SilverStreak
That's awesome, Brian. Bone-stock? OEM tires?

Bone Stock OEM tires (Michelins with 18" OEM wheels)
SMG II he got a 12.79

he was the slowest one there so nobody paid attention to him except me.

There was another guy in a old ass primer dodge truck that was getting 11s all morning.

Check out this Supra that runs there regulary:

http://home.attbi.com/~bngm3/vidz/other/sw_9sec_supra.mpeg

Brian

Cool, Brian! :buttrock

Do you know how he was launching it, at what rpms, etc? Did you get a chance to speak with him at all?

Yeah, last time I was Atco, there was this 68 Camaro, primer gray, running low 10's all day. And a 70's Nova with multple colored primer body panels running high 10's in the AM- gotta watch out for those guys... :D

the article...

Not to be a pain in the ass, but the best 60' time either of tem could muster was the manual with a 2.128. <--- That's atrocious. Well, maybe not "atrocious", but certainly not very good for that car.

When I got that 2001 S54 M Roadster to a 12.56 at 109.1 mph at Atco last summer, I was on OEM tires, and cutting 1.8x's all day...

And launching the manual at 1500 rpms, what the hell is with that? Talk about not knowing how to exploit the power curve and the 3rd pedal advantage.... :rolleyes:

Originally posted by SilverStreak
Not to be a pain in the ass, but the best 60' time either of tem could muster was the manual with a 2.128. <--- That's atrocious. Well, maybe not "atrocious", but certainly not very good for that car.

When I got that 2001 S54 M Roadster to a 12.56 at 109.1 mph at Atco last summer, I was on OEM tires, and cutting 1.8x's all day...

And launching the manual at 1500 rpms, what the hell is with that? Talk about not knowing how to exploit the power curve and the 3rd pedal advantage.... :rolleyes:

Yeah... and considering that they well ... um ... SUCK, I'd be willing to be the 6spd would be faster all the time every time in the 1/4 mile scenario.

The SMG unit would however tell you when the clutch is slipping as it has a sensor for input driveshaft speed and output driveshaft speed. :embarrasm

Thanks for scanning and posting the article, Kev.

Again, in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, the old manual should take the SMG at the drag strip on every occasion...

^bump

Kev and Dave, did you guys notice the reaction times??? What were they doing? Aren't those pretty high?:dunno

Yeah, those R/T's are... areas for improvement... to be sure... ;)

Big improvement. I believe .400 is a perfect light. 1.309 can't be that good.

Depends on the tree, but yes, I was being... kind... so as not to offend anyone who has cut similar R/T's, etc... trying to be diplomatic and all.. :)

Dave, we all know that here at bimmerforums, we speak freely. I personally have never been to the track, so I would probably come out with a 1.0+ reaction time.

The reason that I brought this to light was that this magazine is supposedly making a "proffessional" comparison. I would just think that these drivers would be cutting better lights.:)

I'm guessing they did, too! :laugh