My best friend has a 2001 Trans Am WS-6, and we've been itching to race ever since I got the 540i. He has SLP Loudmouth exhaust on his Trans Am and that's it for mods-he's extremely meticulous when it comes to his car, it's only a baby with 45k miles.:D We raced about 5 times, the results were consistent. He had one passenger, and they both weigh about 140 lbs each, I was alone.

We raced from a 40 mph roll in 2nd gear.
Through 2nd gear we are dead even
Into 3rd gear he starts to walk me, about 2 cars through 3rd gear
Into 4th gear, he walks about 1/2 car to 1 car, then we stay pretty even until 110 mph where we shut it down.

I have to say, I'm extremely pleased with the 540i. I have no misillusions about the LS1, as his car is a complete BEAST, and never expected to win. He is a great driver, and we did the 40 mph roll to help me out since my car is such a fatty.:( This was mainly a comparison run, as I'm about to start modding the 540i.:help

I then stumbled across an e36 328is. I used to own a lightly modded 328is so I am familiar with them, but I knew this wasn't going to be a fair race.:devillook Well, he gunned it, I was at 30 mph in 2nd gear, and as soon as he took off I hit the gas, and I pulled him so hard he didn't even bother going into 3rd gear, which was good for him because then it would have really gotten ugly.:evil2

I want one of those so bad, I've always wondered how smooth a working BMW transmission is, say, compared to an RX-8/Miata Tranny.

Nice one man. Too bad about the Trans Am. A few mods however and you'll be able to show him your rear from a roll. Of course... If you drop the cash to go for a supercharger you'll be able to show him that beautiful 540i tail all day at all speeds. :)

Nice runs.

Anyway, I bet tomorrow someone will post about how he beat a Trans Am with his 328is modded with just an intake. :rolleyes

Nice one man. Too bad about the Trans Am. A few mods however and you'll be able to show him your rear from a roll. Of course... If you drop the cash to go for a supercharger you'll be able to show him that beautiful 540i tail all day at all speeds. :)

I donno, those things are complete monsters. His 3rd gear is just insane. Not to mention it sounds glorious at redline in 3rd gear with SLP Loudmouth Exhaust-I couldn't even hear my car!

Now, if I supercharge it, I can have a lot of fun...

Now, if I supercharge it, I can have a lot of fun...


If you just want to do bolt-ons etc. sell the car and get an M5 ;)

If you supercharge, well, that's a different story :D

Nice run!

If you just want to do bolt-ons etc. sell the car and get an M5 ;)

If you supercharge, well, that's a different story :D

Nice run!

I wish I could, but having an m5 at 20 would give me nothing to look forward to.:devillook

I haven't yet decided if I'm going to mod the 540i yet, it will get difficult not to when I am working this summer and have extra $$ to spend.

I had a similar experience with an LS1 last year (Camaro SS) Well actually I could hang with him through 3rd (started at 75), but once I hit 4th, he put about 2 cars on me. He had about 3-4 cars through the end of 5th. He had at least an exhaust though. Those things are monsters in tripple digits, and I thought my car was pretty quick. :(

To me it doesn't add up. If you are unmodded, you are running about 35 less HP and you weigh almost 500lbs more...

To me it doesn't add up. If you are unmodded, you are running about 35 less HP and you weigh almost 500lbs more...

Gearing, my friend.

Gearing, my friend.

While gearing helps, its not magic:

2001 BMW 540i 6-Speed
0 - 60: 5.5
1/4 Mile: 14.0

2000 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am (WS6)

0-60: 4.9
1/4 Mile: 13.2

nice runs!


few mods however and you'll be able to show him your rear from a roll.


not really. it will take more than a "few mods" for him to take the TA.

So to 60 it's about .6 faster and 1/4 .8 seconds faster. Since the race was from a roll and the guy clearly beat him by a few cars, what's not to understand? :confused

While gearing helps, its not magic:

2001 BMW 540i 6-Speed
0 - 60: 5.5
1/4 Mile: 14.0

2000 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am (WS6)

0-60: 4.9
1/4 Mile: 13.2

While gearing helps, its not magic:

2001 BMW 540i 6-Speed
0 - 60: 5.5
1/4 Mile: 14.0

2000 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am (WS6)

0-60: 4.9
1/4 Mile: 13.2

How you ever driven both cars? From this post and the other, I'm going to say no.

Drive an LS1 car from 1st-3rd, then drive it from 3rd-5th and you'll see what I mean ...

I never said gearing is magic, but it sure as hell will help tremendously when you're racing a car that has legs like an LS1 from a slow roll like they did.

Plus, given the fact he got beat by 3-4 cars as he said (2 cars in 3rd, 2 cars in 4th etc.) ... it's not like he was a running a 800HP Lingenfelter Z06 where you'd expect a mile defeat.

While gearing helps, its not magic:

2001 BMW 540i 6-Speed
0 - 60: 5.5
1/4 Mile: 14.0

2000 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am (WS6)

0-60: 4.9
1/4 Mile: 13.2

He walked me, that's for sure, but it wasn't a mutilation. Having been with him in his car more times than I can count, I know exactly how he drives, and that he wasn't taking it easy on me this time.

When I used to have a 328is, he would put 3 cars on me in 2nd gear, 5-7 cars in 3rd gear, and so on.

This was a comparison race to see how much faster the 540i/6 is than my previous car. The results the same each race, his car is strong, and definitely faster than mine.