So I just got finished grocery shopping and headed home. Routine drive.

The road is 2 lanes, and there is a line of cars on the left lane at the red light (because @ the light ahead, the right lane becomes 'right turn only').

So, I decide to time the light perfectly (as I usually do. This is 2 miles from my house so I'm very familiar) and I go ahead of all the cars and merge left to meet the next light (which was red). Ahead of this light was a 1-lane road.

Apparently, the guy that was 1st in line at the previous light thought this was an invitation to a race, or he just didn't like the fact that I cleverly snuck ahead of all of them.

It was a BMW 540i - at least 1 generation old.

He got in the right lane (again, right turn only). By the time I looked over and realized that he wasn't turning right, realized that he was going to try to race ahead of me, and tried to turn off my A/C and VDC for maximum acceleration, the light turned green and he sped ahead. I ended up not even bother trying.

Would he have smoked me anyways? I assume he would've toasted me off the line (being an 8-cylinder and automatic), which is all the race would have been due to it being 1-lane ahead.

 

The other guy was a dick! It's funny how I hate it when I see other people do that sort of thing, but I won't race them either. You were smart to hold back.

I do think you might have stayed with him- the previous 540 is heavy, not slow mind you, just heavy. I have no real data on this just my experience in a friend's 2000 540i.

 

In my 03 coupe 5at I ran with one along 80 through Iowa (desmoines and davenport). We were dead even. I really like the 540i's. Well, atleast under warranty...

 

I still have my 95 540i 6 spd which I am trying to sell (same HP as the next later model)and I have an 05 G 6psd sedan. The 95 540 responds quicker initially when the gas is hit than my G35, while the G35 kind of builds up speed My guess in a race between the 2 is the 540 would take a very early lead and the G35 would catch it and pass it towards the end of the qtr. mile. The 540 red lines much sooner so it probably would require sooner upshifts than the G which might negate the quicker 540 response in the early part of the race. Winner 0-60 is the G but the 540 is more responsive when the gas it hit which makes it feel faster even though the 0-60 times are not as good. A 540 is much more fun to drive than a G but it also costs 30K more and is much less reliable.

 

I would have inched forward slowly while waiting...letting the beamer know it is not going to be easy for him!

 

In my estimation the 540i would have lost, but from a roll it would have been close. With the closing lane it probably would have ended up being a case of 'chicken' to see who let off first.

Good choice to let him go.

Numbers I dug up..

2001 540i AUTO

0-30 mph 2.10 s
0-40 mph 3.70 s
0-50 mph 4.90 s
0-60 mph 6.30 s
0-70 mph 8.70 s
0-80 mph 10.80 s
0-90 mph 13.40 s
0-100 mph 17.70 s


100 ft 3.10 s
500 ft 8.20 s
1320 ft (1/4 mile) 15.00 s @ 92.6 mph

 

Props to you for being able to exercise self control and not allowing yourself to be put in a bad situation. Actually, it took more than a bit of self control . . . It took common sense, as well.

 

I got smoked by 540i about 5 years ago when I used to drive 99 Prelude. But if you have 6mt and a good shifter, I think you would more likely to dominate blaze. The car you were gonna race was older car and probably lost some of the power than a brand new one. But the kind of situation you were in was more like a chicken race. If you don't slow down, he might crash into you. Good choice you didn't wreck your car against the 540i.

 

You should take him with your 6 speed and if he was auto. But if he was stick it would be very close.

 

I certainly hope that "Steel" doesn't own a 540i as well.

 

You didn't need a 6 speed to outpace the 540. Go look at the numbers again. A 5AT posts better numbers than those - it gets to 100 over 2 seconds faster..

 

I did race a black 540i (year not known 2002-2003?) in SD. He was in front of me at a light and I was admiring his wide *** tires. I told myself if this guy takes off I'm gonna see if I can hang, sure enough he bolted...as if he knew I was watching him. Anywayz, he couldn't pull... The next light we were at it again, 1st and 2nd he seemed to hang with me, but 3rd geer and it seemed like I was pulling hard for about 1/8th mile- we had to stop because of another light. At the light he was jumping up and down in his seat as if to say his car was slow and he was trying to speed it up.. or he could've been just hyped up for another run.. who knows...but I had to turn.

 

I beat a 540 about 3 weeks ago. I started to pull on him by the end of 1st, and by the end of 2nd I had a full car length on him. Don't know much about the car other than he was definitely racing...

 

I just switched from a 97 540 auto to a new 05 G35 sedan auto.
I concur with what has been said above. The 540 is the best car I ever had...its just to bad it cost so much to buy and to fix. In order to afford the 540 I had to get one with 64k on the clock ($30K). At 134K miles it still ran strong and smooth, but decided it was time to get out before I really started fixing it. It is a more solid and quiet car. There is no substitute for the grunt of the V8, but i think just about any G35 would catch it before the 1/4 mile. I might have kept the 540 longer if it wasnt for the classic 55 mph shimmy in that world class front end that just keeps returning again and again.

No regrets on the new G, now with 3,600 miles. No longer budgeting my tax refund for BMW up keep.

PS

I expect the 2004 and newer 545s and 645s would be tougher to beat. They are about 325 HP I think.... $60-$70k well optioned.

 

Turning the VDC off helps your acceleration?

Sorry for being a newbie...didnt read up much when i got mine 2 months ago and the dealer just told me to it would be better to have off when driving in the snow