0-60 times and technique

[William]

need a bit of advice - i want to try and bust out a 0-60 in my slightly modded 318i m40 (cab with ant's chip and zone TB). when should i be changing gear for the fastest possible acceleration, should it be red lining or do different gears pull differently so need different revs (1st to 2nd compared to 2nd to 3rd comes to mind)??

it is a cab, so i know it wont be as fast as a saloon but does anyone know what the factory 0-60 for one of these is, should be able to beat it given the mods (I hope!!)

thanks a lot again, i look forward to reporting back

[Jhonno]

its difficult to get an accurate 0-60 without proper timing gear tbh

you should be changin gear a few hundred RPM after peak power is produced

[Gunni]

With your M40 you should be redlining as possible

As when you upshift you will find you revs higher thus more within the powerband, the power drop after max power rpm still has more HP then those lower revs you would be using if you shifted sooner

this goes for all cars that don´t have low end´s only

[e30_Turbo]

William,

Get yourself the short shift kit too, that'll knock a few hundreds off.

Otherwise I'd suggest just trying a few times and getting a feel for the car. Develope your own way of getting the times down.

Other than that I was shown once too keep the revs at about 4k on start up so you can use the torque to pull you off the line and try and avoid wheel spin.

Ow and if you fit a 2.5 with ants special chip and TB you can hit 60 in second gear, save that extra shift!

Let us know how you get on tho, I think mine is around 7 - 7.5 secs but have never timed it so it's just a guess really.

[6potWil6pot]

A good start off the lines important! You could probably get away with dialing up quite a few revs, about 4k (maybe more?) like Fozzy said and sidestep the clutch

[E30Adam]

Pulling a decent 0-60 is actually a lot harder than you'd think, it's similar to the 1/4 mile, you can either make it or break it quite easilly.

For starters, the launch is very important, there's no point in pulling off with the revs down low. Hold the revs at about 2,500 - 3,500 and try launching, if the wheels spin then lower the revs a little and try again. Once you find the perfect rpm to launch from you'll be amazed at how much faster the car moves off the line. Too many revs and the wheels will spin losing you traction and time, too little revs and the car will bog down and be slow off the mark.

Next are your gear changes, the 318iS is quite a revvy engine so I'd definately try holding your gears for as long as possible (within reason) because you don't have the low down torque to pull you back up the revs if you change too early. I wouldn't go above 6,000 revs though unless you can still really feel the car pulling after this. I think Ant's chip tops out at 6,400 anyway.

Actually changing the gear has a lot to do with your time as well, you need to be smooth and fast with your changes, don't be snappy on the clutch. Some people hold the throttle open while they're changing gear to avoid losing speed and velocity. I don't think you have to worry about wheelspin when you change gear but if you do experience it, be smoother on your changes.

Hope that helps!!

[Davenotouring]

I'd suggest starting off at higher revs, but if the wheels begin to slip, slip the clutch slightly.

You'll get the best launch by being on the limit of adhesion, basically don't spin the wheels, but have them on the verge of spinning.

Change gear as quick as possible obviously. The revs at which you change gear depends on the gear ratios, speed, torque, etc etc. Look up tractive effort and you'll find out about it.

Unless you car pulls cleanly to the redline, it's not worth doing it. Your power curve drops off quickly above a certain rpm, a bit after 6000 most likely, so it's probably best to change gear a bit earlier, as the power curve is increasing for when you drop to the next gear.

I'd try starting at 4000ish, especially in a 1.8 where you don't have lots of torque and dropping the clutch at 2-2.5k will result in bogging down.

Get up to a RWYB day at Santa Pod to perfect you start and gear changes etc.

[Richy325iTouring]

How about the zone orgonising a shoot out day
Being a member of sw-cc means i can borrow their timming gear as and when its available

[Davenotouring]

I'm 100% there!

[Jhonno]

you also need to slip the clutch to get the best times...

and i think 10% slip on from the wheels is about optimum between loss of traction and boggin down..

[greg325]

i must say most of it is quite acurate, but as i don't know a 318 i cant tell you about your car....

but you have to find the exact rev when when you slip the clutch fast enugh you only ever so slightly slip the rear wheels , and the revs have to be high enough so that when the tires grip, the engine won't stall...or under rev :;)

the next theing about shifting is you need to find the point where when you put the next gear in you get a to big hole (if that the word ) and you must no over rev the engine .... i mean don't need to go higher up than the actual maxpower point if when you shift up you get in your torq.

i hope you'll understand what i meant but once youre acr i all finished up ( on the mecanical side ) dyno it and see where the exact torq comes in and out ....

even if some don't beleive in the exact timming of acceleratometer ( No names loool ) kind of stuff it still is a good way to see if your shifting points are good or not...

[Markymarc]

I HAVE TAKEN MY 318I DOWN THE POD BEFORE AND RECOMMEND LAUNCHING AT JUST OVER 4K, DID GET A BIT OF WHEEL SPIN, BUT IT WAS A COLD DAY AND MY TYRES WERE AT THE END OF THIER LIFE
MANAGED TO DIG OUT ONE OF MY SLIPS BUT ITS FOR A CRAP RUN
1/4 MILE WAS 17.9 AT 80MPH
1/8 MILE WAS 11.6 AT 62MPH SO THERES A ROUGH GUIDE BUT THAT WAS ONE OF THE 1ST RUNS WITH A POOR START/ BURN OUT BASICALLY

[William]

firstly thanks a lot to everyone who replied, when i get my baby back from the bodyshop i'll give some of the advice a go.

Adam; misread it buddy, its an m40, so unfortunately even less revvy, 8 valves and about 25hp less.

Fozzy; already done the shortshift conv mate so it should be swift changes, ideally i should do that clutch mod, that would probably make a BIG difference from 0 to 60.

will try out some different lauch and shift revs and see what works best, and report back when all is revealed!!