John_TLS

It seemed like the BMW's were out in force yesterday. First was a girl in a 6-speed 540i (I could see and hear her shifting). At a light she took off first and I was about a 1/2 car length behind. About 40 I passed her and got a solid 2+ car lengths on her and kept pulling slightly till 75 when I let off. Maybe she didn't know how to drive/shift but it appeared she was shifting quickly. I was suprised at the outcome. She turned off and we didn't get to go again. Temp was about 80 degrees.

Next was leaving my work. There was a new M3 convertible behind me and I took off to see if he would take the bait. He was way back there and then all of a sudden he is right behind me. We both take a right turn on a green arrow and floor it. I am in the far right lane and he is in the far left lane. I turned first so I had the jump. I expected him to reel me in but to my suprise he didn't gain and I didn't pull. This went from 25 to about 95. We hit it again on a roll and the results were the same. This guy could shift well. During his shifts he didn't lose any ground. I think he was suprised at the results as well. Temp was about 73 degrees.

I know people will post that they couldn't shift or their cars must have not been running well, but it might just be that my car is running really well. The 540i I am a little skeptical about, but the M3 was trying without a doubt.

Anyone else have encounters with a E46 M3 or 2000 (approx) 540i 6spd?

RevinV12s

U sure that was a M3..? not a 325ci with begadged with a phony M3 badge on?

yield2s

your pushin 300hps w/ those mods, nice job. whats the story w/ the brand of headers u have?
Oh ya and the color of your car is Noble Green Pearlhttp://www.acurainspired.com/gallery...=367&pid=15727

Booker

My neighbor has an M3 convertible, and I had NO chance with him when he drove it hard. Besides the easy pull on a straight, that thing passed me on a curve like it was riding a rail. I had no mods at the time, but I doubt I could do much better with the sways, springs & CAI that I've since put in. 100 hp/liter and lighter than our cars? Tough to compete with.

@cUr@-TL

im sure the 540 was trying. but the m3 must have been a fake one


@cUr@-TL

NYDesi80

I dont have any engine mods, but I've raced an M3 and have stood no chance. So with headers and an icebox I can't see it being much different unless it really wasn't an M3.

indoMFP

I am going to have to concure with the consensus of folks on the site.... I raced an a guy from work that had an M3 and he killed more than once.... I am guessing the M3 was a fake... damn posers... The 540, I don't know about... I would venture to say that are cars would be slightly edged out by these vehicles....

On the same note, anyone race a 330i or the such??? I have raced the other 3series (you know 328, 325, etc... ) with no problems, but I have never raced a 330, i am assuming this should also be no problem since they are slightly modified from their predecessors....

BlackShadow

Not to be a spoiler but if it was a real M3 and a real good driver behind the 6 speed 540, there is no chance you will be even or pulling on either one of those cars.

But a kill is a kill, at least for the 540. And I am pretty sure (99.99%) that it was a fake M3. :P

edgalang

Forget that...I want more pictures of THIS.

Lawaia

If you could see her shifting "quickly" she wasn't even trying to race you. At WOT up to 40 mph she would have only shifted once (1st to 2nd). Nice kill nevertheless. :sqnteek:

guapoTL

Sorry dawg. the ACK is no match for the M3. (Am I the first one to say that)

jayhawk815

Sorry to say this, but if either of your opponents knew how to drive their cars, it shouldn't have been much of a race. The 504i may have been close (especially if it was a manual), if it had been a respectable driver, but you still shouldn't have won. Threre is no way in hell that you would have beaten a late model M3, no mater what the model, it won't happen with your mods. Those cars pull anywhere from low 5's to high 4's (as far as 0-60).

Just had to say my peice,

John_TLS

Thanks for all of the replies. My car is a 2002 Dark Emerald Pearl TLS, not Noble Green. The M3 had the front fender cutouts, the correct wheels, the decklid spoiler, and the proper badging. Yes I can see someone putting on a badge and wheels, but cutting out air slots in the front fenders? This was an M3. We were not starting off even so the perspective was off. He could have been gaining, but it wasn't noticable. The 540i girl was probably shifting early which made her car slower.

What I've seen more lately is that cars on a roll (say above 30-40) don't really vary greatly in speed. So once on a roll, it's not completely out of the question to have similar acceleration curves to other seemingly faster cars. Off the line it's a done deal because of torque and traction considerations. Case in point was a 98 Mustang Cobra. The guy was behind me on the highway. I floored it and so did he from about 55. All the way up to 105 he couldn't gain/pass/go around. After 105 of course I was done. Most people would think that he would kill me in a race. It's hard to evaluate what a 5.5 second 0-60 time equates to in a 50-100 scenario. On a roll I think it's a whole new ball game. The initial torque and traction are taken out of the equation which is a huge factor in 0-60 times.

Just my $.02

LiQiCE

NGP is "new" for 2003. In 2002, the Type S was Dark Emerald Pearl.

I know because in 2002, I wanted to buy DEP but I didn't buy my car until 2003 ... and the NGP in 2003 imho was pretty ugly compared to DEP.

And as for racing, given varying driving conditions its always possible to beat another car even if your car is slower... Some people just don't want to race their cars, and so they'll take it to a certain speed and then cut if off.. Sometimes its just luck of the draw. That said, I wouldn't have been surprised if the M3 was a rebadged 325 or something like that.

BTW- For whoever was asking about the 330, the 330 automatic stands no chance against our cars, but the 330 manual (330Ci in particular) is a lot faster than the 225hp rating would lead you to believe. Watch out for 330Ci manuals ... unmodded the TL-S would be about even or slightly behind the 330Ci. Modded, the TL-S should be able to take a 330Ci manual.

yield2s

[QUOTE=LiQiCE]NGP is "new" for 2003. In 2002, the Type S was Dark Emerald Pearl.

I know because in 2002, I wanted to buy DEP but I didn't buy my car until 2003 ... and the NGP in 2003 imho was pretty ugly compared to DEP.

then what color is my car?

My Car

Mr Hyde

I just traded in my 2002 Tl-S with Denso's, Comptech Icebox with a K&N filter swapped in, and Comptech Headers on a 2003 540i A/T

The 540 is quicker than the TL-S at all speeds. The 5 has similar to more HP, and anywhere from 80-90+ lb/ft torque. An e46 M3 is even quicker than the 5, hell right now its even quikcer than an M5.

I remember being in my TL-S on the highway, and having an M take a walk on me as if I was standing still; Its not even close competition. He probably wasnt giving it 100% throttle, and neither was the 5.

LiQiCE

I can't find the 2002 Acura TL brochure anymore ... but for the USDM release of the Acura TL according to a few websites here is the color choice (this is from MSN Auto):

2002 TL Type S:
Exterior Interior
Ebony Leather Interior Parchment Leather Interior
Aegean Blue Pearl X
Drk Emerald Pearl X
Nighthawk Black Pearl X X
Satin Silver Metallic X
White Diamond Pearl X

(Reference link: http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/sp...=93940#trimsel)

2003 TL Type S:

Exterior Interior
Ebony Leather Interior Parchment Leather Interior
Aegean Blue Pearl X
Anthracite Metallic X
Desert Mist Metallic X X

Nighthawk Black Pearl X X
Noble Green Pearl X
Redondo Red Pearl X X

Satin Silver Metallic X

White Diamond Pearl X

(Ref Link: http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/sp...=95450#trimsel)

Now these lists are obviously not 100% accurate since Rdondo Red Pearl, and Desert Mist Metallic was not available for the 2003 TL Type S. I believe WDP was also available in both Ebony and Parchment interiors.

In any case, I distinctly remember the 2002 TLs being available with Dark Emerald Pearl and the 2003 TLs being available with Noble Green Pearl ... The colors were not available the other years. Its possible there was a mid-year shift in 2002 that changed from Dark Emerald to Noble Green Pearl, but the point of my post is that in 2002 you can have Dark Emerald Pearl on a Type S.

I did some more poking around and I discovered that DEP was available for the 2002 TL lineup but was mid-year replaced by NGP. So you could have both DEP or NGP for a 2002 TL. My 2002 TL Brochure must have been one of the first ones that said DEP in it.

Here's an old thread about them switching mid-year from DEP to NGP:

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20638

etxxz

Powerwise: with those mods you probably have the same hp and torque as the 540, but you're 50hp short of the M3...

Timewise: 540 vs you was good, nice kill. But you vs M3 even if you got a 2 sec head start would've never been enough, either it was a 325 rebadged or the dud was just keeping up to admire your car.

540i: V8 w/ 282hp 310trq, 0-60: 5.5s
E46: 3.2 w/ 354HP 269trq, 0-60: 4.7s
TL-S:if you dont know what your toy can do...you betta find out ho!

your TL-S is probably pushing 290 making you a similar threat as the 540i...dont play with M3s though.

yield2s

Hey John tls sorry to come off so cockie as to try to tell you whatt color your car is. I guess they had 2 greens in 02 for the TL-S, mine was bought 10/01. I've seen the emerald on older tl-Ps and accords so i know I dont have that, its gotta be NGP?.?.Its not a repaint cus ive looked places that would never get painted on a repaint.
Anyways thank for the

And i think the M3 was doing what he wanted to do just follow you

yield2s

oh ya and I just loaded some more pics from HAVAScrU :spankme:



havasu pics

Mr Hyde

Are you nuts???

Look at your own stats, the 540i has 310 torque for what you quote. My 2003 has 324lb/ft.

A TL-S comes with 232 lb/ft stock. With bolt-on mods, Id say 250lb/ft is on the high end of being realistic. HP stats will be close, but its tough for a SOHC 3.2 V6 to match the torque of a DOHC 4.4 V8

LiQiCE

The 540i's that have 282hp / 324 ft-lbs should be running low to mid 14s in the 1/4 mile and a high 5's 0-60. With those times, a TL-S with I/H/E and maybe some decent tires should be able to keep up with a 540i, with the edge to the 540i.

In a race beyond the 1/4 mile (above 100mph), the 540i's V8 would most likely take over though. I think the TL-S would put up a pretty good fight, with the possibility of winning depending on the driver...

stiletto

The driver of the M3 will invariably see an Acura 3.2 tl-s driver in the same way that the 3.2 tl-s driver sees a Toyota corolla-S driver.

I know if I was in an 2002+ M3, I would not even be aware a 3.2 tl-s was "trying" to race me... LOL

This is a funny thread.

etxxz

tru, tru...the only way for a TL-S to keep up with an M3 would be S/C, i/h/e/p, a tuned vafc and a 75shot...and you'd probably still have tourble.