Recently convinced my buddy to race me with his 330i manual.

first set of races i ran him with 89 octane and a near empty tank of gas to save weight. He's only been driving the car since september, but he knows everything about cars and picked up shifting very fast. we started off with a 25 roll. i had it running in low gear and he was in first i believe. after the take off i held with him for a second, and almost pulled when he mishifted, but he came back and pulled a car and half at around 80.

second race was the same thing except he did not mis shift. i got killed


so the next day i filled with a quarter tank of 93 octane and convinced him to redo.

the first race was another 25 roll in low gear. i immediately pulled on him and pulled away when he didnt shift well. but he immediatly came back and beat me by one car length.

then a 40 roll which is his best roll. he beat me by more than two car lengths.

then a 15 roll. i kept with him for a sec, but he came back.

i personally believe that a 25 roll is the best launch a tl can have

 

under 30 and right under 50 mphs is the sweet spot for the TL. Try from 50, i have taken out a couple 330's in my 2nd gen CL-S with I/H

 

That sounds about right as 6MT 330i is about as fast as 6MT TL.

 

weird.. i beat my buddies 330Ci manual in my 06 AT TL... by 1/2-1.5 carlengths most the time.. from digs, i kill him... I had a CAI tho.. but i doubt that really does help much.. race him from a dig... brake torque the TL

 

I only raced one new(er) gen 330 on the highway. We went from like 60 to about 100 and it was pretty much neck to neck...nobody pulled or lost...his side view mirrors were maybe next to the center of my car

 

I am suprised that you even put 89 octane in your TL that requires premium. You won't be making all of your power.

Those 330i 6spds are fast. 255HP and the car is slightly lighter than a TL. His gearing is much better than yours so you actually did quite well under the circumstances!

 

anything uner 91 =

 

brake torque?

 

isn't that how you launch on your digs? Or do you even race from digs?

Usuually when I race, I like to race from a stop(dig).. I use the brake torque method, which is to step on the brake and accelerator at the same time in "L" mode w/ Traction control off. Then when you go, you release the brake and then take off. I don't go full throttle though, only @ 2k RPM"s and lightly tap the throttle so I don't spin.

 

Hm...I've been beating those 330's left and right...

 

You shouldn't put 89 octane I think it causes excess engine wear. Well back to topic, if you start at 55mph in 2nd gear that would be your best choice, it's the best spot to start other than 25mph.

If you start at 55mph and shift right at 66~67mph you'll be golden the shift lag won't effect you and you'll cruise right into 3rd at peak performace.

 

Lower octane is more prone to detonation. Knock sensors take care of that by retarding the timing but you're losing power and mileage, and if you continuously run lower octane, you can damage the motor. Low octane gas is what accelerated my seeping headgasket problem (previous owner).

~Cheers~

 

If you were manual you'd be even, if not faster...

 

The house in the picture below your name seems familiar, it looks similar to the homes in a newly developed area outside of Montreal in Laval.

I visit Canada pretty frequently.