HuKaShI

So, I was going home on sunday night and came up to a red light. I pulled over to the left as to make a left turn. Now this left turn has two lanes designated for left turns. The first lane had a BMW 545i waiting for the green. I was in the second lane doing the same.

The light turns and we get the green arrow for our left turn. We both go and instead of him staying in his lane until his turn is complete, he decides to cut me off. I yell out the usual "WTF!" and then I mash on my gas to pass on his right.

Strange thing is, I was thinking that there would be no way I was gonna pass him if he decided to mash the gas as well. He then decided to mash on the gas. I was expecting to be obliterated. Surprisingly, my bone stock '04 TL stayed on his tail for a good 1/4 mile until he decided to let off. (p*ssy)

Now, I don't usually race people but he did perform a dick move on me. And you know how much of a prick a BMW driver can be.

Funny thing that deserves a mention is that my new tranny seems to help the motor shine. It performs so much better than my old trannies. Yes trannies, I went through 2 so far. But this one is different. the shifts are crisper and when I hit 4th and fifth gears, the car seems to just keep wanting to pull. I thought the 545i had like 320 hp? what happened? Maybe its a bit too obese?

I think the '05's and 06's must have better transmissions. '04 drivers go test drive a new '07.

Final

Yea theyre not that quick. The 550 is a different story though. The porsche differentials that are used in the bimmers give them a nice advantage however ;-)

juruki

iTrader: (2)

wtf u have a 04 TL and you had 2 trannies replaced??? i thought the problem was fixed on the 3rd gen???

ayethetiense

how did you already go thru 2 trannies?

HuKaShI

The details can be found in this thread.

https://acurazine.com/forums/religion-politics-18/chalabi-iran-142644/

You can also ask neuronbob about my sorrows.

I've decided that I want a RWD car now that I'm living in California. I have decided to go with a 2007 G35S with all the fixin's. It's pretty badass in my opinion and it offers way more than the current TL.

I should be ready to buy in the next 5 months. Hopefully this new tranny will hold up until then. I'm so disappointed with Honda though. I had so much faith in them. I used rave about them to everyone. But when my Accord's tranny went and this TL with 2 tranny replacements, I called it quits.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

I'm sure the guy was a total prick/dimwit. I'm banking that his driving skills sucked more than his car though.

I'm a big BMW fan. The car I used to own before this TL was the 540i. Had it chipped with an intake and that big V8 was pushing 300hp with mountains of torque. As fast as my new TL is, it could never touch my old car. Just tap the gas on the 540i and the car tugs unbelievably. And then there's that legendary handling. TL vs. 5-series is apples and oranges though so I won't go there, it's jsut not fair; 2 different categories, 2 different customers

I have driven both the 2005 545i and the 2006 550i. I also have driven 6 and 7 series with that same V8. (everyone thinks those are faster.....no way theres a big difference and the 5-series is much more of a performer) I have always said the 545i will break the doors off any other BMW with the same engine and nobody believes me till they compare and drive. The car doesn't seem like a big deal on the outside. When you drive it, it's craazy fast. I can't believe how much faster an M5 could be. You can go too fast so confidently in the 545i. And then I thought it couldn't get better and they made the 550i. The only 2 reasons I'm still not a BMW customer (for now) is I hate their current styling inside/out and they aren't close to reliable (ask me how I know).

That dodo didn't know how to drive because trust me; gimmie a 545i and I will break doors off of TLs (hard to say coming from a TL owner). OK nobody shoot me, enough BMW talk from here. I'll save it for the BMW board.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

I agree with you. A buddy of mine has a 545i w/ a manual tranny and he let me take it out once and said- drive it anyway you want it. Needless to say, the 545i will blow the doors off of a bone stock TL. I had it up to 80 in second gear and it was still wanting to go more. I was taking corners doing 70mph that I would normally do in my TL at 35-40.
That dude really didn't push his 545i.

Tone-NBP

Just curious, I have an 06 auto. Say if i'm using the sport shift and wanted to race, what is the correct rpm should i start shifting?

joed40

Yep, I'm in to reality. Realistically the BMW must have thrown you a bone. There is no way that there is any performance comparison. I wish there was.

S1CK TypeS

i agree i got my ass handed to me on the highway. there was no competition

neuronbob

Yup, I can verify his threads on tranny difficulty. Luckily, it's a lot less common in the 3G TLs. Luckily, mine was still going strong at over 56k miles when I traded it in.

Xpditor

Not an easy answer. And, I'm not so sure that the sport shirt is any faster than automatic. It just gives you more control.

My best performance seems to come from starting in "L" on the auto side as it holds first gear until redline; SS does not.

Then I shift into SS (up and over to the left) to hold 2nd. When 2nd redlines, you are about 63 MPH and I don't often go more than that. If I was, and had the room to safely do it, I would nudge it up to 3rd before the rev limiter cut in (red line). But by the top of second, you will have already dispatched about 90% of the cars on the street. 3rd will take you just under 100 MPH and red line in 4th is roughly 150MPH. Then you can shift into 5th. You will improve mileage but you won't get too much more speed. Maybe 2-5 MPH depending on your tires, the weight of your car, the temperature, and your cajones.

stiletto

@ REDLINE.... where else?

CL Platano

Word I would mess with any 5 series until I got to a 540i because it would be a waste of my gas trying to run it. He must of been reading the paper or something.

F23A4

I have driven the 545i and 3G TL AT. It is not even close. The 545i will walk my 02 Maxima AT out the gate and that is something the stock 3G TL AT cannot do. (That 545i driver must have had the lid off of his cup of Caramel Machiatto.)

Just to illustrate how the 545i acceleration feels, combine the VQ35DE lowend in my 02 Maxima with the high end pull of the J32A3 and then add a bit more power; it just pulls linear and continuous.

Do not get me wrong, the 545i is nothing like the 550i or M5 but, it is clearly at a higher performance level than a stock TL 5AT. A well driven TL 6MT could make things interesting though...and it remains to be seen how the TL-S would do.

Sidenote: I got the 545i up to 110mph on Roosevelt Ave (Queens) during a mid-day BMW event. The wife freaked when I did this but, returned the favor by calmly hitting 90mph herself on that same stretch of street.

Papa_Sean

LMAO! He must have been saying to himself now he's gonna go brag about how he beat a bimmer o well LOL

HuKaShI

OK OK OK ....

Maybe it was that he was a bad driver...But then I can say, Bimmer drivers can't drive for ish..

S1CK TypeS

hey hey im a bimmer driver too

F23A4

FIXED!!

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

LOL!! Now you know where I drove my BMWs!! YEah, no friend of mine would ever let me drive that way with their car. Heck I wouldn't drive my own 540i like that! And there's no dealer in the car either.....Yearly event and I am there EVERY year! I took EVERY car there (including an X3!) over 100mph and I took the 545i past 130mph! Could have went faster, just too much traffic and not enough road! I tried everything to be respectful to the other drivers out there, that kind of speed is dangerous, you gotta know what you're doing! The ONLY thing I was looking out for is cops. I'd be behind bars if they knew what I was doing. Too much fun! I just can't see myself having that much fun in a TL.

jpohl

I have to agree ith most on here about the BMW V8 5's being much quicker tha the TL. The TL is quick, and fun to drive, and I love mine! Prior to my 06 T, I did have an 02 540i, and there is no way that my TL would ever be able to keep up... That being said about a 02, I am sure the 545 and 550 are even faster. I would be willing to bet he did not un that 545i, just mearly pushed a little more on the gas (just not to the floor)!

Bammyz

I have had that experience several times since I got my TL. Anyone driving a BMW will always try to cut you off! I just roll my eyes and let them make complete asses of themselves!

Xpditor

Maybe you remind them of how much they paid for a car that doesn't look as nice nor have as many standard features and, unless you spend mega-bucks, is not as quick.

sharp218

Ummmm...I beg to differ.

realfresh

http://www.caranddriver.com/roadtest...45i-page2.html

true, it is a 6spd, but i don't think the autos are too much slower

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

The last generation 5 series is like the best luxury sedan, in my opinion, it's even better than the new one. The old one has classy styling, its handling is just awesome and way better than E class or A6. I mean, with the 5 series, why would you need a 7 series or S class? But you were able to keep up with that 545i, I am a bit surprised! Not that the TL is slow, but 545i should be pretty quick right?

F23A4

with you when it comes to the E and A6 comparison. But, in comparison with the 7 Series and S Class, they have measurably larger interior volume and arguably more comfort than their 5 series and E class siblings, respectively. (Particularly in the case of the 5 series which is fairly tight in comparison to the 7 series.)

01clsstock

but living in new england its not the best option for a daily driver (dont get me started on the insurance for that car)

BustedJack

to be quite honest... I don't race too many cars on the road. But whenever I see a BMW, I tend to wait for them, and sometimes I pick on them... including M3s.... I just can't stand BMW drivers.. "many" of them think they have the ultimate driving machine (punt intended)

XRX2

approx calculate this: torq/over weight (which is instant acceleration)

TL: 238/3400 =.07
545: 330/4000 = .0825 (thats 17% more)


we clear now?

BustedJack

^

XRX2

BMW like M3 and M6, they are indeed ulimate race machines
altho due to its price, most on a road having them, are 40..50+, and cant push a peddale hard enough )
US highway not close to german autobahn where they dont drive, they fly.

be proud of ur TL

realfresh

http://www.caranddriver.com/roadtest...45i-page2.html
Zero to 60 mph: 5.5 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 13.2 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 23.5 sec
Street start, 5-60 mph: 6.0 sec
Standing 1/4-mile: 14.1 sec @ 103 mph

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...lac_specs.html
Zero to 60 mph: 5.4 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 13.6 sec
Standing 1/4-mile: 13.7 sec @ 102.1 mph
__________________________________________________ ________
Mod Edit:
From Car & Driver for the 2004 TL for comparison:

Zero to 60 mph: 5.6 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 14.5 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 28.4 sec
Street start, 5-60 mph: 6.2 sec
Standing 1/4-mile: 14.3 sec @ 99 mph
Top speed (drag limited): 152 mph

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

Yea, the 7 series and S class are much larger. But then I'm a shortie (5'8"....sadly...) so the extra size only makes parking harder for me (trust me my parking skills suck...). and to me, I prefer sportiness more yet I like the luxury side, and in my mind, the old 5 series is strikes the right balance. Of course, if you prefer the top of the line BMW or MB, or you need that extra size, then no doubt, you should go with the 7 series or S class.

well..in the end.....I can't afford any of them....

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

Thanks realfresh, the 5 series is sure a fast car!