0-60 Times, Launch Control, etc.

[saveferris]

Not sure if this is a repeat. I searched but didn't find anything and thought you'd find it at least mildly interesting.

I have a KAT Matrix Accelerometer that I bought a while back and used it when I modded my car (not the 135i) to see if I messed it up or made it better. It's not VBOX accurate but it does a decent job of 0-60 timing, quarter mile times, etc. It's likely more accurate than the apps on a phone since it's built for a single purpose but I've not directly compared them.

I've done the same thing with the 135i after it went in for maintenance, when I got different tires, etc. Mostly now I use it to see if i need to check for carbon build up - is performance going down any at all. So far so good, fingers crossed on that.

Here is what I found from doing some 0-60 times this weekend. I'm lucky that there are some new roads to basically nowhere here that have a lot of room and no one around. They are planned roads for development that hasn't happened yet, perfect for some 0-60 runs. I'm not on the track but I'm not out at the stop light either. I run up and down several times to make sure it's safe...

It was on the colder side here, around 40 degrees and there was a lot of melted snow so it wasn't completely dry.

I have the DCT and the only thing not stock on my car are the tires. I changed over to Michelin PSS A/S 3 about a year ago.

In normal Drive mode, just put it drive and stomp on the accelerator, it was very consistently 5.1 - 5.2. That's a tick slower than the last time I did this but the conditions were different and I had the stock run flat tires before.

In launch mode it was remarkably consistent and slightly better times between between 4.95 and 5.01. If you haven't played around with launch mode it provides a little wheel spin to start then the traction control kicks in and modulates the wheel spin. It's just dead easy since you mash the pedal and go.

I get much better times though without launch control. The best times I get are with traction control off (push the DTC button versus holding it in for the 5 seconds) and the transmission in Sport and pushing the Sport button. Although I get the best times here they are also the least consistent due to having to modulate the throttle to minimize wheel spin, you can spin the wheels into second gear if you aren't careful and don't have great traction.

This weekend I was in the high 4.7 to low 4.8 range. I was under 4.7 before but I'm convinced it was traction/conditions related and not that the car is loosing any power. The stock run flats are better than the A/S 3's traction wise but I won't go back cause they ride so poorly...not worth the trade off for me.

The worst combo is to leave traction control on have the transmission in Sport and push the Sport button. The traction control kicks in and kills any momentum...that makes sense.

I've doing this every 6 months or so and whenever I get a software update or otherwise change something, see how the car is holding up. So far so good!

[Silenus]

Thanks for the good post and data!

[TheCaptain]

What kind of tires are you using again? Are they PSS or all seasons? I don't get much wheel spin in a straight line on summer tires.

[135ilust]

Originally Posted by saveferris

Not sure if this is a repeat. I searched but didn't find anything and thought you'd find it at least mildly interesting.

I have a KAT Matrix Accelerometer that I bought a while back and used it when I modded my car (not the 135i) to see if I messed it up or made it better. It's not VBOX accurate but it does a decent job of 0-60 timing, quarter mile times, etc. It's likely more accurate than the apps on a phone since it's built for a single purpose but I've not directly compared them.

I've done the same thing with the 135i after it went in for maintenance, when I got different tires, etc. Mostly now I use it to see if i need to check for carbon build up - is performance going down any at all. So far so good, fingers crossed on that.

Here is what I found from doing some 0-60 times this weekend. I'm lucky that there are some new roads to basically nowhere here that have a lot of room and no one around. They are planned roads for development that hasn't happened yet, perfect for some 0-60 runs. I'm not on the track but I'm not out at the stop light either. I run up and down several times to make sure it's safe...

It was on the colder side here, around 40 degrees and there was a lot of melted snow so it wasn't completely dry.

I have the DCT and the only thing not stock on my car are the tires. I changed over to Michelin PSS A/S 3 about a year ago.

In normal Drive mode, just put it drive and stomp on the accelerator, it was very consistently 5.1 - 5.2. That's a tick slower than the last time I did this but the conditions were different and I had the stock run flat tires before.

In launch mode it was remarkably consistent and slightly better times between between 4.95 and 5.01. If you haven't played around with launch mode it provides a little wheel spin to start then the traction control kicks in and modulates the wheel spin. It's just dead easy since you mash the pedal and go.

I get much better times though without launch control. The best times I get are with traction control off (push the DTC button versus holding it in for the 5 seconds) and the transmission in Sport and pushing the Sport button. Although I get the best times here they are also the least consistent due to having to modulate the throttle to minimize wheel spin, you can spin the wheels into second gear if you aren't careful and don't have great traction.

This weekend I was in the high 4.7 to low 4.8 range. I was under 4.7 before but I'm convinced it was traction/conditions related and not that the car is loosing any power. The stock run flats are better than the A/S 3's traction wise but I won't go back cause they ride so poorly...not worth the trade off for me.

The worst combo is to leave traction control on have the transmission in Sport and push the Sport button. The traction control kicks in and kills any momentum...that makes sense.

I've doing this every 6 months or so and whenever I get a software update or otherwise change something, see how the car is holding up. So far so good!

My Car was stock(except for muffler delete), and using Launch Control I got a time of 4.84, and that was with one hand and there was a slight turn around 40 mph.

[saveferris]

Originally Posted by TheCaptain

What kind of tires are you using again? Are they PSS or all seasons? I don't get much wheel spin in a straight line on summer tires.

I have the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 tires.

I prefer them over the stock run flats for ride quality. I'm giving up some performance versus summer tires but for me it's worth the trade off. I'm spending about half the year in a colder climate (not the right half of the year unfortunately) and the summer tires wouldn't be great in the cold.

[TheCaptain]

Originally Posted by saveferris

I have the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 tires.

I prefer them over the stock run flats for ride quality. I'm giving up some performance versus summer tires but for me it's worth the trade off. I'm spending about half the year in a colder climate (not the right half of the year unfortunately) and the summer tires wouldn't be great in the cold.

Same thing for me, I'm in NY so I spend about 8 months on summer tires and 4 months on winter tires. You should consider picking up a set of winter wheels so you can get max performance year round. I picked up a set of 4 snows mounted on original 135 rims for $600, and this is the time of year people might be getting rid of their winter wheels.

[nkmu]

Excellent post, thanks! Do you have a coupe or convertible? I wonder how much slower my vert is if your times are for a coupe. Otherwise, I have the same setup: all stock, DCT, and A/S3's.

[TheCaptain]

Originally Posted by nkmu

Excellent post, thanks! Do you have a coupe or convertible? I wonder how much slower my vert is if your times are for a coupe. Otherwise, I have the same setup: all stock, DCT, and A/S3's.

I've always wondered if there was much different. The my title says the 'vert weighs 3638lbs, which matches BMW's published number. BMW claims the coupe is 3373lbs, so the drop top adds 265lbs. This would definitely make a difference in 0-60 times, but in the turns the extra weight would be offset, at least somewhat, by the lower center of gravity.