125i real-world 0-100, auto vs manual, stock vs PBX

[wmj73]

glad to hear the results are better but still not happy, the 125i is supposed to do 6.4sec 0-100km/h. Assuming janus had the pbx activated, still not achieving close to factory results. Wonder what temperature BMW does their runs in.....

[cozza]

How many k's have you guys done? I reckon the engine really opens up after around 5000km. This might have some impact on your times...

[chylld]

Originally Posted by cozza

How many k's have you guys done? I reckon the engine really opens up after around 5000km. This might have some impact on your times...

I've done 5000 and janus has done 7-8000 I think....

[Cruiser]

All I can say is I'm so glad I chose a manual box....some serious differences in those times...but that's another thread, I know....

[wmj73]

even the auto box is not doing as well as what bmw claims

[janus77]

37 degrees has got to effect performance quite a bit, and i must say there was one run where the Dynolicious app said i didn't reach 100km/hr, but the speedo hit 110 for sure, guess that is either A. the fact that an iphone is not a super accurate tool, B. it was not calibrated at the temps we were running in.

Anyway seems like there are a couple of factors for sure which increased our 0-100km/hr times.

[BMW86]

You definitely need to calibrate the iphone, like any other device just before you time your run to get the most accurate result. I use dynolicious myself and I find it very accurate.

[Guran]

Originally Posted by chylld

Auto:
stock, 1 person on board: 8.50 +/- 0.16
pbx, 1 person on board: 8.00 +/- 0.34
pbx, 2 people on board: 8.56 +/- 0.09
best run, 1 person on board: 7.53

Manual:
stock, 2 people on board: 7.50 +/- 0.40
pbx, 2 people on board: 7.33 +/- 0.30
best run, 2 people on board: 6.75

I estimate the 0-100 for the manual with only 1 person on board to be ~6.3s.

Accelerometer-based systems (like Dynolicious on the iPhone) have been proven to be less reliable for these tests than GPS-based systems. They tend to give times that are 0.2-0.3s greater than those from GPS, especially if they're set to measure without any rollout. They're also very sensitive to the calibration settings. Here's the proof. You're better off using Racechrono, PerformanceBox or similar, if you want accurate performance times.

If any Sydneysiders are interested in doing similar tests with my PerformanceBox, I'd be happy to loan it out at our next drive day, whenever that is. All we need to do is find a quiet, level & straight backroad with a 100km/hr limit.

[janus77]

Thanks for the offer Guran, might have to take you up on that sometime

[Taymaishu]

Jonathan & Hugh,

Did a few tests last night with Woosh (130i) and an Audi A4 down at your testing place.

It was bloody wet, took some time to get some heat in the tyres

Ended up with a best run of 7.85 in the 125 with one on board.

Woosh would have been at about 7.70 with one on board.

Mind you, this was in the wet with no tyre heat and a fair amount of slippage on launch.

Will upload the graphs today.

[aus135i]

Originally Posted by Taymaishu

Did a few tests last night with Woosh (130i) and an Audi A4 down at your testing place.

and u didn't call me?

[chylld]

Originally Posted by janus77

Thanks for the offer Guran, might have to take you up on that sometime

Sounds promising yeah, thanks for the offer Guran. The iPhone's gyro is certainly a feeble thing but with regular calibration would still be useful as a comparative tool. I'm most interested in how you plan to overcome this though:

Originally Posted by Guran

All we need to do is find a quiet, level & straight backroad with a 100km/hr limit.

Originally Posted by Taymaishu

Ended up with a best run of 7.85 in the 125 with one on board.

Woosh would have been at about 7.70 with one on board.

Hah so I'm still in the lead with my 7.53! But then again I had PBX on and the road was dry. And we were using different measurement systems. Look forward to the graphs!

[Taymaishu]

Originally Posted by aus135i

and u didn't call me?

Oh settle petal

I'm looking at a Friday night Akuna run again. If you're free, you're coming.

Same with you Jonathan.

And Hugh.

And Sina.

[labrat41]

Has anyone thought to write to those nice folks at BMW to ask how they got their published performance figures? Knowing the Germans, it's likely that they have a Standard Operating Procedure which is linked to a recognisable standard. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a specific DIN or EN standard for this sort of thing. I would imagine that a company like BMW is pretty careful about publishing any sort of data, and they would be using a carefully controlled methodology.

[BMW86]

It just takes practice and you need the optimal external factors to achieve the cars potential. German cars are often underrate their cars and I find most Aussie manufacturers tend to overstate their times. Also keep in mind that the times published are the cars best run and not what they run consistently all day and night. IMO the 135i step gets fairly consistent times all day though.

[chylld]

had an interesting 'test' last night alongside a lexus rx350 that seemed intent on getting past me no matter what. it was 1m ahead of me at the lights, we both set off on green and by 70kph i'm already 1 car length ahead of it

did some research and found out the rx350 does 0-100 in 7.2 seconds. plugged this into excel and used what i can remember of high school physics to calculate that in order for me to have covered 6m more distance in the sprint to 70kph, i had to have been on track for 0-100 in 6.4 seconds (assuming the lexus did 7.2).

quite pleasing

[B_2_B_P]

Originally Posted by chylld

had an interesting 'test' last night alongside a lexus rx350 that seemed intent on getting past me no matter what. it was 1m ahead of me at the lights, we both set off on green and by 70kph i'm already 1 car length ahead of it

did some research and found out the rx350 does 0-100 in 7.2 seconds. plugged this into excel and used what i can remember of high school physics to calculate that in order for me to have covered 6m more distance in the sprint to 70kph, i had to have been on track for 0-100 in 6.4 seconds (assuming the lexus did 7.2).

quite pleasing

NICE!!! Stupid Lexus...Toyota's are for kids.

[Jeef Beef]

Omg Jono do your tests again in the 0.5 degree weather! Guaranteed improvement in your times and bragging rights.

[chylld]

Originally Posted by Jeef Beef

Omg Jono do your tests again in the 0.5 degree weather! Guaranteed improvement in your times and bragging rights.

think i might just have to do this. if only there was a drag strip near north sydney... (takes ages to drive out to the 'same old strip' )

[Taymaishu]

Originally Posted by chylld

think i might just have to do this. if only there was a drag strip near north sydney... (takes ages to drive out to the 'same old strip' )

I live about 10 minutes from the testing place you are speaking of, Joe and I alike.

If you're keen, i'll have the car back soon so come over for a BBQ then we'll hit up some tests. Would be keen to see how Christine goes against it.

[chylld]

Originally Posted by Taymaishu

I live about 10 minutes from the testing place you are speaking of, Joe and I alike.

If you're keen, i'll have the car back soon so come over for a BBQ then we'll hit up some tests. Would be keen to see how Christine goes against it.

Forgot you moved! Was driving up north yesterday and was thinking "hey alex lives around here somewhere." Testing my car against Christine sounds like a must-do.... let me know when she gets back