A very embarrassing question:

[BMWDriver]

Well, 189 HP is more power than I thought: I inadvertently made the tires spin on dry asphalt a couple of times and did not quite manage to get out of it decently. Let's face it, I just don't know how to stop the smoking show I put on by pressing a bit too hard (4000-5000 rpms) on the gas pedal, clutching in as normally as usual where I should have probably been clutching in slower to counter that effect. Higher gears, I have figured, doesn't stop the show.

So, just touch the brakes ?

[repenttokyo]

take your foot off the gas...put it in neutral...no more wheelspin.

[Alexlind123]

Bury the pedal and control the steering, the traction loss will stop as you gain speed.

[Sam-Son]

don't rev it so much and don't dump the clutch

[Ross]

2.5 mighty liters

[whiskychaser]

4-5k rpm? Do you live down a hole?:)

[Macv]

How about pull from the clutch's friction point and not 4k... is this serious?

[Sam-Son]

How about pull from the clutch's friction point and not 4k... is this serious?
Maybe he's messing with all of us

[Denton]

That clutch will last another four or so of these launches.

[Macv]

Maybe he's messing with all of us

hope so

[Robin-535im]

So, just touch the brakes ?
Just my two cents, others here have MUCH more experience -

See if you can take a driving school and/or get some practice in a SAFE place. It's good to have an intuitive feel for the car's limits, which IMHO comes from exceeding them in very controlled and safe environments.

In general, abrupt changes tend to put you over the traction limit, both popping the clutch or hitting the brakes, and the closer you are to the traction limit the smaller the change it takes to push you over.

Of course the obvious answer is to not drive so you get in trouble... :) but that isn't always what we do... When I find myself with unwanted wheelspin, I try to notch the throttle down a slight bit but hold it firm and let the car correct whilst I gently steer. If your back end is swinging around and you let off the gas all of a sudden, it can swing back around the other way and you're still in trouble. Similarly, and more dangerously, if you're in a high-speed turn and you start to feel the rear come loose, DON'T LET OFF THE THROTTLE as it will unweight the rear and make it spin even more. Keep moderate throttle and adjust your line to get the rear back in grip. In a case like that, the worst thing you can do is brake, because it REALLY unweights the rear and then you're not only going through a high-speed turn, but doing it sideways! :)

So... practice in a safe place how it feels as you exceed the traction limit, driving school is even better if you can afford it.

[632 Regal]

yeah my 530 can spin 1/4 mile in a shot, just aim it like a boat, always worked for me.


Well, 189 HP is more power than I thought: I inadvertently made the tires spin on dry asphalt a couple of times and did not quite manage to get out of it decently. Let's face it, I just don't know how to stop the smoking show I put on by pressing a bit too hard (4000-5000 rpms) on the gas pedal, clutching in as normally as usual where I should have probably been clutching in slower to counter that effect. Higher gears, I have figured, doesn't stop the show.

So, just touch the brakes ?

[BFEINZIMER]

can you spin a 535iA? i dont think you can without transhin the tranny...ive never tried tho :/

[BigKriss]

get some proper tyres. I find it impossible to beleive you break traction in a 525i in the dry.

[Jon K]

I can spin the tires for about 500 feet and up to about 80 - 90 mph if I just rip thru the gears. Sometimes in the rain I will go WOT in 3rd gear from 4500 and break them free from about 70 mph. This is on 255 - 265/40/17's.

[BigKriss]

not with 189 hp though..


I can spin the tires for about 500 feet and up to about 80 - 90 mph if I just rip thru the gears. Sometimes in the rain I will go WOT in 3rd gear from 4500 and break them free from about 70 mph. This is on 255 - 265/40/17's.

[Sam-Son]

I can spin the tires for about 500 feet and up to about 80 - 90 mph if I just rip thru the gears. Sometimes in the rain I will go WOT in 3rd gear from 4500 and break them free from about 70 mph. This is on 255 - 265/40/17's.
Do your 265's rub in the rear?

Bigkriss-now that I have a proper gearbox and an LSD I can spin the wheels in 1st and chirp 2nd...of course I have abit more than 189 HP

[Jon K]

not with 189 hp though..

this is true

[winfred]

my truck will break em loose in the wet in direct drive on the interstate and occasionally in overdrive, but i have over 600 foot pounds of torque :D diesel rocks http://members.cox.net/wdixon27/rockin.gif i can only guess what it'll do when i really turn it up, i wanna another 100 hp and 200 foot pounds

[RallyD]

my truck will break em loose in the wet in direct drive on the interstate and occasionally in overdrive, but i have over 600 foot pounds of torque :D diesel rocks http://members.cox.net/wdixon27/rockin.gif i can only guess what it'll do when i really turn it up, i wanna another 100 hp and 200 foot pounds
know what you mean. had the cruise set on a buddies ram (6sp)and the thing just started spinning tires on the wet highway. caught me off guard, damn thats some torque.

[Ferret]

know what you mean. had the cruise set on a buddies ram (6sp)and the thing just started spinning tires on the wet highway. caught me off guard, damn thats some torque.

My old 525i used to leave 20 ft of rubber on the road if you dropped it into drive at over 3.5k rpm and then went WOT lol...

...but then again I knew that car was heading for the scrap yard shortly when trying this out lol. Wouldnt want to do it on a car/box I was gonna keep.

Realistically you should be bringing the clutch back out at waay under the 1500 rpm mark or risk burning it out v.quickly.

[BFEINZIMER]

funny story--one time it was raining and i was pulling into traffic...the rear tires were sitting in a dip and the traffic was coming fast so i gunned it, tires flew and the car behind me ended up getting sprayed :P

[Morgenster]

funny story--one time it was raining and i was pulling into traffic...the rear tires were sitting in a dip and the traffic was coming fast so i gunned it, tires flew and the car behind me ended up getting sprayed :P

No problems with traction in mine :( except for gravel :p

[bsell]

No problems with traction in mine :( except for gravel :p

So are you guys rolling both rears or just the one inside tire? My 525IA must be a toad as I have to kill it to get the ONE rear tire to spin in the dry.

In other words, this thing is nothing like my old '86 5.0...(it had cruise control:D ).


Brian

[winfred]

some 525s are spunkeyer then others, i've been in a couple that would chirp a tire on clean pavement in a straight line and roast em comming out of a turn, and others that wouldn't pull a sick whore off a piss pot, never really figured out the cause, 535s are a bit more even across the board, i fixed a shitty e46 323ia yesterday that would actually make tire smoke pulling out of the lot onto the road (left about a 30 foot stripe both times i took it out), ****er would blow the bosses kid's 323ci with a computer program out of the water, i've been in 328s that didn't have nearly the beans of that base line 4 door 323 auto

[BMWDriver]

Well, when you feel racy, you want a good quick start. There's that cocky Civic beside you that you just don't want eating you, so what do you do?

I'll go with Robin's advice here.

When visiting a slalom racing club, they explained that you might want to start at 4000 rpms in order to get enough horsepower and torque, and clutch in a bit slower to get the best start. They say the slalom tracks are made to go no faster than 100 km/h (about 65 mph) and that you ought to be using strictly first and second gears.

The tires I have are rated S for softer rubbers and a more comfortable ride (from the PO). And when it happened last (spinning) I was suprised to see there were no traces on the tar. But there was quite the cloud of smoke behind me though... So naturally, I don't have tires that grip as racing tires would because I wanna finish those tires first.

Of course, when I drive normally, I clutch in around 1500 rpms... duh. Which is most of the time.

[Russell]

Joke -I assume?

[BMWDriver]

Joke -I assume?

Which part ?

[BMWDriver]

Slalom racing involves a timed race. You turn and turn and turn... and hardly ever reach 65 mph. So, not much need for 3rd gear since you need all the power your engine can muster. 3rd's not practical anyway in that situation. If I remember right, 189hp comes about at 5900 rpms. The red line is at what, 7000 ?

I had found a video on Youtube with an e34 doing a course. He did not shift much, and you can hear the engine really working at high revs. Just put in e34 and slalom on the site.

[Russell]

all of it.

[BMWDriver]

Well, I'm pretty sure you can figure things out.

Here's the clip anyway:
M5 e34 doing slalom course. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmUHRvJGkFQ)
Fun to watch.

[BMWDriver]

This one's funny too:

e34 spin, 525i ? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOzMDPZFKkg)

[bsell]

some 525s are spunkeyer then others, i've been in a couple that would chirp a tire on clean pavement in a straight line and roast em comming out of a turn, and others that wouldn't pull a sick whore off a piss pot, never really figured out the cause, 535s are a bit more even across the board, i fixed a shitty e46 323ia yesterday that would actually make tire smoke pulling out of the lot onto the road (left about a 30 foot stripe both times i took it out), ****er would blow the bosses kid's 323ci with a computer program out of the water, i've been in 328s that didn't have nearly the beans of that base line 4 door 323 auto

I vote cam timing as the culprit for some ripping and snorting and others being slugs.

I worked on this dog of a 911 after the owner found second gear when shifting at the redline out of third instead of finding fourth as he intended.:( It might have been because of the two hotties sitting in the passenger seat, I don't know.;)

Anyway, after changing out the one missing exhaust valve guide (never found a piece of it in the exhaust or anywhere else?) I got to timing the cams. Porsche has an 'in-spec' range and a 'perfect' setting. As I was fresh out of their engine school, I was very surprised when the first cam came up 'perfect' on the first attempt at setting the timing. I measured that beast at least three times to ensure I did it right and then moved to the other cam. It too came up 'perfect' on the first shot. So after three checks on that one also, I finished putting her back together.

I tell you what, that thing ripped like a two-stroke dirt bike hitting the sweet spot in the pipe when it came up 'on cam' after the fix. The previous owner attempted to time the cams to make more top-end power or some such **** and I figure he botched the job. All I know is there was a night and day difference between the car prior to the 'oopsie shift' and after the cams were 'perfect'. So I wonder how consistant (or 'perfect') is the cam timing engine to engine with the BMW straight sixes?

Brian

[bsell]

This one's funny too:

e34 spin, 525i ? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOzMDPZFKkg)

Burn-outs only count if both drive tires are turning (smoking). ;)

You ever seent the four wheel drives (WRX's and EVO's) do it? That is sick!

Brian

[winfred]

been one of my thoughts for a while, they are prety much a insert the pin in the flywheel and drop in the cam blocks and it's good, by the book anyway


I vote cam timing as the culprit for some ripping and snorting and others being slugs.

[bsell]

been one of my thoughts for a while, they are prety much a insert the pin in the flywheel and drop in the cam blocks and it's good, by the book anyway

So nobody sells a 'cam timing kit' for the BMW engines? Good things happen when the cam to crank timing is spot on for that particular camshaft.

I know they exist for the American V-8's and figured somebody was selling them for our rides...

Brian

[winfred]

i've yet to see a degree wheel if that's what you are talking about, if i ever get a multi cam'd bmw i may build something


So nobody sells a 'cam timing kit' for the BMW engines? Good things happen when the cam to crank timing is spot on for that particular camshaft.

I know they exist for the American V-8's and figured somebody was selling them for our rides...

Brian

[Russell]

What is the purpose of burnouts expect to prove you know how to waste tire money and possibly damage the car?

[winfred]

for those of us that are easyly amused they are a source of amusment, like when mom is in the car and what starts off as a chirp turns on to a half block long smoky when she says your wearing out your tires :D she really got pissed when i turned a u-turn in to a few doughnuts on a dead 4 lane

as for burn out contests, fodder for dumbasses best described by the crew on top gear


What is the purpose of burnouts expect to prove you know how to waste tire money and possibly damage the car?

[Russell]

" As well she should"! I respectfully submit there seems to be a large of these "apparently non-bill paying types" on the various BMW boards I frequent. :) Does the seven series boards talk about burnouts? I wonder?

Even so, I will not be doing burnouts out of fear of burning up the weak-link automatic, if it had enough power. Also I am far too practical as tires cost a lot of money these days. Also still paying for three children who graduated from college in three different states. Perhaps this is the reason for being practical :)

[Bin_jammin]

So nobody sells a 'cam timing kit' for the BMW engines? Good things happen when the cam to crank timing is spot on for that particular camshaft.

I know they exist for the American V-8's and figured somebody was selling them for our rides...

Brian

http://store.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=carronline&BusType=BtoC&Count1=82851588&Count2=999992012&ProductID=138&Target=products.asp

Don't know how much you're really going to see out of it, but there's the adjustable cam gear you're talking about.

[winfred]

the m50/52 don't need any adjustable gears because you can move the stockers anywhere you want, you just need a reference point to adjust from, you can **** around with it by moving it a little and checking it out but it would be nice to see whats going on


http://store.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=carronline&BusType=BtoC&Count1=82851588&Count2=999992012&ProductID=138&Target=products.asp

Don't know how much you're really going to see out of it, but there's the adjustable cam gear you're talking about.

[bsell]

the m50/52 don't need any adjustable gears because you can move the stockers anywhere you want, you just need a reference point to adjust from, you can **** around with it by moving it a little and checking it out but it would be nice to see whats going on

I'm not much of a 'trail blazer' and would rather adjust to a known 'perfect' spec. As BMW did not design the valvetrain to be adjusted (external to the VANOS system) I doubt there is a published spec for valve timing.

That said, I figure the folks that race showroom stock with these engines have this all figured out. Getting them to spill the beans might take some doing...

Brian