Revenge of GN

[aeonflux]

Well, my nemesis [sic] finally got some of the bugs worked out and can put me in my place.

(My car is an BMW E46 M3 with SMG.)

The first time I raced this particular guy we only got some rolling starts and the cars were pretty even.

Yesterday I caught up with him on the road and we tried another rolling start. He was able to slowly pull on my through 3rd gear, but we didn't go much over 100 (where I think it would start evening out).

After our rolling start we decided to pull off into a parking lot and chat it up about our cars and generally be personable. He's a nice guy and he's got a nice GN with this and that (I won't bother trying to remember all the modifications he mentioned).

Once it was time to go we rolled out onto the street again and tried a standing start. This is where he has the advantage now...clearly.

Off the line he can pull me pretty well, getting 1 to 4 car lengths on me and maintaining it. My car isn't built for drag racing (and the SMG transmission puts me at an even greater disadvantage) but I don't complain...it's all for fun. His GN is pretty quick now. He's edging closer to the 11s in the 1/4 mile.

I call the fight over...until the turns in the road.

 

[Steve Hill]

heh heh gotta admit the Beemers are nice cars and the M-series can be quick as well.
But on the street the turbo Buick has such a huge torque advantage many quick cars just can't recover.
Last year I sparred with a new M5. Although I pulled away up to around 127 I was pleasantly surprised how hard that car ran.
Had we kept going, I'm certain the advantage would have slowly turned.

 

[momau3]

Sounds like an interesting race. Opposite ends of the spectrum BMW vs. Buick.

What a SMG?

 

[aeonflux]

SMG stands for Sequential Manual Gearbox. Basically, it's just like the standard 6-speed but a computer operates the shifter and clutch.

There is a center-console lever and F1-style paddle shifters attached to the steering wheel which input shifting commands to the system. Pull back on the lever or pull back on the right paddle and the system performs an upshift. Push forward on the lever or pull back on the left paddle and the system performs a downshift.

Engine speed matching and double-clutching are all performed by the system as well.

It's a racing transmission.

There are several cars with variants of this type of system--Ferarri, Aston Martin, Toyota, BMW, etc.--but BMW's SMG is the most advanced of the bunch offering a nigh-unbeatable 80 millisecond upshift in the more aggressive modes.

The downside, of course, is that you don't get quite as much control over the clutch as you might want. Coming to a stop light can be a bit of a pain if you're not paying attention (the system won't let the car stall, but you might be in a really tall gear when you try to accelerate). Also, launching the car in a drag race simply doesn't do as well as a human-controlled clutch.

There is a Launch Control system built in which does both racing starts and burnout starts, but as you might imagine they can be hard on the car so I tend not to use it.

Overall, though, it's basically another option. It has up-sides in being smoother and more consistent when you are racing (on a track), but has drawbacks as well. I could live with either the regular transmission or SMG, I just chose SMG to see what it is like.

 

[momau3]

Thanks, I didn't know what the acronym stood for. I heard about F1-style paddle shifters; there was talk of putting those in the new VW Golf R32.

I can see where the control of the vehicle is not like a manual clutched vehicle. But a 80 millisecond upshift very, very nice for a computer controlled tranny.

 

[boostin]

I drove an M3...it was kinda freaky. The throttle was jumpy. Not as fast as its cracked up to be around here. Supension was hard, too, and my Stang's suspension is HARD. But not as uncomfortable as the M3.

Nice car though.