in4sir

hey guys,
the other night me andmy dad took his M5 to a drag strip, there were tons of other tuned up funny cars and it was really cool. anyways, my dad was up against a firebird and lost his first time with a 1/4 mile time of 14.99, due to tire spin and wheel hop. he went again against a different firebird and won by .2 of a second, still with a 1/4mile time of 14.2. this time he rev. up to 1,000 rpm and still his car was bouncin all over the place. how do u get the best quarter mile time(with michelin sports)?

KirklandM5

hire a professional driver...

Seriously...launch at 1400pm ish....shift at 7000.

Yupkwondo

Lower the Tire Pressure to 30-33 psi...hold RPM's at 1200-1400, feed in the clutch slow for about an 1/8th of the way, then drop it and stomp the gas, shift at 6700 on the tach in first because it's behind the engine actual RPM, and just keep keep going...if you do it right, you'll pull around a 13.00 at 108 mph...this is the what I found works...until I go back and find something better!! I haven't done it yet, but I know from practice this "is" about the best launch!!

~ Jason
13.22 @ 106

greg

A few more things - probably obvious:

1) Buy some 100 octane fuel. Drive at least 50 miles, including plenty of full-throttle to redline romps to give the engine computer time to adjust.

2) All electrical loads off

3) A/C off.

4) Remove EVERYTHING you can possibly remove from the car. eadrests, floor mats, the "mobility" kit (alone weighs several pounds), everything from the glovebox, door storage, excess fuel (an 1/8 of a tank will get you through quite a few runs) etc. Even the window washer fluid if you really care. I'll bet you can get 75 - 100lbs out without working too hard.

5) Wouldn't hurt to cool everything in the engine compartment as much as possible first too. Wrap ice packs around the air intakes and intake box - remove right before the race.

6) Sport mode on, DSC off.

7) Launch as described above. The goal is minimal wheel spin - when you launch from 1400, you can let the clutch out ALMOST instantly as you ALMOST instantly floor it. But you MUST make sure the clutch is fully engaged before anywhere near full power develops, because you don't want to fry your clutch. ABSOLUTELY don't slip the clutch in any upshifts either. Just BANG it. If anything slips, it should be the tires, not the clutch.

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in4sir

u can have an smg2 do it for u.....

Rezf

[quote]Originally posted by greg
[
2) All electrical loads off

Forgive my naivety, but why does electrical stuff (i.e. heated seats) take away from the hp of the car. I knew about AC, but nothing electrical?
RezF

tonyo

The alternator is harder to twist when it is producing more current.

__________________
'08 E60 Space Gray M5
'01 E39 Le Mans Blue M5
'99 550 Maranello
'98 Supra

kgk

I've never drag raced, but I would think that slick tires would help, and perhaps even tire warmers!

Of course what you *really* want is nitrous oxide....

EBMCS03

You mean the "Sports Button?"

Boy, How much do I love the M5... *sigh*

Rahim

I too have herad it is best to turn off everything electrical so that the engine is able to focus on performance instead of luxury.

Rahim

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2001 Carbon Black
2001 S500 Sport
1999 E55

AJ

greg pretty much covered it all.

however, here are some more useful tips:

1. if on street tires avoid the water pit (just drive around it). fail to do so and you will drag water out of it and will upset the other racers (especially the ones with slicks).

2. do a quick warmup/cleaning of the rears. to do so- right after the water pit- stop, bring the rpms to about 4000 or so and dump the clutch for about 3-4 seconds.. do not slip much or the smoke will be from the clutch and not the tires.

3. stage. make sure you dont stage too shallow or you might fault. stage 2 feet from the stage line if you are new.. if you are experienced- stage about a foot.

4. bring the rpms to about 2000 and slip the clutch just enough to get rid of the tranny slack (move about 10-15 inches forward)

5. when the last yellow light comes on feed the clutch quickly and swiftly, but do not dump it (you will either stall at those rpms or leave the starting line hopping- the m5 is very prone to hopping). once under way floor it and shift at about 6500 rpms indicated (if you are a good shifter you may powershift - accellerator at wot all the time). a good shift will leave about 10-15 yards of rubber on the 1-2 shift. watch out for a tail lash- it will happen quickly and if you dont countersteer you will end up in the divider. luckly for us the limited slip on the m5 is very calm and the car is very poised when losing rear traction at speeds.. but keep it in mind.

6. 2-3 shift should be done at 7000 rpms indicated and when done right will produce a good tire chirp.

if you do everything right your 60 foot times will be less than 2 secs, your 1/4 time will be low 13 and you will trap at about 107-108 mph.

one more think- try not to idle much in the pits/ staging lanes. if you have to- turn on ac- this keeps the underhood temps in check since all fans are running.

how about that...

good luck

alex
00 m5

Yupkwondo

actually I would say run the heater not the AC, because the heater will pull under the hood heat into the cabin, you will think you are in a place close to hell it'll be so hot, but running the AC causes condinsation and you'll get yelled at for having water on the track...I know there is another reason too, but I can't remember???

~ Jason