Testing the 330i's suspension and brakes...with a 400hp engine

[Blackbird.]

Ok, so I thought I'd take the time to share with you my results on the performance of the 2005 BMW 330i's suspension, brakes, and all-round handling. So here's the car's specifications before I get started...

Engine power: 400hp/326ft.lb
Weight: 1265kg
Modifications: Weight Reductions 1-3, semi-racing muffler, N/A Stage 3, Port & Polish, and Racing Chip

Everything else is stock, and not messed with/tweaked. I took it out on the Nurburgring and found immediately that the engine's response was very good, but considering it was 400hp car. But I found it took quite awhile to get through the gears and could barely exceed 140mph on straights I expected 160. Not too much of problem but stilly doggy for a 400hp car. Next I turned my attention to the suspension. It felt very washy, which I sort of expected for a people mover car but being the platform for the upcoming M3 I thought it was too soft. The brakes were the best part of the car. I took a stopwatch and did my best to calculate how long it would take for it to go from 100mph to 0mph. I did this on Nurburgring's backstraight. 3.93 seconds to go from 100mph to 0, not bad. To compliment on the 330i's engine response it took a respectable 5 seconds to get from 0-60mph. Now these are slightly accurate considering I was trying to do 3 things at once(start watch, accelerate, shift, quickly press the watch button). The speed on this car was poor considering it's weight modifications and added power. I accepted a 159+mph top speed on the Nurburgrings straight but I expected a little bit more out of it. Although this was a stock tranny so it may be not setup for racing. All in all in-theory for the cars suspension and brakes not race ready as the power is the BMW 330i's suspension and brakes could pass as semi-racing suspension and breaks.

This is my first write-up and thanks for reading.

 

[Alfaholic]

Interesting results. I also would have expected a greater return for that power, but must admit I noticed that the Lotus Carlton also doesn't seem to make the best use of power upgrades. It's as though the car has optimal balance when stock.

BTW one way to avoid fidgeting with a stopwatch while trying to get 400BHP on the tarmac is to do acceleration and braking runs somewhere like Test Course, where you have a standing start. Take your run, then watch the replay. Hit, um, triangle (I think) twice to change the view from normal through synchronised to display, so you can see your speed and elapsed time, and then hit pause (the SELECT button I think) when your speed hits, say, 60mph. The elapsed time will be visible and will tell you how long you took to get from 0 to 60mph. Unpause, and pause again at 100MPH for the 0 - 100 time. You could use replays to calculate braking times too, but I would think that would be a bit more difficult.

 

[niky]

It's a heavy car... a VERY heavy car. Even with full weight reduction, it's not exactly touring car light. I think Alfa's right, this is one of those cars which is perfectly set-up stock, but starts showing problems when you tune it up.