I know its not 350Z related but some of you might remember a thread I posted a few months back in the street racing section. It was a thread in which I raced Red_Shft's stock 04 base 350Z that has run a best of 8.7 or 8.9 in the 1/8th mile. Anyways, I raced him in a highway roll and lost by probably a quarter of a car or so, although some people said it looked to be a tie.

Fastforward to 3/4/06. Red_Shft and I headed out to Mooresville, NC to the 1/8th mile track and I figured I would get a few baseline runs in with the bad catalytic converters, check engine light and highly questionable stock clutch. I had ordered up a pair of Magnaflow 53005 2.25" high flow cats and O2 sims for the 540I (which should be in next week) so I wanted some numbers to compare before and after mods. Anyways, as always Mooresville was pretty slick and the left lane time board malfunctioned halfway through the day but it was a good day. I was hoping to run a 9.5 or better and on my first run I ran a 9.49@78mph babying the launch and hoping the clutch would hold. I ran another 9.4@78, spun really bad in the right lane off the launch and coasted the rest of the way to a hot 14.3@39mph(LOL) before finally landing a 9.002@80mph. Anyways, here's the slip:

And here's the video:
http://videos.streetfire.net/Player....F-E2EE2AFFC6A2
In the video, the left lane board malfunctions and displays something like a 9.8X@6Xmph but if you listen to the announcer, you can hear him say left lane 9 flat at 80mph. Halfway through the day, the left lane board stopped showing times altogether

I must say that the 540I completely exceeded my expectations. I would have went home happy with the 9.49 but the 9.00 was a treat and I was pleasantly surprised by the MPH. I can't wait to get some properly functioning cats on the car and get rid of the CEL and see if I can crack into the 8's in the 1/8th!

 

very slow consider the V-8.....I was expecting under 14s

 

What are you talking about..it's an 1/8 mile track. LOL..9.0 at 80 mph probaly is good for a 13.7-13.9 depending on how the car makes it's power.

 

LOL. Well if you need some numbers to base your opinion on, the 1997 E39 540I runs the quarter between a 14.6 and a 15.0 at anywhere from 96-99mph.
The 9.00@80 would have probably been good for about a 13.8-14.0. I still have to figure out this car's acceleration on the back 1/8th. It certainly doesn't feel fast, but then again 80 in the 1/8th for a stock 540I isn't half bad. I certainly wasn't expecting it to run anywhere that good. It will probably trap anywhere from 100-102 at the traps in the quarter.

Besides, if you consider it very "slow for a V8", you might want to keep in mind that my 540I makes less HP than a 350Z and weighs in at almost 4,000lbs with me in it and a half a tank of fuel. To my knowledge, noone has run a sub 14 second pass in a completely stock 97 540I.

 

The MT 540's will hit high 13's.....hell if the magazine testers get 14.0....you should expect to do better than them with a little practice.

 

Not bad, but a 9.0 @ 80mph tells me you need to work on that launch....

 

True. I'm not trying to make excuses, but I have the OEM clutch which has roughly 127kmi on it and it was never a "bitey" clutch to begin with and coupled with the Clutch Delay Valve(CDV) this isn't one of the grippiest clutches I've ever driven. Truth be told it really needs to be replaced. The problem is that the CDV softens launches and shifts considerably to help protect the transmission and driveline from excessive abuse. That plus the driveshaft has rubber dampeners at each end to absorb vibration. This isn't one of the more responsive transmissions I've ever felt.
I've read that most E39 540I owners can only get about 3-5 good launches before excess heat build-up in the tranny starts to cause clutch disc slippage and I didn't want to kill my clutch disc since this is a daily driver for me. Does the 60ft need improvement? You betcha but that was on purpose. I might have been able to knock the short time down to a 2 flat but then again I might have been calling AAA to tow me home
I have a feeling that if I could get the tires to stick (no differential in my car ) and go WOT, I think the clutch will slip. So for now, the list of planned upgrades is
1)fix the bad cats, install O2 sim and hope that fixes my CEL
2)drill out or buy a opened up CDV so I can take advantage of my quick shifts
3)install a B&M #45126 short throw
4)remove the ultra restrictive rear resonator and replace with a straight pipe
5)replace OEM clutch with Sach's clutch and replace flywheel with possibly a lighter M5 flywheel.
6)possibly install a 3.15 differential, provided I can find one that won't cost me an arm and a leg
I'm confident with these mods I could possibly get close to a mid 13, but anything faster would probably require alot more $$$$.$$

 

Most of the newer E39 540s run low to mid 14s and the older 97-98 540Is (mine is a 97) usually run between a 14.6-15.0 according to most of the published resources I have found. Thats why I was so surprised that I was able to knock off a 9 flat. I was under the impression that that was considerably quicker and faster than most of the acceleration times I had found for my car.
I don't think I have ever seen a 13 second published time for a E39 540I. Do you have a link?

 

What year is the 540i?

/newbie doesn't know his engine codes

 

Mine is a 97.

 

here: http://www.fantasycars.com/sedans/html/540i.html

 

basically the car is supposed to be as fast as a stock z...how many publications show a stock Z better than the 14.0??

 

Cool. Thanks for the link, although it doesn't really tell me who put down those times. They make a reference to C&D for the COY award, but I'm not sure if those acceleration times are from C&D magazine?

 

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:...&ct=clnk&cd=12