Getting tired of Ring times

[wizz72]

Call me James May if you must but im starting to get a bit tired of the importance some people lend to Ring times.

Its such a pointless subject in so many regards.

I guess if truth be told im referring to the 1M vs M135i ring times.

So with Autosport now posting the M135i's 'official' full lap time of 8m:18s its amazing how different people interpret this time in comparison to the 1M's 8m:15. Now 3 seconds is not a lot,about as long as it took me to type 3 seconds is not a lot,and as i just typed it manually so was the M135i's time set,in a manual,so perhaps theres even more time to come off still in the Auto version,will it be faster? Will it be slower? Will that then be the 'official' time and the old one the not so official time? I mean really,who cares?

Under what conditions were any cars times set?

Surely factors such as atmospheric conditions,grip levels,tyre tread depth,and wether or not the driver was 100% on it or merely 98,had he or she had a poo that morning along with a light brunch and was the correct deodorant used? These must all have a relevance in the sense that unless all cars are tested on the same day with the same driver and all under exactly the same set of conditions then its fair to say that 3 seconds actually really means nothing.It could have gone either way and not due to each cars abilities but due to the external factors mentioned above.

I mean BMWs own 'unnofficial' times was 8m:12s for the 1M.(I read somewhere they even had a test muel equipped with DCT that beat the V8 M3's 'official' time,which apparently is why the 1M was offered as a manaul only.)

I recall Adevo commenting that he believed he could do an 8minute or under time in a 1M with a few more laps under his belt,and that boy can drive,im sure he could match it in an M135i too,so what relevance would that lend to an M3s 'official'time? It all becomes a bit of a nonsense.

Whats more significant?That 2 amost identical bhp per tonnes cars were within a few seconds of each other around a track that is unlike any daily drive i encounter in the UK or that two 1 series cars are only 10 seconds slower than a fully bespoked engined M3 costing an awful lot more?

Neither is significant,because neither is really relevant or important.

Lets not forget that a certain RS badged front wheel drive Renault 'officially' beats the pair of them.

I dont remember the last time i walked into a showroom and purchased a car based on a lap time and anyone that does should be hung,drawn and quartered.

Now all of this is tongue in cheek,but you get my drift

Merry Christmas all.

Edited by wizz72 on Thursday 20th December 19:56

[Hair Flick]

As pointless as the 0-62 dash time.

Real performance figures should be braking times, latteral g grip and in gear acceleration.

Ring times to me equate to compromised road cars that are built around a 13 mile stretch of automotive pornography but translates to a night with Bella Emberg.

[SpudLink]

wizz72 said:

you get my drift

Drifting would obviously take seconds of your lap time.

[Johnb850]

I dont think anyone is buying the M135i based on its out-and-out performance.

I know I'm not.

I think the attention that the car is getting is based more on what a complete package it is. And the price at which its sold.

It is a very fast,practical, efficient, affordable car.

For me its the perfect daily driver.

[StottyZr]

To some people covering ground as fast as possible is fun. Ring lap times are a good representation of this

[Rog B]

I see your point and I don't really pay attention to the hype or numbers if I'm honest, but the 'Ring' has long been established as a benchmark for measuring a cars perfomance/ability which people can relate to and indeed compare the stats.
Completely agree that over the grand scheme of things 3 seconds is feck all, I would suggest not looking at the numbers so analytically and just see that they are 'similar', thats all you need to worry about. People that are comparing such small margins dont live in the real world.

[FamilyDub]

I care far more about 30-50 and 50-70 measures than 0-62 and a 'Ring lap time (or any lap time for that matter).

[shim]

Still can't BELIEVE the cSL is 25 seconds faster than both. 25 secs is quite a lot and a 10 year old car stock.

[fuggled]

shim said:

Still can't BELIEVE the cSL is 25 seconds faster than both. 25 secs is quite a lot and a 10 year old car stock.

What tyres on the csl? Same conditions? non splitting rear floor?

Give me an 1m anyday over a fragile csl which you can't even get a replacement bumper for..

Edited by fuggled on Friday 21st December 22:50

Edited by fuggled on Friday 21st December 22:51

[Plainview23]

fuggled said:

Give me an 1m anyday over a fragile csl ]

OK, I'll take the spare CSL then, ta.



The turrrRRRBO trick gets old.

[shim]

fuggled said:

What tyres on the csl? Same conditions? non splitting rear floor?

Give me an 1m anyday over a fragile csl which you can't even get a replacement bumper for..

Edited by fuggled on Friday 21st December 22:50

Edited by fuggled on Friday 21st December 22:51

I think you will find they were both on road legal, stock OeM tyres, similar to the fact the we're both o
Fitted with stock OeM engines, suspension, brakes etc so all as from factory.

And I have two CSL bumpers if you want to buy one.

[Mr_B]

I think the times are a reasonable indicator, given the Ring has a bit of everything. It's the makers tuning of the car - mostly in the suspension - to get these times where problems arise in the compromise to get the time.

[original guvnor]

Didn't the CSL come with Cup tyres though? That must be worth at least 10 seconds per lap?

Now that the 1M has been adjusted to 8.15 that means that the Z4MC is still quicker, having done an 8.12

[griff7]

original guvnor said:

Didn't the CSL come with Cup tyres though? That must be worth at least 10 seconds per lap?

Now that the 1M has been adjusted to 8.15 that means that the Z4MC is still quicker, having done an 8.12

The cups were offered on the csl as an option but if you chose them instead of the standard michelin tyres you had to sign a disclaimer as they were not recommended to be used in wet weather etc.Had two people i know who bought from new and one had cups and the other had normal michelins.

It is difficult to say how much time they are worth but it would be a fair amount of time that is for sure.To compare the times of two cars one with cups and the other without would be very unfair to say the least.Track temp can also make a huge difference so even the time of year or day can have an effect.Like stated above unless you test on the same day with the same driver with the same tyres then the times don't mean as much, but it just gives an average idea of what is possible in the car.