e46 330i performance stats

[Dino D]

So there i was sitting in my 'office' for some quiet time looking at the only copy of Evo I have in there. Having read a few times now, I flip to the 'Knowledge' section to look some numbers they got for the cars I had in the past.

For the e46 330i SPORT They say they got:
0-60 in 5.9 secs
0-100 MPH 17 secs.

That 0-60 time looks mighty quick. I am sure mine wasn't that quick.Does anybody have any more reliable info on this?

This website quotes 6.5 and 18 secs for the same: http://www.torquestats.com/index.php?car_id=587

Did Evo have a special version or there John Barker just very good at getting figures from cars?

[john_p]

As I remember, the manual said 6.5 - maybe they managed to beat it in a road test? 5.9 is not shabby at all, the M3 Convertible is 5.5s...

[Matt UK]

Some measures are 0-60mph, some are 0-100kph. That extra 2.5mph often adds a bit.

[daveco]

I have an old issue of Autocar in which they did a full road test on the 330ci.

0-60; 6.7 seconds I think
0-100; 16.7 seconds

Mid range was a fair bit stronger than the 328 and also quicker than the Mark V Golf GTI I was thinking of buying at the time too.

[jon_80]

Those figures work out at between 10 and 11 seconds from 60-100mph.

That's not great. I'm pretty certain Ford ST220s which are similar power do it in less.

[Matt UK]

jon_80 said:

Those figures work out at between 10 and 11 seconds from 60-100mph.

That's not great. I'm pretty certain Ford ST220s which are similar power do it in less.

We're talking 220bhp vs 231 bhp, so I would expect them to be pretty close.
Plus, gearing will play an important part in the 60-100mph stats.


Edit..

Actually, I've just found this:
BMW 330i Sport 60-100mph 11.1s
Ford Mondeo ST220 60-100mph 13.7s
The Ford is a fair bit slower.
http://www.torquestats.com/

Edited by Matt UK on Friday 23 October 22:06

[Heathwood]

IIRC Evo recorded that sub 6 sec 0 to 60 in an early 4 door Sport saloon. I've never seen that repeated and I think 6.4 secs was recorded by Evo some time later for the Sport Coupe.

No idea why that initial 0 to 60 was so good but I noted that the in gear times were pretty impressive too. Maybe just a strong example or a bit of tinkering by BMW on early 3.0l test cars?

[Shropshiremike]

Heathwood said:

IIRC Evo recorded that sub 6 sec 0 to 60 in an early 4 door Sport saloon. I've never seen that repeated and I think 6.4 secs was recorded by Evo some time later for the Sport Coupe.

Good launch perhaps? Autocar got a 328i Touring E36 to 60 in 6.1, E36 328i saloon in 6.4

[thehos]

my old e46 328i seemed quite quick at the time, pulled away from a e36 328i

[Shropshiremike]

thehos said:

my old e46 328i seemed quite quick at the time, pulled away from a e36 328i

Surprising really as they should be similar power and the E46 328 weighs a bit more. Perhaps the E36 was less well maintained or some other reason. They should be similarly fast

[Buzzkill]

I was under the impression it was 6.2 with a 1/4 in 14.9

[Shropshiremike]

Buzzkill said:

I was under the impression it was 6.2 with a 1/4 in 14.9

I don't think there will be a definitive answer as it will depend on the track conditions/tyres/road tester/individual car/ambient temps etc.

Sounds about right though.
Autocar tested a 330i in 2000 and got 0-60 in 6.7 and 0-100 in 16.5 with a ss1/4 of 15.0@98

I wouldn't doubt any of the figures quoted on here as every mag/test will get a slightly different time....even for the exact same car

[GGibbo]

Could it have anything to do with 5/6 spd boxes? Im guessing the change from 2nd to 3rd would come at around 60mph in the 6 spd and probably add a bit to the time, the early test would likely have featured a 5 spd.

A friend of mine had a 02 330ci and I had to give my 350z death to get away from him in a straight line if I remember correctly, theyre pretty rapid cars.

[LordGrover]

I can't see it being sub-six seconds.
Okay, mine's an auto with a few miles on it but pretty sound - it's distinctly lethargic compared to my Griff which is reportedly 5 secs-ish.

[mrfunex]

I have a 6-speed ST220, max speed in 2nd is about 65-67 mph. Off the top of my head, I can't remember what the top end of 3rd is.

[Shropshiremike]

LordGrover said:

I can't see it being sub-six seconds.

I'm pretty sure EVO would have used proper V-Box/Racelogic type timing gear. I expect after many years of road testing the guys at EVO are dab hands at launching someone else's press demo

[Dino D]

Shropshiremike said:

Autocar tested a 330i in 2000 and got 0-60 in 6.7 and 0-100 in 16.5 with a ss1/4 of 15.0@98

Interesting that EVO got 5.9 for 0-60 and 17 for 0-100....as these were both pre 2002 models they would have both been 5 spd manual.

I tried launching mine - held it 4krp and then dumped the clutch. The clutch simple slipped and the revs flared! The clutch didn't seem badly worn as it never slipped any other time but I am led to believe there is some release valve on the clutch that releases the clutch a bit slower than you like.
So I wonder how they got such a low time then?

[Thorny]

Think it's pretty unlikely - I have a 130i in which the 3.0 litre engine now kicks out 265bhp and that does 0-60 in 5.9/6 secs depending on what you read...

[Shropshiremike]

Thorny said:

Think it's pretty unlikely - I have a 130i in which the 3.0 litre engine now kicks out 265bhp and that does 0-60 in 5.9/6 secs depending on what you read...

Do you think they lied about the 5.9 seconds on the 330i then?

Just out of interest Autocar managed to figure an E36 328i Touring manual at 6.1 seconds, . They also got a new 330d to do it 6.0 seconds. EVO got a 130i to 60 in 6.1 seconds.

It will just depend on the individual car, weather, road surface, tester, tyres etc.
Try going to Santa Pod or Avon Park etc and getting 2 1/4 mile runs in exactly the same time.

Tell you what though, I'm pretty sure they will use proper timing equipment for when they quote a time ( rather than when they use the manufacturers figures ) - sometimes they even show the printouts they get from the equipment

[Dino D]

And on this wiki link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_3_Series_%28E46%2...
they claim 5.8 for 0-62mph but this is for a 'ZHP US only' 235 bhp model....
Weird....