Why are BMW's so slow in reality ( specifically 335i ) - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

986_inquiry · 08-26-2015, 04:21 PM

Ran into a 335i xdrive sedan recently. He was a bit ahead of me 0-60, but on highway it was all me. 3rd gear was close, but once in 4th he was several car lengths behind.

So imagine my shock when I find out the 335i's 0-60 is suppose to be a 4.4 and quarter mile in 13.0!

2013 BMW 335i xDrive First Test - Motor Trend

I'm in a stock 987! 0-60 in 5.9-ish is what they claim (some say 6.2!) and quarter mile in low 14s!

This shouldn't have been a race, it should have been a slaughter! I should have been seeing nothing but tail lights the entire time.

What's the deal with BMWs? I run into a lot like this and they never live up to the numbers the magazines claim they should get.

BYprodriver · 08-26-2015, 04:26 PM

Maybe the fuel pump was failing again. AWD weight doesn't help

986_inquiry · 08-26-2015, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

Maybe the fuel pump was failing again. AWD weight doesn't help

I'm thinking BMW tweaks the transmission to put out good numbers for 0-60 and quarter mile but it's not designed to actually do well on the road. For example the 335i was right there in 3rd which is probably the gear it is in for the end of the quarter mile time but once in 4th it couldn't keep up at all.

Giller · 08-26-2015, 05:05 PM

Street racing is such a dumb thing to do.

leftfield6 · 08-26-2015, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giller

Street racing is such a dumb thing to do.

Yep.

BTW, you really can't be sure he was 100% into it, you know.

jacabean · 08-26-2015, 05:25 PM

he most likely was not pushing , That car will leave your base boxster in the dust in a straight line . no question about it .

Crono0001 · 08-26-2015, 04:26 PM

Still street racing I see.

Crono0001 · 08-26-2015, 05:28 PM

Simple Math:

987: 237 hp, 3130 lbs
335i: 300 hp, 3731 lbs

987 P/W = 0.075
BMW P/W = 0.080

Very similar power to weight.

The fact that the BMW is AWD and runs such fast quarter mile/0-60 times means it's probably geared for such. Boxster is also slippier, which helps you on highways.

Congrats, you beat BMW's entry level sedan. Hardly calls for the title "Why are BMW's so slow". I'm sure if you actually went to the track instead of street racing, you'd see some faster BMWs.

Please stop street racing.

Joe B · 08-26-2015, 07:03 PM

It's a family sedan, not a sports car

!

Qmulus · 08-26-2015, 07:09 PM

And sometimes people aren't racing you when you think they are...

986_inquiry · 08-27-2015, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qmulus

And sometimes people are racing you when you think they are...

yes.... sometimes people are racing when you think they are racing... strangely worded but I agree

986_inquiry · 08-27-2015, 05:44 AM

seems I had this discussion before, but that was with the 986. Results were similar, 335i and 335ci can't keep up in 4th

http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/45737-bmw-335ci-not-bad-almost-fast-us.html

Crono0001 · 08-26-2015, 10:21 PM

Don't kid yourself. My 30 year old Corolla will smoke most Boxsters. They are not straight line cars.

I've known you for a while man, and from your posts, you sound like you belong in a Mustang more than anything.

ekam · 08-27-2015, 06:04 AM

Or maybe he wasn't racing you.

986_inquiry · 08-27-2015, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ekam

Or maybe he wasn't racing you.

LOL right, that's it

BIGJake111 · 08-27-2015, 06:25 AM

Street racing alone is dumb but if you need to join a measuring contest than you are not proud enough of what you've got as it is.

You shouldn't have to brag about being faster than family sedan to feel good about driving a boxster, if you have to than you bought the wrong car.

Perfectlap · 08-27-2015, 07:10 AM

You're whole premise is off. You titled your question "why are 335i's slow"?
This would infer that a car is "fast" based on a single metric, straight line acceleration.
A proper sports car is fast or slow based on many metrics which are typically decided by a single lap of a race track with a good mix of fast corners, technical corners, elevation changes, etc.

As far as street racing, this is not something excellent Porsche drivers are known for.
More like the pimply faced spikey haired 19 year old in his Civic or the gold chain wearing mullet hair cut guy in his mullet car. I've been challenged by both and it always makes think back to when I was a dummy too.

986_inquiry · 08-27-2015, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIGJake111

Street racing alone is dumb but if you need to join a measuring contest than you are not proud enough of what you've got as it is.

You shouldn't have to brag about being faster than family sedan to feel good about driving a boxster, if you have to than you bought the wrong car.

Well.... AMG's are "family sedans" too, but they do 12 second quarters and beat new Z06s when they came out. "Family sedan" does not equal slow

I'm just shocked at the numbers, like I said a 13.0 second car should have been several car lengths ahead of me, not in my rearview mirror.

BIGJake111 · 08-27-2015, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 986_inquiry

Well.... AMG's are "family sedans" too, but they do 12 second quarters and beat new Z06s when they came out. "Family sedan" does not equal slow

I'm just shocked at the numbers, like I said a 13.0 second car should have been several car lengths ahead of me, not in my rearview mirror.

That's the problem, you're a numbers boy. It's not a measuring contest.

Who cares if a family sedan has 800 ft lbs

I mean I want one and think they're amazing cars, but you're driving a Porsche, beating a boosted sedan shouldn't be a needed validation for you.

Not to mention that if you are going to take a competitive nature to cars which I understand, I just don't see the place for it on the road, how can you know if he was giving it 10/10s, he wasn't. The results are simply invalid and environment uncontrolled not to mention the lack of skill it takes to race between lights.

If you do want to prove your driving skills go to the track, but what you're doing is more of a look at me I beat a 350z driven by some pimple boy, why can't you be above that?

How come simply driving a mid engine European sports car, and enjoying it on a personal level for the most part within the law isn't enough and instead you have to beat a lazy bubble of a car from the worst excuse of a car maker in the eastern hemisphere to feel good about yourself.

PorscheBound · 08-27-2015, 07:08 AM

I love all the butt hurt street racing posts. Everyone has this broken idea of what a street race is. I think most older gentleman in this group have seen one too many fast and furious movies and took it to heart. There are plenty of scenarios where a street race is just as safe on the street as it is on a track if not more safe because some scenarios allow for greater areas of error unlike the track where you have a far greater chance of going into a jersey wall.

Not saying this was the scenario but what's the harm in putting 2 performance cars to the test if your on an open stretch of road with no one else around? Only people getting hurt would be those involved. Just like at a track.

And for the argument of people saying these are not straight line cars....I understand their performance is greater in the turns but a 13 second quarter mile is very respectable so running the car in a straight line, the car holds its own against cars that were built for the straight line.

Street racing can be very stupid in most scenarios. With that said there are plenty of scenarios that any critical thinking person could look at and say "no one on the road, flat road, wide road, weather conditions good, only harm done is those involved."

Flame suit has been put on. Godspeed.