Well, saw this white current gen MAX with clears, rims, and exhaust (that's the only visual cosmetics). We were both on 495 Capital Beltway and I was cruising around 70mph, and this white MAX passes me. I decide to pull up next to it and we're both off. By the time we hit 110 mph I think I was like 8 to 10 cars ahead. We go at it several times. At the last run, I decide to take my 540i all the way up to 150mph and slow down. We give each other thumbs up and at the end of it, I thought good race eventhough I won. The owner was a good sport. By the way, I owned a 98 SE 5spd. and it was fun to drive.

My hats off the the white MAX owner! If you're on this board, good run man, although it really wasn't fair, but you're a good sport and I always look forward to those type of runs whether I win or lose.

 

I like good sports .. like the guy in the Ford Pinto who was revving @ me ... we raced twice ...

Just kidding ...

don't race that often b/c of the fear factor (cops & seriously hurt me, myself & I ... oh .. & innocent people) .. but I did happen to run against this older .. as in 1950-60's Corvette last summer .. my gawd! I lost about 5 times from 60 mph on .. but was it ever fun! That thing had the most agressive grumble in the world!

 

I had a good race with a new 540I, I am not sure if it was a 6spd or auto though. I was driving my 95 5spd max which at the time had only a High flow cat, Alluminum Flywheel and Centerforce Clutch. Anyhow we were driving on a far out back country street. I was in front of him and blowing by cars and he was right behind me, finaly a huge straight away presents it's self and I see the 540 attempting to pas me, so I slamed the car in to 2nd at 50MPH and the 540 slowly passed my by me by the time we reached 100 mph, we continued flooring it down the huge straight away until I reached 120MPH, at 120 the 540 pulled about 1.5 cars on me. I thought it was a great race but I was kicking my self because at the time I had a 98 Infiniti I30T 5spd with a Super Charger and a million other mods. If I had the I30 I whould have blasted away from him leaving him in the dust! Argh..! Anyways 2 days later I saw the same guy barfing on the side of the road at 1:30 AM in fornt of his 540 . Strange..

 

That is strange!

 

I guess I made him quesy? LOL

 

hmmm.... could have been chillboy... what kind of rims did he have? 18" OZ's?

 

Could you really tell what kind of rims someone had on when they're spinning around at 150mph??? :

 

Just kidding.

 

Ya I agree with you here. 8-10 cars from 70-110 is sssssssssstreeeeetching the story. I'm very skeptical of every story I read on here or the net for that matter. People like to talk and make up stories just to post. The only race stories I believe on here "lately" are BrianV vs the Civic Si (I saw the video) and SprintMax vs the SE-R (saw the videos of him getting run on). Other than those they are all just "stories".

 

I hear autobahn-geared v8s pull like mad on the freeway.

Why doubt? Why not accept? Why post if you doubt and that is the basis for doubting a roakill?

 

Well because I own a 5spd 2k1 max and ran a buddy of mine who has a 2K 540. Thats why..

PS And why do you bothering posting if you doubt my doubts?

 

obviously you have a good understanding of the situation. Is the 540i manual...or auto (540iA)? How do you fare when you race him?


AC's 540i/X5 said he *thinks* he was 8-10 cars ahead....who knows about his perception.

PS: Because I'm a hypocrite. See the 5th gen BBS. You didn't answer the question btw.

 

Top of 2nd gear to top of 4th gear highway roll. He has a 2k 540 (not 6spd but some sort of manual shifting). He pulled on me maybe a 3/4 car length through third and then another 1/2 car mid way through 4th. I was totally stock at the time. I now have a few mods on my car (intake, y-pipe, lowered, etc) and don't think he would pull on me at all I think I might be able to beat him actually. No way my car would do 150 NA and no way I would beat him off the line. But on a roll to the top of 4th a 5spd 5th gen Max can keep up. But again this is just a story...

 

So he's auto. That makes a world of a difference. A 5-speed VQ is nearly as quick an auto 540 (0-60mph and 1/4mile) so it's no surprise he didn't destroy you.

As for AC's car...we don't know if it's stock/modded. In these races, car and driver variances should be noted...an 8-10 carlength kill is therefore completely feasible.

 

And maybe the Max this guy ran was an auto too? Maybe the 540 is a 6spd. Maybe the 540 is modded. Maybe this guy doesn't own a 540? Maybe this race never took place? Maybe the race did take place and the Max wasn't racing? Maybe this 540 guy is posting on a Maxima forum to stir the pot? Maybe maybe maybe.... Bottomline is you weren't there I wasn't there and I see no videos. I didn't inspect each car beforehand for mods etc.. They are just stories posted on the net. Means jack! A stock 6spd let alone auto 540 would not be able to pull 8-10 cars on my current Max from 70-110 that is all I need to know and that isn't from magazine world but from real world experience.

 

 

did any of you guys think maybe the Maxima was a GXE and may have a limiter?

 

PhatGuy, I'm not here to stir up the pot. I'm here cuz I once owned a 98 Se 5spd. and didn't have a forum to go to back then. I still admire the MAX quite a bit. I own a 540i Automatic and yes I did get Dinan Tranny software along with Stage1 (not saying much BTW). My 8 to 10 car theory is simply based on my passenger telling me that as I was trying to concentrate on the road. The point I was trying to make was, I was hoping that the owner of the White Max would be a member here and thought maybe we could hook up, etc. since I too am a car enthusiast.

Maybe it was more like 5-6 or 1-2 cars, but I'll never know cuz my buddy is still sticking to the 8-10 cars that he felt I had him by. Not dissin the MAX whatsoever as I am very eager to see the new 6spd variety.

On one note, yet I admire the MAX quite a bit, it is my opinion that a stock 540i would not lose to a MAX with intake, headers, and exhaust from stop or rolling. I just can't see how those bolt ons would add that much power. I read the write up that MT did on the Stillen SC and I thought it was very, very weak considering it was pumping out 280 some odd HP. I do infact know of someone that owns a 97 5spd. with a Vortec SC and I can testify that it is a beast and I would probably lose to it off the line.

Again, everyone, I'm not here to stir up anything, just here to make new friends. Some of you will say that "you don't even own a MAX anymore, why are you here", hey, I'm just a car enthusiast and I like reading about new SC's, turbos', etc. that can be added and love reading about the thrill people get from it.

I once owned a 2000 TL with headers, intake, exhaust, VAFC and I loved the car, but got rid of it for an X5 since I'm looking to start a family. That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy reading about things that could be or things that can't be done to mod an engine, etc.

BTW, if you can keep up with a 540i (manual or auto) that's great! Not doubting it, or knocking it, as a matter of fact, my hats off to you. I'm just here to enjoy the forum as some of you bounce back and forth to the Bimmer and Acura Forum, etc.

You have a nice ride, and personally, I would have bought a new MAX after the 98 I had, but couldn't get use to the new styling so I opted for a TL. Now, I don't think I'll ever buy another Japanese sedan after driving German cars, but that's just me.

Hope this helps clear up some of the fuss that this may have stirred.

And yes, I do own a 540i

 

Nice ride ... so's the X5 ... c u round!

 

You seem very cool. What city do you live in(maybe I missed that?) Most Bimmer owners put themselves on a pedestal and think they have super fast/great cars etc.. But honestly a 5th gen 5spd Max with Y-pipe and intake (not even an exhaust) would beat a stock 540 auto on a roll (well really close and could go either way and if launched right it would probably beat it in a 1/4 mile run (again could go either way but woudl be way closer than you think . On a roll I would say the Max would be ahead (again really close) up to around 120 probably even out at 130 and then you would pull away from 130-140..IMO. But hey remember this is a Max forum and Max owner so you can see how I would be weighted towards a Max. Ya 5spd 4th or 5th gen Max with SC would destroy a stock 540i auto (even mildly modded ones) especially on a roll. The Bimmers I personally like are the new M3, 540 6spd, and M5. The two door 330 is nice but is way over priced IMO.
No fuss just when you come to a Maxima board claiming to have raced a a new Modded Maxima and claiming to have beat it by 8-10 car lengths 70-110 the BS meter is very high.

 

Hmm, thats funny, i just posted a 98 540i 6spd for sale...

Anyways.. if you drive a 4th gen, and arent boosting or squeezing vs a 6speed 540 .. you better pray that guy cant drive.

The cars got torque for DAYS... handles real nice too. (Well, the one i ride in is lowered.. so what do i know)

I'd trade my car in for it

 

Hmm...I always thought a 540ia ran a 14.2 1/4 mile. How in the world are you going to get a 5th gen with intake/y-pipe to match that?

Anton

 

I'm not sure about a stock 540auto doing 1/4 in 14.2? What year was that car? What track did you see that at? What were the conditions? From experience with my car (stock) I know how fast the 540auto is (at least a 2000 540) since I ran with one a couple of times from a roll approx 55 onwards. I haven't run with one since I have modded my car though. I would hate to go up against one from a dead stop unless I had the absolute best launch I could manage. 99% of 540auto owners would not torque brake their car (most probably don't even know what that is). But even without torque braking those things and nasty off the line with the rwd and tons of torque...just mash the pedal.

 

PhatGuy, I'm from the DC area. Not sure what my 540i pulls to 1/4 mile but I assume I should hit it in the mid to upper 14's consistently, although Dinan now claims that my tranny upgrade will shave approx. 3/10th off to 1/4 mile, but who the heck knows.

For some odd reason, it took me 4 cars before I even thought about modding. And now, I'm picking one of the most expensive cars to mod. Never imagined German cars weree this freakin expensive to mod anything. I will probably get the Hamann kit tomorrow since I saw it on Ebay really cheap, but I'll have to see. Now that I have Stage1 Dinan, I was thinking about Stage2 with CAI and Exhaust, but the CAI alone runs $500 and the Exhaust (just mufflers mind you) they want a whopping $799 not including labor. The thing I'm afraid or (and it happened to me on my TL), once I mod, I can't stop. I think I should wait til next Feb. when my M5 is suppose to show up, but then the damn dealer keeps pushing my build date every 3 months. But who knows, now that we got the X5 4.4, we may not be able to afford the M5 since I now have my priorities on starting a family next year.

Anyways, back to the MAX. What is a Y Pipe? Is that like a CatBack type piping? Just curious...the CAI would add at most let's say 12HP, roughly 6 to 8 HP to the wheel, and let's say that the Y pipe adds 20HP (not sure just guessing) which let's say adds 15HP to the wheel. Assuming that a stock 5th Gen Dyno's around 189HP+8HP+15HP=212HP to the wheel... I don't see how that would equate to mid 14's to 1/4 mile let's say for argument's sake.

Personally, I think you have a better shot against a 540iA off the line than you do on a rolling start since the 540i gets all its tourque at around 2800 RPM. Just my opinion. If you live in the DC Area, let's hook up, not to race, but to check each other's ride out!

 

Ya I hear the Dinan stuff is crazy expensive for sure. You don't want to get addicted to modding that bad boy unless you got money to burn? $500 for a CAI now that is crazy!!!
The Y-Pipe with intake with a 5spd 5th gen should dyno around 200-205HP. With the car in question at 3200lbs they can pull off 14.5-14.9's with excellent launches. But as you know (being a past Max owner) the Max 5spd is not easy to launch hard consistantly unless you got tons of practice.
I don't live in the USA but I'm sure there has to be someone in the DC area with a modded 5spd 5th gen that likes to run with bimmers? With the HP race going on with car manufacturers the 5 series Bimmers are probably going to get sick HP numbers over the next few years let alone the newer M5's that come out.

A lil off topic stuff I myself spend a few bucks on my Max but I'm more focused on developing my business and buying real estate. Once I get to cetain point I'm going to drop some real money into a sweet ride but not going to do that quite yet mainly since I haven't earned it yet and need money to make money. Funny thing as well is my best friend won a lottery a few months back $1,000,000 cash (no taxes on lotteries in Canada) and he ended up buying an AE Max (could have bought pretty much anything he wanted) and invested the rest in real estate and other stuff. In my opinion most people who drive expensive cars can't really afford them and are living on a month to month basis. If a car (expensive ones) is going to even remotely effect a family cash flow then it really doesn't make sense. Since the Hi tech market has bottomed out there have been deals on Bimmers (1-3 year old) like crazy since all these young hot shots lost their jobs and had to give back their leased cars. Porsche sales have dropped 31% or so in the last while which total reflects current conditions. ie people living on a month to month basis. Right now if I was going to get a Bimmer it would be the new M3 for sure. That is one car I would pay cash for since the resale value is going to be excellent and you get a lot of car for the money. If I were you keep the 540 and put money towards your new family (trust funds) larger house etc..

 

AC 540/X5...i totally believe you. Please excuse PhatGuy, he thinks he knows a lot about cars. The 540i is a very fast car, especially on the highway. My dad has owned 2 bimmers, a 98 740iL and 2001 330i. I can tell you that V8 Bimmers are quick.

Now to clear up Phatguys BS....A 540i will pull at least 8+ cars on a 5 gen with your mods. How do i know this??? Well i have raced BriGuyMax's 97' Maxima from 80-125 and he pulls 1 1/2 cars on me. I took my dads 330i auto against his Maxima and he pulled about a car at the same speed. For laughs we took a GS430 up against the 330i from 70-130 and what happened. The GS430 pulled 10+ cars on the 330i. The latest i checked, a 540i and GS430 had identical performance numbers. Hell Phatguy, I am 99.9% sure that if i ran my moms E320 up against your Maxima at highway speeds it would pull slowly on you. Phatguy my advice to you is to go to your local Barnes and Noble and buy up all the car magazines you can and start reading them. Maybe you will learn something!

 

Well I have ran a 740 as well and pulled on him on the highway. The issue is 7-10 car lengths from 70-110. There is no way a 2000 stock auto 540 is going to pull 7-10 cars on a 5th gen 5spd max with y-pipe and intake from 70-110 assuming both are WOT at the exact same time! Neither one of you have run 540 auto have you? I ran a friend of mine who has a 2000 540 auto a number of times when I was STOCK so I know for a fact. I have not run 2k1 or 2k2 540 so I cannot speak from experience on this car. Is there any difference between a 2k and 2k1/2k2? As for you daddies 330 auto I would easily beat it on a roll no problem.

 

So you must run high 13s to low 14s at the track eh?

I HAVE run 540s in my GS...and they are almost dead even with me. I'm sorry dude....I love the max, but it has NO CHANCE against a 540 from a roll....I'm not saying it's going to be 8-10 carlenghts or whatever...but the max will get beat...bad.
You think you can keep up with my Nitrous max??
cuz it has a hard time beating 540s...and even 740s. Those cars are geared for top end...that's why the 740 has a 2.87 rear end...compared to the max's 3.8x final drive.

BTW - you wouldn't beat the 330i....cuz I BARELY can...and I gaurantee my car is faster than yours.

 

ok here we go again..

Car and Driver ran the new 540 Auto and it ran 14.2 1/4 mile

my cousin has a 2000 GS 400 and he gave a 540 Auto/6spd (I don't know) 5 cars from 80 mph to try and catch up.. you know what.. he never caught him.. yes 3 of us in the car.. but he never caught the 540..

you can't compare a 540 with a Max at high speeds because the 540 has ton's of tq .. so i might be able to beat a Q45 in 1/4 mile but on top end with that tq.. that Q45 will just pull away..

I have raced my cousin's GS 400 without NOS and he will put 8 cars on me easily from 80 and up.. the 4th gen is weakest from 80 - 100 mph at about 10 secs.. with the torque and gearing.. a 540 will put 8 - 10 cars easily on a 4th Gen

 

Well the 540 has been around for a long time so everyone seems to be basing performance on the brand new model. How many 2k2 540 are on the road compared to older ones? Hasn't the 540 has been around since the early 90's?? Are all 540's the same speed? Can they all do 1/4 in 14.2-14.3 with 97mph trap speed every single time? The 5th gens strongest point is around 70-95mph especially with the mods in question? I have run a 2k 540 from around 55-120 and it was no where near 7-10cars. If the 2k2 540 is much faster I guess it is possible but 7-10 cars from 70-110 is doubtful IMO.

 

What kind of max do you drive phatguy? You must have some major mods to pull on a 740 on the highway and to take the 330i from a roll with "no problem". My brother has the 2k se 5spd with intake and y pipe and he cant even take daddy's 330i from a roll as for my daddys old 740 no chance. As for the 540i pull 7-10 car lenghts that might not have happened but the 540i would have spanked the max by at least 5. The 97 and up 540is all come with the 4.4 282 hp v-8, that is a beast.

 

Fellow max owners rippng on one phatguy just because one he suggests the possibility of beating a 540i. I don't know if you noticed, but the guy who owns the 540 was handling the situation better, in fact he was quite amicable to Phatguy, but you fellow Maximas weren't. Shame.

While I find it highly un-likely that a 5 speed max could beat a 540 from a roll, I still do think there is a possibility. Why?? Most 540s out there are autos, probably like 97% or better. They have the fantastic 5 speed autos, I believe Mercedes actually makes the tranny for all of those 4 liter killers.

The possbility can happen because of this: from a roll the 5 speed auto in the BMW will go into 2nd gear. The 5 speed max onwer, still being in 1st, punches it. The BMW follows and punches it, the 5 speed tranny refuses to go back into 1st and just lugs for a short bit in second. The Max jumps ahead.

How do I know this?? I've driven a Mercedes E420. Yes, the BMW is faster, but they are in the same class of power 275 hp vs 300, mated to the same 5 speed tranny. The E420 goes like a bat out of hell from zero, but from a roll where you can't get back into 1st, it just isn't the same.


Food for thought

DW

 

It is a personal thing. Some people on the .org don't like me because I question/comment on most races "stories' that get posted here. I have nothing bad to say or no bad comments to say on any other posts other than "race story" type posts. I will question them all and the ones I believe are the ones I witness, experienced, 150% make sense or see a good quality video (even those aren't that great since you have no idea what is really under the hood). The 540 guy is cool and if he had a problem with me I'm sure he would have let me know? I see a post of an NA Maxima "racing" C5 to 130mph and I said nothing (what is the point). But I see a post about a bimmer against a max something I've witnessed/experienced and question the tranny on the Max and the 7-10 car lengths from 70-110 issue. Even the bimmer guy said afterwards he didn't know if it was a couple of cars or not.

As for the 330 auto issue I have been in a modified GTI VR6 that ran against one on a roll and he pulled on it. And my car is exactly the same speed as this particular GTI from 1st all the way to 4th.

 

What do you do for a living?

 

Replace Bimmer with Max and the statement will be very valid.

 

So it's very likely that a 227hp v6 5-speed FWD car can beat a 282 v8 (tq) 6-speed(highway geared) RWD car? Weight is more neglibile with speed.

By the same logic...should we doubt Civic Sis beating Maximas?

 

No I don't think so. But a ~245HP(modded) 5spd 5th gen 3200lbs Max can run with a 540Auto (not 6spd) up to certain speeds (I would say 110-120). When the 6spd 255HP Max comes out later this month and few mods installed it will "rip" 330's no problem (if a modded 222HP can the 255 will kill it) and easily beat or run with most Bimmers on the Road especially older M3. That is a lot of bang for the buck!

 

WTF are you guys still arguing this, I am not sure why someone would flame every race story, and brag so much about their own car? BMW's (3, 5 doesn't matter what series), I have taken a few out on the autobahn, and the top end of a 320 is comp. to my max, and I have seen some 5 and 7's do things out there that a max with 300+ hp couldn't. I was driving at 220 km/h yesterday Benz C200 Kompresor, my rental's governed top end) and was blown past by a 3 series (couldn't tell what model... too fast) If you saw what those cars faced over here (I'm in Freising outside Muchen right now) you would have no doubts and this conversation would be over. And yeah my max is SLOW....

 

Geez, I didn't realize that this topic would stir up this much hatred. All I was trying to do was to hook up with the owner of the White MAX.

As for my 540i, it's a 99 auto with Dinan tranny upgrade and Stage1. Today, I ran into a very good friend of mine who owns a 2001 SE 25th Anniversary Edition (5spd). We went to Lewinsville Rd. (some of you in the DC area will know where this is) and we ran. I beat him off the line, we raced from rolling start and still beat him (my 540i will kick into 1st gear now with the tranny upgrade), then we hit 495 and from about 50mph we both took off from the exit. By the time I hit 120mph I was what appeared to be 7 or 8 cars ahead. We then pulled over to get a bite to eat and I asked if he was trying and indeed he stated that my 540i was just simply pulling away from him.

Now does this mean that the MAX is slow? NO! It just means that the 540i is faster.

PhatGuy, I respect your opinions and yes, I think I will start investing for my future kid(s).

I forget who asked me, but I'm a Technical Consultant and I am just fortunate I have good clients that still have money in this tough market condition. And no, I don't think I'll be buying a MAX anytime soon ( I once owned a 98 SE 5spd. and was in love with the car, but traffic conditions around here makes it unbearable to drive stick).

 

its not.. you trust me its not you.. look at PhatGuys profile and search users posts.. read all the Race Stories he has invaded with his "comments" trust me.. you will feel a whole lot less guilty