Stock vs. Mod 330i = No difference!

Vehicle:

2001 BMW 330i 5-Speed

Modifications:

Jim C CAI, TriFlow Muffler, RD Sways

Test area:

1.5 miles, 15 ft. elevation above sea level, straight and level smooth blacktop, no traffic or cross streets, 50-55 F ambient temperature.

Test equipment:

Passport G-Timer GT2, identical driver

Summary:

We tested the car late last week with all modifications in place. The average 0-60 run (best in each direction) was 5.91 seconds. 0-90 mph was 13.26 seconds.

We took all modifications off last night (lease return) and tested again. The average 0-60 run was 5.85 seconds. 0-90mph was 12.51 seconds.

The only difference in the vehicles was about extra 10 gallons of gasoline in the "modified 330i" tank. The road was identical, and the ambient temp was within 5 degrees of each other.

Would the 10 gallons of gas (70 lbs?) be most likely responsible for the "slower" test times of the modified 330i.

Bottom line? I don't think the CAI or exhaust helps with performance. If anything, the mods may slow it down a bit (80-90 mph with mods = 3.00 seconds / stock is 2.56 seconds)!

Interesting.

10 gallons= 60 pounds

No surprise to me. I've always thought CAI and exhaust are bling mods more than performance modifications (not that bling mods are necessarily bad...said the guy who's buying 18" wheels).

No surprise. Those mods are probably even less effective on a 325 which already shares most of the intake and pretty much the whole exhaust with the 330.

doesnt suprise me either. Would be nice to slap them up on the dyno too.

thanks for testing

it's just too darn hard to get anything more out of n/a engines without serious hardware.

(not so true with forced induction --> )

Originally Posted by pdz

it's just too darn hard to get anything more out of n/a engines without serious hardware.

(not so true with forced induction --> )

,

amazing what some software changes do for a turbocharged car

i've always thought that short of tinkering with cams, compression ratios, or final drive ratios that it's too damn hard to get useable/quantifiable gains out of any n/a engine'd BMW.

This isn't Tanin's car, is it? I thought he was keeping it?

Originally Posted by The HACK

This isn't Tanin's car, is it? I thought he was keeping it?

Yes, it is his car. It is a very quick 330i (when I had my identical 330i, he could pull on me in all the gears - but mine could hit 131 and his topped at 129! ).

The dealer made him an incredible deal on the ZHP, so he is getting it on Friday.

Originally Posted by Emission

Yes, it is his car. It is a very quick 330i (when I had my identical 330i, he could pull on me in all the gears - but mine could hit 131 and his topped at 129! ).

The dealer made him an incredible deal on the ZHP, so he is getting it on Friday.

cool!

obviously you're going to document and test that car, for good comparison, RIGHT!???!?!?

Originally Posted by pdz

cool!

obviously you're going to document and test that car, for good comparison, RIGHT!???!?!?

Yes, we will test the ZHP in the identical manner, on the identical road. Before upgrades, and after. He is thinking of putting the muffler and CAI on the ZHP. They may not add speed, but they sound pretty cool!

Unfortunately, it may take about a month to break-in the vehicle before I can post numbers.

Originally Posted by Emission

Yes, it is his car. It is a very quick 330i (when I had my identical 330i, he could pull on me in all the gears - but mine could hit 131 and his topped at 129! ).

The dealer made him an incredible deal on the ZHP, so he is getting it on Friday.

Ask him to bring the car down to the next techsession. I will not publish the results of the inspection online, it's just to satisfy Paddle.Shift's and my curiosity.

It's good that a SCTS member is getting a ZHP, we can finally put that stupid question to bed. Heck, that ZHP may be as popular at the next TechSession as the Z4 from the last one.

(Do not fret ZHP owners, we at SCTS have vowed NOT to further the ZHP discussion online, it is purely to satisfy our own curiosity.)

Originally Posted by The HACK

Ask him to bring the car down to the next techsession. I will not publish the results of the inspection online, it's just to satisfy Paddle.Shift's and my curiosity.

It's good that a SCTS member is getting a ZHP, we can finally put that stupid question to bed. Heck, that ZHP may be as popular at the next TechSession as the Z4 from the last one.

(Do not fret ZHP owners, we at SCTS have vowed NOT to further the ZHP discussion online, it is purely to satisfy our own curiosity.)

we're curious, too.

damn west coast mafia.

it might benefit to get the jim conforti shark injector if you dont have one already ... when paired up with those mods is when you will see the difference....but im not sure if they make one for your car

Originally Posted by The HACK

Ask him to bring the car down to the next techsession. I will not publish the results of the inspection online, it's just to satisfy Paddle.Shift's and my curiosity.

Tanin already said he is going to file all the numbers off the parts when he gets the car.

In all honesty, we (Tanin and myself) wonder if the ZHP can do as well to 60 mph as it may need a 2-3 shift. That 2-3 shift killed the G35 6M to 60, but it made up the loss by 80 mph (and was faster than the 330i).

Shifting = lost time

Originally Posted by TAMPABAYBIMMERS

it might benefit to get the jim conforti shark injector if you dont have one already ... when paired up with those mods is when you will see the difference....but im not sure if they make one for your car

We've all been waiting 3 years for one but it still doesn't exist.

Originally Posted by TAMPABAYBIMMERS

it might benefit to get the jim conforti shark injector if you dont have one already ... when paired up with those mods is when you will see the difference....but im not sure if they make one for your car

True, but none for the 330i - yet.

Originally Posted by Emission

Tanin already said he is going to file all the numbers off the parts when he gets the car.

In all honesty, we (Tanin and myself) wonder if the ZHP can do as well to 60 mph as it may need a 2-3 shift. That 2-3 shift killed the G35 6M to 60, but it made up the loss by 80 mph (and was faster than the 330i).

Shifting = lost time

exactly.

higher redlines are our friends.

if i could get an extra 1000rpms on my engine, it would work some wonders to let me stay in gear longer per shift. would need some serious tweaking, though.

it would also help the slug, aka the xiT.

Originally Posted by pdz

exactly.

higher redlines are our friends.

if i could get an extra 1000rpms on my engine, it would work some wonders to let me stay in gear longer per shift. would need some serious tweaking, though.

it would also help the slug, aka the xiT.

my 5 speed is nice and widely spaced, you want to trade?

Originally Posted by The HACK

Ask him to bring the car down to the next techsession. I will not publish the results of the inspection online, it's just to satisfy Paddle.Shift's and my curiosity.

It's good that a SCTS member is getting a ZHP, we can finally put that stupid question to bed. Heck, that ZHP may be as popular at the next TechSession as the Z4 from the last one.

(Do not fret ZHP owners, we at SCTS have vowed NOT to further the ZHP discussion online, it is purely to satisfy our own curiosity.)

My next 330 w/ marketing package will be available for complete inspection. I will authorize all but the "parking lot curb clearance" test.


Emission and I were both surprised with the results but I feel confident with the #'s.
I did find the best way to launch the 330i (with minimal wheel spin) is side stepping the clutch at just under 3k. Anything more than that may look/sound cool but is wasted in white smoke.

Ps. The Yokohama AVS ES 100's on my car do an awesome job off the line. I think you would be hard pressed to find anything better for the $.

Interesting test results Emission, thanks for posting them.

This is just a shot in the dark, but I think that some of these mods just make the power curve more 'peaky', which would explain the feeling of more power when you add the mod. Even though there isn't much more power available, it ramps up differently which tricks the butt-dyno into thinking it has more power. My guess is that in order to get that 'peak', the tuners sacrafice power from a different part of the power band - which isn't always a good thing in the real world unless you're matching it to a track or something (which you would normally do with gearing anyway).

I hope the temperature is similar when you go out and test the ZHP (does that timer compensate for outside air temp/altitude?).

Congrats Tanin - looking forward to seeing that ZHP up in the air.



--SONET

Originally Posted by SONET

I hope the temperature is similar when you go out and test the ZHP (does that timer compensate for outside air temp/altitude?).

--SONET

The test area is about a mile from the ocean, in an agricultural area known for consistent temps. It rarely deviates much from 45 F - 55 F in the winter. Most likely, the ZHP will get tested in Jan.

The timer does not compensate for outside temp. My altitude is about 15 feet, which is excellent for testing.

Thanks for posting those results . . . I am really surprised the mods didn't help make the car quicker.

I only have a CAI but I would say my car feels slightly quicker with it


I guess it must be the extra sound that gives the illusion of being quicker.

Tanin, did the butt dyno feel faster with the mods or without the mods ?

Stock vs. Mod 330i = No difference!

Doesnt surprise me at all !

Thanks for the data !!!