how fast is your coupe or saloon?? i recently managed to gather enough forward thrust to hit around 149 mph @ about 5850rpm! coincidentally, that is where the maximum power is produced. please bear in mind that the max speed in this country is 70mph and that the best way to achieve a max speed figure is to leave the country and do it in germany, like i did.....honest. dose the 149mph max speed seem about right for a 328 coupe with a rear spoiler.... and a proven 229 bhp.

one big downside to this extreme exercise is that it don't half drink some fuel!

please be honest! and keep it legal(ish)

I have a 328i coupe and am looking a ding some tuning, has yours had some moods and if so what are they as it seems to be difficult to find anything on them - lots for the 325 etc.

The main one seems to be the air intake manifald as this is too restrictive in its standard form.  Costs seem to be in the rgion of €1k for new mainfild and remapped chip.  Reckon it should give 30-40bhp more which is a good hike over my standard 193.

Get in touch with ALPINA 527 on the http://www.e36coupe.com - www.e36coupe.com web site. he does a throttle body and inlet manifold using bmw parts, put this with a good air filter and chip and expect to gain about an extra 30-35bhp! the cost is around £120 for the throttle body, £200 for the manifold, £80 for the filter and superchips charge around £265 for the remap. I make that £665 or there abouts.

But anyway, how fast is it? bmw reckon 147 mph in my handbook, but i think that they are dreaming! unless my speedo is under reading, which means ive been going way over 150 (on the german autobahns remember)

barf,

BMW reckoned on 147mph but most road tests done my magazines at the time reckoned on about 143mph. Yours may be a few mph faster as you have about 15% more power and you have moved the peak a little bit further up the rev range. However as webdunk says over 100mph your speedo will not be accurate and will read positive. 

a recent session on the rollers idicated that at 30/50/and 70, the car speedo was consistantly reading 34/54 and 74 (ish), and ran on to an idicated 145mph @ 5750rpm on the rollers. the rev needle on the road seemed to exceed 5750rpm, but then again, the guages are of analogue type and are only accurate to a point! I believe that the speedo was pretty accurate at that point. one thing though, the car is fantastically stable at higher than normal speeds...........testament to the design and engineering of BMW

are there any calculations that can give a better idea of how fast the true speeds are?  ie. mph per 1000rpm 

 I once knew a chap who reckoned that his 1.3 cavalier would smash 125mph!........................optomism eh

I know a guy that says his old metro could do over 120.....ryhmes with 'banker'.

hell fire, he must have been drinking the same looney juice as the chap in his cav!.........................was he from todmorden?

jonp wrote: I know a guy that says his old metro could do over 120

would you feel safe in a metro @ 60, never mind 120?

Barf,

My driving has improved considerably since those days! 

When I first passed my test I wasn't really into driving. It was just away of avoiding having to get the bus, and somewhere to go with my girlfriend when her parents were in! However after a couple of years I really got the bug and now I can't get enough of it. Once I started to enjoy it I got better. Also work sends us on defensive driving courses every couple of years which has taught me a lot. I actually think I am quite a good driver now and i would love to take my car on a track.

As probably some of you have read in another post, i just changed the engine on my 316 E36 coupe.

I had first installed a 320 non vanos engine, but I didn't like the performance, so a few weeks ago I installed an 328 M52 engine and all the mechanic parts (brakes, suspension, climatic control, differential, etc.)

The other night I went for a test run with two friends of mine and the maximum speed the car managed (on tacho) was 250Km/h .

This is for you in miles 156.

The engine looks unmodified with stock exhaust, manifold etc.

The instrument cluster was changed too, and it is the one that accompanied the engine.

The tyres dimensions: front 215/45/17 and back 225/45/17...

Any comments?

I was pretty amazed to see that kind of reading...

what do you think?

you see barf the dial, (i am actually talking about the rpm dial) seems to work fine during acceleration through the gears, as it shows the rpms it should when the rev limiter works...

It took a very long straight road to manage to see this reading and believe me it is quite hard to find this kind of road in greece....

so then webdunk, do you agree that the 149mph recorded on my speedo would sound about right? dont forget though, my 328 is running with about 230bhp, nearly 330 territory, and they are limited to 155mph. what do you reckon?

 oh, and since my garage was ripped off last week, ive picked up some brand new schnitzer type 3's with michelin pilots for...............£1500 bargain! also N8 ARF is looking a little sorry at the moment (nearly every panel marked or scratched when the trackday wheels, roadbike (colnago art deco) and storage boxes where dragged over the car and probably into the burnley black market) the little sods. looks like my insurance will increase next time around

156mph speedo reading in a 328 is quite possible due to errors in the speedo itself. As for 6100rpm in top gear, I am supprised that the car would reach such high revs in top especially since the standard 2.8 engine starts to run out of puff after 5500, although I have to admit I have never taken mine past 140 on the speedo so who knows.

Barf, with 230bhp I wouldn't be supprised at all if you car would do 149mph. Don't know about 155+. That would depend on the gearing and how much further up the rev range you peak power arrives. Once you have passed the peak, power tends to drop off rapidly so the car will not rev much further especially when you are already going very fast. I suspect higher gearing in the 330 has a much to do with the higher top speed as the extra power.   

do you get fuel for free? running a bmw is'nt getting any cheaper!

N8ARF will be re-painted early May, so i'll be buying a few goodies for it

ar'nt schnitzer mirrors damned expensive! 

Barf,

A question m8, what mods have you had done to your motor. I am very interested as i have a 328 sport and am looking at doing some mods myself.

It currently is 211bhp at the fly at 5100rpm and 183bhp at the wheels. 225 lbft torque. No mods as far as i know.

Also where is the ecu on the car as i am going to look if it has been chipped or not.

If your car is making 211bhp and 225lbft of torque at the fly wheel then it must already have been modified. In standard trim the engine makes 193 bhp and 206 lbft.

I have read the figures for the standard car and physically i cant see any mods, thats why i was wondering if it had been chipped or not. I also run the car on optimax. Power still comes in around 4000 but peak power is at 5100 instead of the factory quoted 5300.

So i would like to know what has been done to the car before i start modding it, so i dont replace anything that may have already been done to it. Do you know of anyone who would be able to find out what it has had done to it. I am the fourth owner and the previous owner only had it 6 months. It is a 98 R plate.

ive got  the M50 manifold with big bore throttle body, superchip, green induction kit, E.C.I.S cold air filter compartment (available through C.A. Automotive, ask for Roy) miltek cat back system, bmw motorsport plugs and regular unleaded. the car make 229.5 bhp @5860 rpm and 217 ft/lb torque. i think ive got 180 ish at the wheels (i think). all this has definately made a difference, especially past 4000 rpm. money well spent!

  hope this helps you

Barf  

Barf

How has the mods affected on the road ability.  Have you improved on the 0-60 time by much and more importantly the 4th geat 50 -75.  Over here on the emerald isle we have been blessed with b roads every weher so overtaking articulated trucks is the measure of perfomance taht I am most curious about.

My standard 328 is pretty capable but I am really interested to see how a modded engine performs at these items.  People have suggested moving to M3 territory to get big gains but the insurance and road tax over here are crippling.  Annual road tax would go up to €1279 an increase of €259 and insurance could double or triple.  The joys of motoring in Ireland!!!!