so I was driving my wifes 01 330CI with her and my dog in the car and I pulled on to the road (its a split 4 lane) and I speed up to = the flow of the other cars and a 02 WRX just like mine when it was stock pulls up nxt to me and just hangs there till we hit the next red, he gives me the look and we go ( mind you I am on snow tires ) and I completly walk on him, my BMW is stock I was amazed that should not have happend. anyone ellse have weard storys like that

 

dude...here's a little fact we've all learned (or will learn) at one time or another:

It's NEVER going to be fast enough...save your pennies and start modding when you have enough money.

 

A lot of people with WRXs, STIs and other performance automobiles have NO FREAKING CLUE how to drive them. For instance, to beat a stock Honda Civic away from a stoplight in a stock 02 WRX, you've got to keep your RPMs at 4500 and above for every shift -- remember, the Civic weighs 800 pounds less!

It is the driver, not the car, that ultimately matters. I always chuckle when I hear people brag about how they "pulled on" or "killed" another car that was clearly out of their league. Unless you are on an actual drag strip with a timer and a tree, you have no idea if the other guy was actually trying to race you at all, or if they were willing to actually push their car to its limit. I know that I almost never take my 02 WRX up to 5500 RPM/WOT, which means that I drive around all day with about 110 WHP (how much HP the engine puts out without any boost) -- yes, that is less than a Honda Element with the 1.8 liter VTEC.

I can't tell you how often I pull away from a stoplight faster than Corvettes, Porsche Boxters, Mercedes AMGs and Mustangs WITHOUT launching or even spooling up the turbo, simply because I know how to drive and shift properly, and they do not. I'd say about 80% of the people with performance cars either 1) don't know how to drive with the car's particular strengths and weaknesses or 2) spent so much on it that they treat it like it was made of glass. The ONLY way to measure the performance of your car against others is at a sanctioned track with an official timeslip, period -- any other situation and you've got no idea what actually happened.

Back to the 330ci -- yes, it is a faster car than a stock 02 WRX, especially on the highway. Get used to your wife dusting your tail.

Oh, and as for drag racing with your wife and dog in a $36,000 car on a public road -- I think that sort of foolishness speaks for itself

 

Driving depends on the person as much as the car. My friend has an 03 Cavalier and he was pulling on me once (the Rex was stock and all he has is an exhaust) when we both were in third gear (before boost). Both he also has a 2.4l engine if I remeber correctly. Once boost came on I was gone.

 

It'll never be as fast as you want, unless you're loaded and can buy everything you want. Even then, you want more. It's a never ending cycle.

 

" My friend has an 03 Cavalier and he was pulling on me once (the Rex was stock and all he has is an exhaust) when we both were in third gear (before boost). Both he also has a 2.4l engine if I remeber correctly. Once boost came on I was gone."

so what you're trying to say is that he was beating your 150HP heavier AWD car for the fraction of a second until thre turbos spooled? This is not all that surprising. If you'd downshifted, you wouldn've have had to even wait that long for the spool.... as mentioned above, it's all about the driver and how hard you push the car.

Although it's probably more fun to let him think he has a chance, then, when you get where you're going, make him polish your tail lights. If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes....

Also, that a $36,000 RWD car is slightly faster from 40-70 than a $24,000 AWD car should not come as a huge surprise to anyone.

 

So what you're saying here is, you can't drive?



I kid, I kid.

Just to add an anecdote, I drove side-by-side with a Mercedes e55 AMG a few days ago. This is a car which can do a low-13-second quarter-mile from the factory, and it weighs 4,098lbs -- it can smoke a C5 Corvette. He drove next to me for about 30 minutes, in mixed traffic and out on the highway. Not once during that time did he 1) approach or exceed the actual speed limit, 2) downshift or 3) respond in any way to some obvious taunting by other drivers, including a BMW M3 which cut him off twice and passed him on the right. With 469hp on tap, he never even blinked. Good drivers don't abuse their power.