Quote:
Originally Posted by CSBM5
I'm not so sure the F80 will be quicker on "most" typical autox courses than the E90. It's wider, longer, and has a FAT low to mid range torque curve. On street tires, it will take great patience and skill managing rear tire grip coming off elements, making minor throttle changes when loaded up, etc. The S65 flat torque curve really allows the E90 to hook up coming off elements, upshifting from 1-2 in the middle of an element, etc.
I'm contrasting it to my E39 M5 which has just a tad less peak power than the E90 M3, but has a fat, explosive mid-range with 74 ft-lbs more peak torque than the S65. That car just wants to spin its rears any place, any time, any chance you'll allow it to on course.  The first time I autocrossed the M3, there was an offset gate right in the middle of the acceleration run from the start toward a Chicago box. The 1-2 upshift needed to occur right in the middle of that offset movement, and I continually amazed myself how I could pop a 1-2 there with just a bit of wheelspin and then quickly hook up the rears (using Rivals btw). If that was the M5, I would have instantly spun doing a maneuver like that, so I would have had to carefully manage that shift, be much smoother on the throttle/clutch, etc.
I'm guessing with the explosive torque of the S55, it won't be a cake-walk managing getting it to the ground effectively on most autox courses.
EDIT: lol, just read this thread in the F80 section about AWD option. Interesting to hear some of the comments about not being able to put down the power... |
You may have a point with that - I generally don't factor that in. I've never really had any difficulty putting power down, so it's hard for me to relate. I've autocrossed an E60 M5 and a C6Z06 on streets (not even the 'good' streets) and while you had to be aware of the power if driven with care it wasn't an issue. Given that those are NA vs. the F80 boosted torque curve I don't know how they compare.
Still, there is very little upside to placing a 70k+ new car that has potential to be an overdog in a decently-subscribed class where 25-35k cars are running competitively.