After I the put the smack down on the lil Lexus IS350, I asked the caravan "Who's next?" Quicker than you can say "Bat outta hell", blackonblackonblack, who will now be referred to as BBB, was next to me side-by-side. We soon came upon a straightaway, and with EBMCS03 and NeRwEEzy behind us, we dropped to second gear to 60 mph.

On the count of three by EBMCS03, BBB and I launched at the same time. We were neck and neck until BBB shifted into third. I had still held onto second and approaching 6500 rpms. Since BBB was the first to shift, I immediately gained some distance on him. When it was my turn to finally shift into third, my foot was still planted on the throttle never lifting off. With the click of the paddle I was in third and still gaining distance. At this point it was apparent that BBB could not close the distance so we let off on the throttle.

Round two came up and everything was identical to the first rolling launch. EMBCS03 gave the three count and off we went. I did exactly the same things I did on the first launch but this time it wasn't even close. BBB fell back real quick. I knew that something had happened. BBB later said that he mis-shifted. Fortunately for me, the SMG is a tranny that is hard to mis-shift. A rematch is in the works at some future point.

 

that was fun... i enjoyed watching those runs haha

 

Yup so to summarize... 6 spd vs SMG... SMG is faster because of the tranny. It would be hard even for a professional driver to change gears so perfectly!

Dont you love SMG on highway runs VT?

 

I will love it even more when I get a rematch with heezy545i. He's got a 6speed too. I know exactly what I did wrong and what I need to do to correct it.

 

SMG is better, sure .

 

I remember racing a manual Audi S4 with a 4.2 liter V8. We started from a stop and I did not use launch control and did not disable any of the electronic traction/stability controls(which would have made my SMG shifts faster). The S4 lead me out of the hole by about a third a car length but at every shift point I gain about six feet solely because of my quicker shift times, when I shifted he gain about two feet. At second gear we were even and by the time we were in third gear I was ahead. The S4 was right next to me the whole time so I saw that when he shifted I pulled ahead and when I shifted he pulled ahead, but I pulled ahead a lot more on his shifts than he did on mine. If I turned off the traction/stability controls I would have done better out of the hole and would have had faster shift to boot.

But the SMG's benefits are less about stomping the accelerator to the floor for 5.3 sec than they are for road racing from point A to point B. Keeping both hands on the steering wheel as you are racing through S-turns and shifting mid-turn(not desireable to shift mid-turn, but if you don't know the road its a necessity), with the SMG's rev matching, to get in the right gear for an explosive exit is closer to the point. Also there is no way you can consistently shift equal or faster than a SMG without missing a lot of gears in the process, maybe you can do it for one 5.3 sec run, but put a couple run back-to-back and your missing shifts and time with the manual.

 

Why? Did Heezy545i beat you the last time? ...Just wondering.

 

Actually, on the first run, I shifted to third at 60mph...and held it there for as long as I felt the engine pulling. It's when I shifted to 4th that I saw you start gaining on me. On the second run, I misjudged the count-down and started too early at the count of "TWO", and when I realized I had jumped the gun, I dropped back, then missed my shift when the count was "THREE". BTW, I just had DSC off. I wonder what the result would have been with everything off?

 

Yes. We went head-to-head and he bested me. It was my first against another 545i. Usually, my other rolling launches are against other makes i.e. Mercedes, Lexus, Audi, etc... All I needed was to be in third gear against them and would ordinary win with one shift into fourth.

Heezy545i, I can tell and have seen, is an old pro at rolling launches. He and will have a rematch something soon. Heezy545i, I'm coming fer ya!

 

Thanks for clarifying. So, the first launch you were at a disadvantage due to being in third vs my being in second. The second launch was a total disaster, didn't realize how much.

We'll have to get together with heezy545i, Tblax545i, and EBMCS03. Five 545i's going heads up.