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You sure its an SC430 or just a Toyota Soarer?

totoseow

sc430//the lexus cabrio? pls la...even i can eat him...

ok here is my latest. woke at 6am this morning. met friend at raffles marina. he drives a subaru legacy GT, HKS coilovers, ECU flashed, bigger turbo. claims 6.5 sec. intention was to hv a go at each other within limits on the 2nd link stretch...b4 NS hway. no weaving..just see 0-100, 0-200...acceleration in gear. obviously we had to consider other road users....so altho we went beyond 230kmh...we did not pull any stunts on other drivers.

ok after checkpoint. we stopped at petronas pump..slip road. we accelerated out of the slip road for the 0-100, 200 sprint. close but no honey...to 100kmh. beat him by half car length...floored to 200...after 160kmh...it was no contest...i maxed out at 252 kmh. he maxed at 235kmh.

we stopped switch cars. ok i m new to turbo shit...made myself comfy...he had 5 gears on steering to play. i din wanna wreck others car...so just followed him (he was in my 530)...mid range for the legacy turbo is real good..kept on the 530s tail from 120 - 150 easily....after that..the big big let down was the float. even with the HKS coilovers the car was floating...the suspension bouncing..n bottomed out. chassis flex badly..so much so that i din dare to go beyong 190.

ok we u-turn...got back to our own rides n headed back for top speed run. he hit 237 he thinks...i m sure i hovered past 250 with at least 10kmh to spare. rpm was at 6000. discussed over breafkast. conclusion. the 5s chasis is definitely supremely stiff. i dare say stiffer than the amg c-class i tried. the dynamic drive took away tons of body roll. the original sports sus from bmw is good enuf. i m sure u can get better ones out there..but for those looking for after mkts, i really suggest u shop carefully. the right suspension is probably the key to another level. for now i learned a lot about what i have. not gonna change the suspensioin until i m sure the bilsteins etc gonna make it a lot better.

as for my friends LGT, it was perhaps a contest that shudnt hv been...i feel bad, but look at the 110k price tag...n u know there is some value there to b xtracted. anyone can make an engine to hit 240kmh...but the package of stiff chasis, suspension, gearbox...all sadly missing. the difference is appalling. LGT has 245hp, 310nm stock. after he drove my car, he just shook his head when he got off. but beware all u stock 530s. the LGT will be even closer to u...u see one..u know ur competition now. take him on the bends...his turbo cant boost 1 bar for longer than 20 seconds...heat sink will slow him.

eggz

Great write up Toto, Ok next time I see a Legacy.....

Edlee

Yeah? Try weaving in and out of heavy traffic whilst doing so. Mind you, the E60 is notr exactly a small car.

Anyway, made him smell my exhaust when we negotiated the Mt Alvernia flyover. That flyover is my favourite.

totoseow

edlee...i m saying...the 430 is perhaps closer to my 530 than ur 545. u bully small fry la...u will drive circles round him man...that car is like a barge. more roll than a 7 series man....cannot makt it round mt alvernia la....u keep right, apex the bend..he mati cook curry.

eggz...u will see torque magazine proclaming 6.8sec. motoroing or wheels claiming 8.2 sec for the LGT. that was wot i wanted to find out. torque was correct afterall. on NS hway...u dun even worry about the WRX....the turbo cant spool more than 210 kmh for long....whilst u can cruise 230kmh with a lot less stress.

after driving both cars...u will realise how much less stressful high speed driving can be if u hv a stiff car with a perfect suspension set up. sure thing LGT can hi 230..but at 190..your concentration level is 2x that of the 530 driver. u will give up the chase after 10km. the shakes, the sound...my god the sound...it rattles u. same goes for the wrx.

eggz

I guess when a car is designed for the autobahns, it shows. German cars will always have to be made in a certain way.

Toto, I wonder at 200+ kmh speeds on straight roads, would say a Merc E350 be as good or even better than an E60? Mercs generally have better low speed ride vs BMWs, but at autobahn speeds, hmmm...

Ed, a collegue of mine used to have a SC430, I've sat in it, the ride is not too nice, feels really floaty, not taut like sports car should be. I think even if it has the bhp, the driver of a SC430 will not dare to push the car as I think it doesn't inspire confidence like the E60 does. In your case, I believe the battle was won before it started, the bend at the flyover is just a confirmation.

The BMW engineers are awesome, how did they achieve that amount of stiffness with a aluminium/steel hybrid bodyshell that weighs somwhere around 50kg lighter than the E39's

I'll have to say I really appreciate the E60 on my drives to and from Sepang. When you expect so much of the car, whether on the NS highway or at the track and it delivers (except the brakes), it's a great feeling.

eggz

Toto, one question though, how about that Volvo S60 T5 that was chasing you coming back from Sepang? I guess it's lighter pressure turbo means it can sustain the boost for longer periods?

totoseow

Eggz...the 350 wud likely out run a stock 530 on a straight road. bigger cc means higher speeds..IN THEORY....but suspension is key here as well..depending on roads...stiffer set up + chasis will give u the confidence n stamina to go longer agst him. personally..if the road is straight n there r onlt 2 cars...i dun think either wud gain a clear advantage. with the current 530, 258hp...the 350 has no chance...by the time u hit 200..the 530 is ahead by at least 5 car lengths.

as for the t5, 1st off the weight means he can catch me easily...up to perhaps 230. beyond that its a combination of factors. i dunno how floaty he is...but it showed. any sort of turbo will mean it needs to suck in air....the longer the battle goes, the more heatsink builds up. we all know wot kind of a car a saab, volvo is...straight roads no problem....again as u say autobahn cruisers r on another planet. he followed me for a good 70km. att more than 200kmh..that was bloody long, and thats bcos i kept getting cars ahead. in 3 seconds he is on my tail..just cant pull away. but i wud like to think stamina showed in the end...it was probably easier for me to maintain 200+ than for him...he just gave up the chase after i cut from the left. wind noise, float, flex, not to mention watching my lights, road noise, turbo whine....compared to our bigger cc, lower rpm..less noise, better insulation, fatter track tires, stability....stress level different. side by side on empty road..he wud nail me from 0. but i wud probably b able to keep going a lot longer...

one car i wudnt want to play with on NS, his big brother the volvo RS. i wudnt worry about any merc up to SL500. none of the non-R audis wud scare me... none of the short wheel base hatches...will move out of any nissan 350 or GTR. the one car i wud like to try agst wud b a nissan sylvia.

zag

toto, you're out there gunning your car har?! no wonder never pick up my call. Wanted to ask you about Bilstein PSS9 for e60, it's already available and cost S$3300 I was quoted.

You said you will stay away from 350Z? I'd thot it will be on par with yrs right?
Talked about Sylvia, I supposed all sylvia are turbo charged?? I had encounter with it some months back on the tunnel expreesway, i was cruising on right lane and he came up on my tail. I kept my speed at "legal limit", as he got closer and all lanes were clear, I can hear him down shift and roared i guessed trying to execute a fly by.
As i am on the torque range i just stepped on it and a for a few seconds we were neck to neck and i just pulled away and awy. That was sylvia alright but couldn't be sure he gave it an all out at that point in time.
For those turbo charged ricer for eg an Evo, got a friend who drives one and heavily modded to 480hp. he recounted to me that he could not chase an e60 530i on the NS h'way some months back. not sure he way being modest or what?

edlee, may be your 545i is more nose heavy than the smaller engine, weaving in and out of traffic in my e60 is no sweat and frankly speaking coming from e46, i trashed around in my e60 and felt more confidence in it than the e46. Maybe the weight V8 lump in the front is making the difference

totoseow

oh ya zag i had a missed call..din know it was u. i hv been doing some research on potential opponenets..i think 350z still cant play...also i know the sylcias r all PI. just watch for the spec-Rs. the rest r no problem. spec-Rs hv upgraded turbos...same as the skylines-GTR. i chased one b4 from lornie to mt alvernia. smell smoke. short races better let him win....

as for evos on NS. same issue..heat sink. u can do 230 stressfree...he does 230 with oil at 110 degree he is in trouble after 20km. i worry about them in city driving...did u guys catch the video of the yellow evo 9 testing in nurburgring? it beat the previous record by evo 8mr by 4 seconds at 8m 11 sec. but the conclusion was that its still not a autobahn stormer...at 220..the raciing driver/tester backed off. too much vibrations...

ok where can i enquire about those bilsteins? also can decide if i wanna spend 3k on wing mirrors or on bilsteins....guess i m gonna keep the car for awhile. the M5 din really turn me on. its not a 250k more satisfaction put it that way. when i heard the omv at 120k i sian liow...margin for pml just way overboard.