135 MPH in 4th gear in a 330Ci.

[Cabra]

So I'm on the open road and decide to test the top speed of my stock 2002 330Ci.

Its an automatic and I was driving in steptronic mode.


I was able to reach 135 MPH in 4th gear at red line (about 6,200 rpm)

I know the stated top speed of this car is 135 MPH. I was never able to switch to 5th since I had to slow down.

In fifth gear, shouldnt the car have been able to pull past 135 ?
It sure did feel like it wanted to go faster.

Thanks,

Terry

 

[codex57]

There's a limiter on our cars. Well, yours anyways. I think there's one on mine, but it only limits like 2 mph anyways.

 

[Kirby]

Yeah, I think Codex is right, the speed in any gear is limited by the ECU in the US.

In theory, shifting to 5th would make you go faster, but not by much. You were past peak horsepower at 4th gear redline, downshifting should have put you back in the power band, but you have a lot of wind resistance at that speed to quickly exhaust your horsepower.

 

[MrElussive]

I think the car could definitely go faster without the speed limiter. IMO, BMW's electronic limiters are extremely modest. Look at the 330i/330Ci ZHP models, they are electronically limited to 155. I highly doubt the ZHP models' 10hp advantage over the regular 330 models is resonsible for the extra 27mph of top speed.
Wind resistance isn't a big deal when we're talking about BMW's.

 

[Average Jae]

one of the reasons why they install speed limiters is due to tire rating. H rated tires will do 130+ where as Z rated will do 149+. give few miles for max safety speeds that manufacs deem reasonable. last thing they'd want is a lawsuit because your car is faster than the rated tire speeds, and you have a blow out @ a high speed..

go read about it here

 

[Cabra]

Is my 330Ci electronically limited to 135 MPH ?

If so, i wonder what top speed the car is capable of achieving without a limiter.

 

[Kirby]

I think the car could definitely go faster without the speed limiter. IMO, BMW's electronic limiters are extremely modest. Look at the 330i/330Ci ZHP models, they are electronically limited to 155. I highly doubt the ZHP models' 10hp advantage over the regular 330 models is resonsible for the extra 27mph of top speed.
Wind resistance isn't a big deal when we're talking about BMW's.

You're right about the 10 hp difference not making a 27 mph difference in speed, it's unlikely. It's more likely that the ECU was set to allow a higher speed.

BMW wind resistance isn't a big deal compared to a Mack truck, but it is a big deal when talking about a car's top speed, and it is the biggest factor by far that limits the car's top speed. Wind resistance increases SQUARED with respect to speed.

What's important here is not the absolute numbers, it's the fact that it takes A LOT more horsepower to get a little speed gain. Think about performance cars we all are familiar with:

My wild ass guess is that an unlimited 330 would top out at around 145 - 155 mph. A 236 hp ZHP might top out at maybe 160 - 165 unlimited.

A 500 hp M5 might top out at 200 - 210 mph. More than doubling the horsepower only gains you 50 mph or less (which really sucks!)

A 700-800 hp NASCAR tops out at 235 mph unrestricted. We just tripled horsepower over my 330cic and got a measly 70 mph or so. And remember that the NASCAR body was optimized in a wind tunnel!

 

[poboyis]

once you hit around 600 hp, its like hitting a wall. a jump from 700 - 800 hp will feel about the same as a 160 - 180 hp increase, almost nothing, wind resistance absolutly kills you

 

[tool fan]

I think the car could definitely go faster without the speed limiter. IMO, BMW's electronic limiters are extremely modest. Look at the 330i/330Ci ZHP models, they are electronically limited to 155. I highly doubt the ZHP models' 10hp advantage over the regular 330 models is resonsible for the extra 27mph of top speed.
Wind resistance isn't a big deal when we're talking about BMW's.

Mr E....what you say makes sense...theoretically. My 530i is limited to 155, I have had up to 154 I was at 4600 RPM and I know the car could not have been much faster. The drag is incredible.

 

[MrElussive]

You're right about the 10 hp difference not making a 27 mph difference in speed, it's unlikely. It's more likely that the ECU was set to allow a higher speed.

BMW wind resistance isn't a big deal compared to a Mack truck, but it is a big deal when talking about a car's top speed, and it is the biggest factor by far that limits the car's top speed. Wind resistance increases SQUARED with respect to speed.

What's important here is not the absolute numbers, it's the fact that it takes A LOT more horsepower to get a little speed gain. Think about performance cars we all are familiar with:

My wild ass guess is that an unlimited 330 would top out at around 145 - 155 mph. A 236 hp ZHP might top out at maybe 160 - 165 unlimited.

A 500 hp M5 might top out at 200 - 210 mph. More than doubling the horsepower only gains you 50 mph or less (which really sucks!)

A 700-800 hp NASCAR tops out at 235 mph unrestricted. We just tripled horsepower over my 330cic and got a measly 70 mph or so. And remember that the NASCAR body was optimized in a wind tunnel!

Interesting point, I never thought much about wind resistance. I always read about car companies bragging about a low coefficient of drag and all that other crap, so I just thought that a lot of German cars were great at high speed handling and acceleration.

 

[MrElussive]

Mr E....what you say makes sense...theoretically. My 530i is limited to 155, I have had up to 154 I was at 4600 RPM and I know the car could not have been much faster. The drag is incredible.

That's so crazy. I wish we had an autobahn in the US. I'm gonna talk to my local highway cops and see if they'll let me go real fast one of these days.

 

[Chesty Bonds]

I'm gonna talk to my local highway cops and see if they'll let me go real fast one of these days.

LOL yeah you wish!