M5 on my Rear!!

Thought I’d share an encounter I had on the way home today with a black ’06 BMW M5. Those things are DAMN FAST!! And the lines are quite nice as well.

 

 

 

At the beginning of the pull at around 50 mph, at WOT, he took off right with me and stuck to my rear till about 120, at which I started pulling away. I was only doing about 13 PSI of boost with my Methanol Injection system turned OFF, so if I had set at least 15 PSI of boost and the injection on, I would have blown him away… but the fact still remains that he kept right up at the beginning! We pulled over afterwards to have some laughs. Seems his car is completely stock (except some Carbon Fiber cosmetics) with only upgraded air filters and uses it as his daily driver (of course…). He says he was quite surprised that I pulled away, as a previous encounter he had with a red Esprit V8 was quite different, where he took the Lotus out!! This is why he even gave it a shot in the first place. He also mentioned that he takes out Porsches all the time, and even keeps up with 911 TT for a short while, but not for long. Gallardos and F-360’s have also been on his hit list already, but they’re on mine too, and not impressed with the 360's performance whatsoever. The Murci and F-430 are another story, but then we’re talking $300K and $250K, quite different price class. I explained how the Lotus Esprit V8's come ECU "governed" from the factory due to expensive warranty backup and finicky Gearbox for those who don't know how to properly shift and drive these things (which is about 95% of American drivers!). I must agree with that and when asked what it the best mod to put on my car, I always answer, "The Spacer"..... :eusa_think:

 

The Spacer in between the steering wheel and the seat!!

 

Lotus sells 2 ECU upgrades (also available elsewhere now), the better of which throws the HP from 350 to about 400 just like that. If people did a little research before buying any of these high end cars, I'd bet Lotus would be much more popular, especially at their prices! Hell, for under $6K you can get the car SAFELY to 512 RWHP, or about 600 at the crank!! Matt from this forum has already proven that!

 

I was thinking about a Caddy CTS-V, ’05 or ’06, as a daily driver; but after seeing that M5 in action, I have to check price comparisons and maybe re-evaluate… Anyone else here have a '04-'06 M5?? What's the difference in the earlier models... I'm not, or ever will be, a new car buyer... I hate those first 2 years of devaluation!

The 06' is the year with the 500hp V10 engine. And for a BMW, that is a whole lot of power. After a couple thousand miles, it depreciates about $20K. I'd say go for it.

Thought I’d share an encounter I had on the way home today with a black ’06 BMW M5. Those things are DAMN FAST!! And the lines are quite nice as well.

 

 

 

Gallardos and F-360’s have also been on his hit list already, but they’re on mine too, and not impressed with the 360's performance whatsoever. The Murci and F-430 are another story, but then we’re talking $300K and $250K, quite different price class.

 

My G will run a quarter in 11.89. I raced and easily beat a f430 spider so I don't know what you are talking about here.... I also have a M5 and it is a fast sedan, but there is no way it will take the G. Man, to lump the G in with the 360; that ain't right!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32HlDTLpNYc

my g can't easily beat my 430...

my g can't easily beat my 430...

 

Have you tested both cars side by side on the track or street?

Not yet but i can't see them being very far apart if at all. Maybe I'll have to do a side by side.

Not yet but i can't see them being very far apart if at all. Maybe I'll have to do a side by side.

 

It will be close for sure. My G is a 06 6speed which is faster off the line than the egear and the F1. I haven't driven a F430 and believe most of what has been written about it; except the Ferrari performance claims. If you watched the vid, note the trap speeds for both cars, the ferrari only pulled 113 mph....

My G will run a quarter in 11.89. I raced and easily beat a f430 spider so I don't know what you are talking about here.... I also have a M5 and it is a fast sedan, but there is no way it will take the G. Man, to lump the G in with the 360; that ain't right!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32HlDTLpNYc

 

Hey man, let's get something straight... I'd NEVER "lump" the Gallardo with the 360 ever! You may have misunderstood what I wrote. I simply stated that I've pulled on both types of cars (as did this other guy's M5, but he was just telling me this, no proof...) but the G wasn't easy pickings!! My neighbor has an Orange G, I've driven it twice already... the car's throttle reponse and torque are awesome (then again I do have a turbocharged car). What I didn't like too much was the steering response and somewhat lack of "road" feedback. I'm also not a fan of the E-Gear (which is what he has), although I can definitely see the advantage for it, but I'd much prefer the extra control you get from a good manual gearbox, especially in turns and track situations. Talking of the track, I also raced against a Gallardo at Homestead Racetrack. He was pretty good taking the corners (less roll than my car and sticks well, but I also have the higher setup on my stock Lotus suspensions), but I'd smoke him coming out of the Apex and on the straightaways. I wasn't able to speak with him too long, as we were both busy with other things going on that day; but I know he had a Carbon Fiber wing, K&N's and exhaust on that car, and I must say that is sounded kick-ass.

 

As for the M5, judging by the exterior (special aero pkg and carbon fiber insterts all over the place), I know that guy had some mods in there, as he kept saying stock with a smile... so I did the same. After hearing your comment, I'm pretty certain!

BTW, 11.89 1/4 mile on a Gallardo... that's pretty damn good for stock!!

 

Not defending the F-430, but I also agree that it's not easily beat. Remember that when racing, or "driving spirited" , the SPACER has a lot to do with the end result! The spacer in between the steering wheel and the seat!

 

I've seen serious supercars get beat by everyday rice cars on the track simply due to either Shitty ass driving, or Incredibly great driving!! :icon_thumleft:

Hey man, let's get something straight... I'd NEVER "lump" the Gallardo with the 360 ever! You may have misunderstood what I wrote.

 

Right on, glad you cleared that up. Thanks for the compliment!

Cheers

 

Bernard

Thought I’d share an encounter I had on the way home today with a black ’06 BMW M5. Those things are DAMN FAST!! And the lines are quite nice as well.

 

 

 

At the beginning of the pull at around 50 mph, at WOT, he took off right with me and stuck to my rear till about 120, at which I started pulling away. I was only doing about 13 PSI of boost with my Methanol Injection system turned OFF, so if I had set at least 15 PSI of boost and the injection on, I would have blown him away… but the fact still remains that he kept right up at the beginning! We pulled over afterwards to have some laughs. Seems his car is completely stock (except some Carbon Fiber cosmetics) with only upgraded air filters and uses it as his daily driver (of course…). He says he was quite surprised that I pulled away, as a previous encounter he had with a red Esprit V8 was quite different, where he took the Lotus out!! This is why he even gave it a shot in the first place. He also mentioned that he takes out Porsches all the time, and even keeps up with 911 TT for a short while, but not for long. Gallardos and F-360’s have also been on his hit list already, but they’re on mine too, and not impressed with the 360's performance whatsoever. The Murci and F-430 are another story, but then we’re talking $300K and $250K, quite different price class. I explained how the Lotus Esprit V8's come ECU "governed" from the factory due to expensive warranty backup and finicky Gearbox for those who don't know how to properly shift and drive these things (which is about 95% of American drivers!). I must agree with that and when asked what it the best mod to put on my car, I always answer, "The Spacer"..... :eusa_think:

 

The Spacer in between the steering wheel and the seat!!

 

Lotus sells 2 ECU upgrades (also available elsewhere now), the better of which throws the HP from 350 to about 400 just like that. If people did a little research before buying any of these high end cars, I'd bet Lotus would be much more popular, especially at their prices! Hell, for under $6K you can get the car SAFELY to 512 RWHP, or about 600 at the crank!! Matt from this forum has already proven that!

 

I was thinking about a Caddy CTS-V, ’05 or ’06, as a daily driver; but after seeing that M5 in action, I have to check price comparisons and maybe re-evaluate… Anyone else here have a '04-'06 M5?? What's the difference in the earlier models... I'm not, or ever will be, a new car buyer... I hate those first 2 years of devaluation!

 

 

You can get a lot of hp out of the Esprit but the tranny is a real weak link and i don't believe it will stay together for long with 512RWHP.It is too bad as the rest of the car rocks and the handling is spectacular

You can get a lot of hp out of the Esprit but the tranny is a real weak link and i don't believe it will stay together for long with 512RWHP.It is too bad as the rest of the car rocks and the handling is spectacular

 

Kudos on the tranny... but as the phrase goes. "Lotus, if you don't know what it is, you won't know how it drive one!". It's a learning curve that takes some time, but after that, you'd be amazed!! Matt has been running 500++ RWHP on his '02 Esprit, and has won NUMEROUS races, not to mention his street driving, and his gearbox is PRIMO!! I'll tell you this, once you master the shifting techniques on an Esprit, you can drive just about anything. The 2nd gear synchro is really the only weak link, but that's manageable.

 

BTW, for those of you who like the Esprit and still want to stop light drag race, there's a replacement tranny on the way from one of our highest acclaimed Lotus Gurus and a very respectable manufacturer....