How stable is the E89 at high speed?
- Thread starter sunnydays
- Start date
I felt uneasy past 150 but the car felt OK if a little light at the front, certainly more comfortable at 150 than a E92 but I don't think I'd have the balls to take it to 180.
At those speeds I get paranoid about hitting wildlife. I imagine a badger at 180 would cause problems
I think opinions on stability will vary depending on what others cars people have experience in and also how well the the car is setup. Any deviation in wheel balance or alignment would make any car feel uneasy even past 100.
At those speeds I get paranoid about hitting wildlife. I imagine a badger at 180 would cause problems
I think opinions on stability will vary depending on what others cars people have experience in and also how well the the car is setup. Any deviation in wheel balance or alignment would make any car feel uneasy even past 100.
If you think about it, you can be driving two completely different cars within seconds.
The metal roof (and rear windscreen) are pretty heavy items alone. When driving with the roof up, this weight is sat between the front and rear axles. As soon as you drop the roof away andinto the boot, all that weight has moved and sits on and behind the rear axle, so if you are throwing the car around you suddenly have a light front end and tail happy rear...
I'm sure someone will be able to tell us the weight of the roof alone ?
The metal roof (and rear windscreen) are pretty heavy items alone. When driving with the roof up, this weight is sat between the front and rear axles. As soon as you drop the roof away andinto the boot, all that weight has moved and sits on and behind the rear axle, so if you are throwing the car around you suddenly have a light front end and tail happy rear...
I'm sure someone will be able to tell us the weight of the roof alone ?
I would think the changes in aerodynamics with the roof moving into the boot would have a more profound effect on straight line stability?
With the roof up the profile looks like an upside aerofoil..so as it gets faster it will tend to lift…with the roof down the aero foil will be destroyed so no lift..maybe better stability?
With the roof up the profile looks like an upside aerofoil..so as it gets faster it will tend to lift…with the roof down the aero foil will be destroyed so no lift..maybe better stability?
Spaldingski
I got nervous taking it past 110mph so I wouldn't wanna go any higher than that.
I really don't think (/hope) anyone here is considering doing 180mph on British roads.
Pondrew said:Have we morphed into a different dimension with this thread? Are you seriously talking about E89 Z4s, or some Italian exotica? :?
My teeth have all been destroyed by driving on a British road at 30mph in mine
I really don't think (/hope) anyone here is considering doing 180mph on British roads.
BeardyJon said:I got nervous taking it past 110mph so I wouldn't wanna go any higher than that.
Pondrew said:Have we morphed into a different dimension with this thread? Are you seriously talking about E89 Z4s, or some Italian exotica? :?
My teeth have all been destroyed by driving on a British road at 30mph in mine
I really don't think (/hope) anyone here is considering doing 180mph on British roads.
Why not? Our motorways are straight and flat enough.
Other than some arbitrary speed limits there's no difference between doing 180 on an unrestricted autobahn and the M6 or M40.
Except that if they catch you in UK they will arrest you, take your car and crush it, and you will most likely end up in prison for a short time, spending the rest of your life with a criminal record and all its disadvantages.R.E92 said:BeardyJon said:I got nervous taking it past 110mph so I wouldn't wanna go any higher than that.
Pondrew said:Have we morphed into a different dimension with this thread? Are you seriously talking about E89 Z4s, or some Italian exotica? :?
My teeth have all been destroyed by driving on a British road at 30mph in mine
I really don't think (/hope) anyone here is considering doing 180mph on British roads.
Why not? Our motorways are straight and flat enough.
Other than some arbitrary speed limits there's no difference between doing 180 on an unrestricted autobahn and the M6 or M40.
But what the heck, mines ok at the limiter, if anyone tries this dont take your foot off the throttle quickly when you bottle out, it gives quite a twitch as the torque through the drive train shifts, gave me a few involuntary sphincter twitches
:evil: :evil:
mcbutler said:
I don't see how that would happen if there's no other cars on the road at the time. I agree that I wouldn't even consider going over 100 if there was potential for getting stopped. Police speed enforcement is minimal at the moment which is one of the few benefits to their lack of funding, aside from the predictable camera vans I can honestly say I've not seen traffic officers doing speed checks for years.
In my area they've even resorted to giving NIMBYs toy speed cameras to enforce 30mph zones in villages. They even turned off the fixed cameras due citing high running costs of the old analogue technology.
Comes from experience, good fortune and one very nice police officer.
I took delivery of a spanking C63AMG some years ago and one of my first trips was Plymouth to Bournemouth for the theatre and back.
On the return trip the tolpuddle bypass is a long smooth quiet 70mph road, wife was asleep so 'hey ho lkets go'!!!!
Gentle accelaration to the limiter passing only two other vehicles with no one around anywhere then slowed down, soon noticed one of the vehicles closing fast, wannabe racer me thinks and ignored it.
Driving perfectly for the next couple of miles then on come the blue lights behind me and I pulled over. I got out of the car immediately and said "fair cop I am not going to make any excuses for that". The traffic officer was a giant of a man, he explained clearly to me that once you exceed 100mph they have the power to seize and destroy your vehicle and arrest you! I was sweating at this point leaning on my very expensive new motor. He then went on to the mitigating factors - instant admission of guilt - no bullshit - capable car - driven well although excessive speed - empty road - good conditions etc etc etc.
The summary of this was being given a ticket for 93mph which means I got a fine and points and did not qualify for that silly education course they run.
It was a real eye opener for me - only good thing is wife slept right through the whole thing and still does not know to this day.
Be warned chaps - the other officer in the car was a complete w***er and wanted my car and freedom - luckily the other guy was the senior officer present..
I took delivery of a spanking C63AMG some years ago and one of my first trips was Plymouth to Bournemouth for the theatre and back.
On the return trip the tolpuddle bypass is a long smooth quiet 70mph road, wife was asleep so 'hey ho lkets go'!!!!
Gentle accelaration to the limiter passing only two other vehicles with no one around anywhere then slowed down, soon noticed one of the vehicles closing fast, wannabe racer me thinks and ignored it.
Driving perfectly for the next couple of miles then on come the blue lights behind me and I pulled over. I got out of the car immediately and said "fair cop I am not going to make any excuses for that". The traffic officer was a giant of a man, he explained clearly to me that once you exceed 100mph they have the power to seize and destroy your vehicle and arrest you! I was sweating at this point leaning on my very expensive new motor. He then went on to the mitigating factors - instant admission of guilt - no bullshit - capable car - driven well although excessive speed - empty road - good conditions etc etc etc.
The summary of this was being given a ticket for 93mph which means I got a fine and points and did not qualify for that silly education course they run.
It was a real eye opener for me - only good thing is wife slept right through the whole thing and still does not know to this day.
Be warned chaps - the other officer in the car was a complete w***er and wanted my car and freedom - luckily the other guy was the senior officer present..
The E89 shape was used extensively for racing here in IMSA and also in Europe, while it was still in production. It had a large wing and a big V8. Lots of YouTube videos of it. I enjoyed seeing it come up through the esses in front of Ferraris and Corvette race cars at Watkins Glen. I do not think it was capable of 180 MPH.. but it sure sounded thrilling. The current race car is based on the M6 body shape. Although big and heavy, it is actually more aerodynamic according to team members that I spoke with, because of the extended body shape length. {Bmw builds exellent strong, safe race cars, (which I got to sit in) in their opinion).
The street version does shift some weight rearward when the top is down, but it is fairly light aluminum as is the cast aluminum mechanism. The car has a fairly even weight distribution to start with. Also you will notice that the new cloth top version is not much lighter. Going over about 95 with the top down would get pretty weird, just from the wind noise and buffeting.
And finally, going very fast requires proper tires and proper suspension set-up and with the top up. Mine feels ok on track up to 120 or so and that is my personal limit of stupid fast. Also if your tires are over 5 years old don't do it... they are shot even if low mileage and very high speed rated.
The street version does shift some weight rearward when the top is down, but it is fairly light aluminum as is the cast aluminum mechanism. The car has a fairly even weight distribution to start with. Also you will notice that the new cloth top version is not much lighter. Going over about 95 with the top down would get pretty weird, just from the wind noise and buffeting.
And finally, going very fast requires proper tires and proper suspension set-up and with the top up. Mine feels ok on track up to 120 or so and that is my personal limit of stupid fast. Also if your tires are over 5 years old don't do it... they are shot even if low mileage and very high speed rated.
