[quote=ChrisSTR;229360]

/quote]

Well that might be causing you some problems.

Best thing to do is just ignore it. Coming home from Atlanta last weekend I had a new BMW 550 keeping up with me as we made our way through slower traffic but neither of us got stupid about it.

There are plenty of faster BMWs out there. Even the new Cadillac with 556HP is going to blow your doors off. Mercedes and Audis as well.

But so what. This car drives plenty fast enough and does it in a very refined manner. I didn't buy it as a stop light racer. For me a ton of performance mods would ruin the appeal of the car. I've even thought about debadging it and removing the spoiler. It's also a lot less money than any of those cars now. These are harder to spot on the road so maybe curiosity a part of it too.

But this pales compared to when I take my 71 Espada out for a drive.
The gawkers are downright dangerous.



So keep your cool and enjoy it.

Bob S.

 

I had the Biturbo E. It was fast but the least reliable car I ever owned. Constantly in the shop. Was so fast for the day, 0-60 in 6 seconds. I used to kill everything I saw. My STR would kill it in all ways. Better handling, 0-60, top speed, stability.....in every way a better car.

There are virtually no STRs in Quebec City. I've only ever seen one other one so very few know what it is that I drive. BMW owners here keep their distance because they are leery.....I spend more time distancing myself from kids with their noisy exhausts. The look on their face as I pull away effortlessly is priceless.

 

Worried about BMW's, etc.? I'm confident that an STR with a free flowing exhaust, port/polish/pulley, and ECU tune will be high up in the food chain. Last week my custom cat back (hi-flow cats coming soon) Magnaflow x-pipe, 2 1/2" pipe to Magnaflow mufflers, K&N air filter, 93 octane fed STR outpulled a 2010 Camaro SS from 75-120 mph. Let's all watch for ttwotees soon to be performed "Snake Bite" kit dyno results.

 

Gentlemen, I had a very nice 2006 competition M3. It was significantly faster to 60 than my STR. BMWs are well engineered and very fast. The new M5 will trounce our cars to 60. Let's be reasonable.

 

Enthusiast, I completly agree with your last post. I think we acknowledge the STR is a 3rd gear up car (unless an ECU tune can solve our short shifting problem. Eurotoys???), but the ubiquitious 3-series BMW with it's ubiqutous rude driver now has something to read when they decide to tailgate me. At least that was my intention.

I've gotten a lot of people with camera in my rearview mirror since I acquired the plate so most are getting a kick out of it. I likely won't keep it for long as it's a bit too douchey for me.

 

I love my Jag. I love it better than any BMW, Audi or Mercedes that I ever owned. Yet, unless AVOS' kit comes and delivers, there is virtually no way that we can take out a well tuned recent model M model to 60. They will likely take us in the corners too.

 

All my badges are shaved so I don't have to deal with this. Except for the times I want to.

 

You go chrisSTR. Eventually you'll be able to back your "plate" up with quick 0-60 times as well. A modified BMW that will outpace an STR in the 0-60 was just that...modified. Now wer'e modding STR's. Though my plans are to boost my STR engine's power close to or on the 500 hp/trq level, I've begun to mod the suspension as well. H&R Sport Springs are in on Thursday as well as research into other suspension modifications (Eibach's or the like). I live near Lime Rock Race Park, CT so I've begun researching road race development companies in my area in assisting in suspension geometry that will provide both a comfortable ride while hugging the road. Eventually a Limited Slip Differential (LSD) with 3:35:1 (or lower?) final drive ratio will be performed. My mechanic who's blown 1983 Mustang GT's was featured several times on "Pinks", is an engine performance and rearend specialist. Yes, at the present BMW's and others have the edge on 0-60 mph, but this won't last too long with a well thought-out STR.

 

Andre's dual rotor supercharger upgrade will allow the STR to smoke any unmodded BMW. In fact, it will likely smoke just about any BMW that doesn't benefit from forced induction. My concern is our tranny. How will it hold up with that much power?

Suspension mods are a wonderful thing. Removal of the adjusting units with a good aftermarket replacement with some new lower springs will really wake up the car. In order to really make her handle, some weight removal will be necessary I think.

 

That would be my concern as well along with the half shafts and driveshaft assembly. Until someone does it and pushes the car for a while you don't really know what it will do. Give a call to Level 10 transmissions in NJ. They might know the failure level on these trannies very, very well.

But unless you're going to track the car and why would you do that with a car that starts at 4,000lbs which is also loaded with lots of heavy luxury equipment?

But I wouldn't object to another 100HP except that unlike the new Jags this isn't 5L or direct injection so it's probably going to eat a lot more gas. That, I don't want. I kind of like the suspension as is but then I probably don't have the same goals as some of you.

Bob S. P.S. I still have my Biturbo E. Original owner and I love it.

 

You still have your Biturbo and it still runs? Got pics????

 

Port/polishing/smaller pulley or re-gearing the blower, plus an ECU tune has yielded better fuel economy. Imagine what a limited slip differential with 3:35:1 gears or a little lower (due to trans gearing; don't go much lower) will do for 0-60 times? Probably cut off 1/2 second (4.8 sec.) off 0-60. I've read the trans, though rated lower than 500 hp has stood up without failure. Avos would know if the half shafts, driveshaft, as well as trans will stand up to 500 hp and trq. I'm searching for hi-flo cats and will open a new thread as an inquiry. Might as well ask here if anyone has anyone info. on hi-flo cats?

 

Forget the M5, I recently drove the new 2011 BMW 550 and I think it's faster than a STR. Same 400hp, but torque is 450 plus it has a 8 speed trans that is much more responsive than our 6 speeds. It weighs more and it's a bigger car more but you dont feel it, especially with it set in full sport mode.
The car is way to complicated and too expensive (and I don't like the way it looks) but it is a sweet car to drive.

 

Complicated in a big way. I had, albeit briefly, a 745Li. Belonged to friend who could no longer keep up the payments. Had to give it back after a few weeks because it had so many problems with the rear-end and the computer.

 

Yep, the new BMW's are trying to keep up with the new Jags and MB. Don't have the dough and love the STR's looks and feel? Well...a warmed over STR i.e Eaton112 blower mod, intake tube mod, 2 1/2" full exhaust mod, K&N panel filter, and an ECU dyno-tune should yield close to 475 hp and 500 lb/ft trq. Need more? An STR with a twin screw blower and modded intake tube (close to development), 2 1/2" full exhaust mod, K&N panel filter, and ECU dyno-tune should yield close to 525 hp and 550 lb/ft trq. These power levels will propel the STR well into sub 5 second 0-60 and mid 12 second 1/4 mile territory.

 

The title of this thread hits the nail on the head. (Forgive the rhyme). I don't think there is any doubt regarding the engineering and CAPABILITY of BMW cars themselves. That many BMW's are very fast, great handling cars isn't a matter of opinion, it's a matter of fact--despite the electrical bugaboos. That an M5 will no doubt beat an STR in every performance category (acceleration, handling, braking, etc.) isn't my concern. They've always had my respect. What's more, I don't even begrudge the true BMW enthusiasts, like two of my colleagues. These two guys have owned, rebuilt, and raced a few BMW models over the years. Great guys, great cars.

It's the BMW drivers in the general public that are the crux of the problem, especially here in California.

More specifically, it's the drivers of lower grade 3-series and 5-series BMW's--the official cars of the California Highway System. For every true blue Bimmerhead, there are at least 3,247 complete tools that don't seem to know anything about Bimmers beyond the badge. They race like idiots from light-to-light, cut you off without even flashing a signal, tailgate your rear bumper like a horny dog humping your leg, and think "great handling" is best demonstrated via sudden, jerky movements of the steering wheel. In short, they drive "horny." They are usually 20-30-something males with a massive chip on their shoulder, struggling to make the monthly car lease or loan payment (at a HIGH interest rate, no doubt) just to say, "I drive a B.M.W." Half don't even know what the letters stands for. They are, in a word, pathetic.

I encountered another one just this past weekend. My wife and I were returning from a great evening out and were cruising back home on a main 4-lane avenue (2 lanes each way) through our residential neighborhood. We were just blocks from home, so I had slowed to a cruising speed just a hair above the limit (35mph) in the right lane, behind a small pack of traffic. I had left approximately 2.5 car lengths between the Ford Explorer in front of me and my car.

As we passed a side street, I noticed a BMW 3-series "itching" to turn right onto the main avenue. No turn signal, of course. Inside it I could see the silhouette of two young men with baseball or trucker caps of some kind--of course. As soon as we passed him, the driver gunned it at full throttle straight for our rear bumper, only to NAIL the brakes seconds later to avoid plowing into the back of my car.

"Horny tool," I thought.

After just 5 seconds behind us, the driver YANKED the wheel left and gunned it again, pulling up along side and just past us. He hit the brakes again to avoid hitting the Mercedes S-series in front of him in the left lane. I could tell somehow that Mr. B.M. Double-Tool just wanted to get in front of me. He pushed it hard again but then, as if acknowledging that there was too little space in front of me, he tapped his brakes and backed off a bit. I thought, "Oh good, maybe I was wrong to assume--" Suddenly, the driver STABBED the accelerator and YANKED the steering wheel hard right, cutting us off to occupy the small space in between my car and the Explorer. The Bimmer bobbed from side-to-side as he unsettled the suspension.

My wife let out, "What an idiot!"

My thought? "Typical." Followed aloud by, "Whatever." (California-speak)

We had traversed only 3 short blocks in this time. But here's the best part:

At that very next intersection, the driver YANKED the steering wheel hard right, gunning it onto that side street. No turn signal, of course.

The driver did not choose to pull smoothly into traffic behind me, cruise for 3 blocks, and then turn right onto that side street. No, that would have been the intelligent, mature thing to do. No, you see Mr. B.M. Double-Tool is immature and always needs to prove something. He HAD to gun it. He HAD get in front of me. He NEEDED to cut someone off. "Those F#&n' yuppies in that shiny silver Jag, I'll show 'em!" And that, my friends, is what distinguishes these drivers from so many Mercedes and Jaguar owners.

I can recall dozens and dozens of such incidents since moving to California a few years ago. And every single time, it's a BMW.

 

I can feel you frustration and very well put. But ... I see the same exact behaviour in all sorts of vehicles out here. I had one just yesterday in a SRT 8 or something like it that came on Route 80 at 110? mph through Hackensack and proceeded to use the rest of tre congested traffic as though they were pylons on a slalom course. I was in the left lane going just under 80 and he really flew by me. The car was fast, the moves were violent and thankfully no one was startled enough that they moved the cones on him. That's fortunate because he wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. I saw him charge the rear of one car with a 30-40 mph approach and cut left then right wil damn little room. He was off 80 in one exit. It's usually modified cars or performance oriented cars and their wannabe drivers of which BMW has made plenty examples. So maybe California just has more "tools" or a greater love of BMWs?

I lived there for 25 years. I've been back to the SF Bay area twice this year and drivers don't seem as bad. I find the NYC metro area to have some of the worst. The roads really suck here too!

It's a jungle out there.

Bob S.

 

Re. incompetent BMW driving, if perhaps one sits and thinks about this for a moment or two, the real root of the problem is the way that SOME of our young people are being brought up. And not JUST young people; there's plenty older ones who should know better too. To me it's all a matter of learning and training at an early age, usually by the parents. Look inside a bad kid, you find bad, or non-existent parents. And I don't buy the excuse that "it's their friends, it's the school, it's this, it's that".
If you're reading this, you'll be a JAGUAR driver; this means you drive competently, safely, and with consideration for ALL other road users at all times. YOU lead by example. YOU are not affected in any way by the actions of mal-contented people because you don't allow this. Basically,as a Jaguar driver, you are beyond that kind of thing.
Leedsman.

 

In due time me and my STR will be blowing away whatever BMW or Dodge has to offer.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leedsman

Re. incompetent BMW driving, if perhaps one sits and thinks about this for a moment or two, the real root of the problem is the way that SOME of our young people are being brought up. And not JUST young people; there's plenty older ones who should know better too. To me it's all a matter of learning and training at an early age, usually by the parents. Look inside a bad kid, you find bad, or non-existent parents. And I don't buy the excuse that "it's their friends, it's the school, it's this, it's that".

Excellent points, Leedsman. Very well stated. It's unfortunate that these malcontents often threaten our safety while driving without any regard for others, despite our best efforts to lead by example.

On a lighter note, the Traffic School presentation I reviewed a few months ago (thanks to a speeding infraction--hey, it occurred 05:00AM on a Saturday!) stated, no joke: