Dixon, Franchitti Turn Fast Laps On Final Day - Tampa Tribune
30.01.09
By CHRIS HOFFMAN
Highlands Today
Published: January 30, 2009
SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY - Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti are no strangers to taking fast laps at the 3.7-mile Florida circuit, but some laps have been faster than others.
Dixon, the reigning Indy 500 and IndyCar champion, turned in the fastest time of 1:46.671 (126.052 miles per hour) in the new Acura ARX-02a LMP1 for de Farran Motorsports on the final day of the American Le Mans Series' annual Winter Test on Wednesday.
Teammate Simon Pagenaud had the week's quickest time with 1:44.814 (127.082 mph) from Tuesday morning and will join Dixon and team owner Gil de Ferran for the season opening Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on March. 21.
Franchitti wasn't far behind, as he was second in the Patrón Highcroft Racing's Acura P1 with a fast lap of 1:46.367 (125.227 mph) in the final session of the day and is set to drive the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Source: Tampa Tribune, FL
bmw m3????
Jun 11, 2007 by Braydon D | Posted in BMW
I live in southwestern ontario and i need to know where to buy a 2005 bmw m3 and also how much it is, hp, etc.
If you are buying a m3 for hp and speed then look for a different car. I spend almost every weekend at the track and the m3's are very over rated as far as straight line speed goes. They have a 333hp V6 and are very expensive to modify. In stock form they run around a 13.5 at the track. Even with very expensive superchargers, exhaust, cai, tune, and tires, they dont break the 12.5's. Now if you are buying a car that does well at cornering speed, looks awsome, has a awsome interior, and is one of the overall coolest cars around in my opinion then the m3 is the car for you. I just know a lot of people at the track are extremely disapointed in there straight line speed and expected a 12 second car. Now, the 08's that are comming out will have a 400hp v8 engine that should be a high 12 second stock 1/4 mile car, look out!!
Spartan Mike K | Jun 13, 2007
Why does the 2008 BMW M3 use a sliding caliper for the brakes ?
Jan 31, 2009 by bigblackgto2006 | Posted in BMW
Why does the 2008 BMW M3 use a sliding caliper for the brakes instead of a fixed caliper like most costly vehicles. IE Brembos. Is it for cost or utlilty?
I will make you answer your question yourself by describing to you how a "sliding" and a "fixed" caliper works.
Remember that the brake rotor which is connected to the wheel is acted upon by two brake pads, one on each side. In a BMW just like most cars, there is only one piston that pushes one brake pad. So the whole caliper moves/floats/self-adjusts so that both brake pads can act on the rotor and stop the car.
In cars with fixed calipers there are pistons on both sides of the calipers.Some even have 2 pistons on each side. So the calipers do not need to self-adjust.
Obviously, the ones with more pistons costs more and are very slightly better in braking power. But being more complex and with more components they are also more prone to break down and costlier to maintain.
So did BMW try to save some money? Answer it yourself.
brod | Jan 31, 2009
How do I properly use the launch control feature in my 2002 BMW m3 with SMG?
Feb 27, 2008 by Bob S | Posted in BMW
I just purchased a bmw m3 with smg.
I heard that this car has launch control, a bit limited in US, but its still there. Does anyone know how to use this? I have the sport button, smg control, and a dsc button. Also have the paddle shifters, and am driving pretty good with them now.
Also, I understand that this may be bad for the tranny, but I still want to know how to do it.
Thanks to all!
There are 2 drive programs for your particular car's SMG.
1) A-Mode, automated, from A1 (starts in 2nd gear for
snowy roads) to A5 (sporty)
2) S-Mode, sequential shifting, from S1 (relaxed dynamic)
to S5 (sporty), and as a special feature, S6 (super
sporty).
I think you are interested in knowing about S6 which is also called "acceleration boost". To use S6, DSC must be turned off, and the S6 program must be active. The shift lever must now be pushed forward and the accelerator pedal depressed. The acceleration boost is performed as soon as the shift lever is released. Further gear shifts are done manually.
Furthermore, there are 2 types of S6 boost. The "racing start"
and the "burnout" mode, both of which are extremely harmful to the clutch and to the whole drivetrain.
Depressing the accelerator slowly to the floor activates racing start. This means fastest acceleration without wheelspin (due to the computer comparing front and rear wheel speeds). Depressing the pedal quickly to the floor activates burnout mode after the shift lever is released. This can be dangerous since the rear of the car can made unstable due to extreme wheelspin.
Burnout mode can be bad not only for the car but also for the driver. Implement the same at your own risk (perhaps in a race track, or an empty rural airport?).
brod | Feb 27, 2008
