[S58Sal]

Hey Everyone!

I am new to the forum. My name is Joe and I just picked up my 2020 X3M (non-comp) just about a month ago. It was a great upgrade from my 2019 Dodge Charger R/T. I have always been super into cars and tracking them from time to time - so I found the X3M to be the best of both practicality and fun.

Anyways, to my point. Currently the car is on the stock tune, only "performance" modifications are the RK Tunes front mount intakes and an Alibaba single mid pipe (non-resonated). Yesterday, I went to my local drag strip to have some fun with roll races and sent it from a dig one time to get a solid baseline number before I tune the car - (I am trying to wait as much as I can, I have <700 miles on the factory warranty left and CPO warranty through June of 2025).

The results were not as expected - especially after seeing how many are able to achieve mid-to-upper 11 quarter mile times completely stock. I allowed the car to cool completely before it was time for the dig race, and reduced tire pressure to 27PSI at all 4 corners (on Michelin Pilot Sport 4S's, 21" wheels). The car hooked instantly and I have zero issue with the launch and 60' - that being said, I expected more in terms of 1/4 mile ET and trap speed. I was on 93 octane with just under 1/4 tank. My results were as follows:

60' - 1.886
330' - 5.245
1/8 ET - 8.002
1/8 MPH - 89.56
1000' - 10.369
1/4 ET - 12.372
1/4 MPH - 112.42
1,950 DA (74.8 degrees, 88%)

Now I know a lot of the mid 11 times and 118+ trap speeds I have been seeing have come from X3MC's, but I can't imagine a 30hp addition in power is making for that much of an improvement. I know the ambient temp and humidity were also not ideal, but would it really add that much time?

All in all - I just want to see if anyone has some good input as to if this was a normal pass or if you notice something off. I am looking to be in the mid 10's after tune but want to make sure I get there starting from the best I can be stock. I appreciate the help!

[foxdie262]

What mode were you in? Did you use launch control? DSC off?

[S58Sal]

Sport plus everything, DSC off, launch control used.

[tsivas27]

DA wasn’t the best. High humidity and temps high= not so good runs. Also car might have been heat soaked and pulling timing. Traps are down. I’d splash a gallon or two of e85 per half tank to help with timing corrections. I wouldn’t expect really good runs in those conditions.

[Jnat]

Originally Posted by tsivas27

DA wasn’t the best. High humidity and temps high= not so good runs. Also car might have been heat soaked and pulling timing. Traps are down. I’d splash a gallon or two of e85 per half tank to help with timing corrections. I wouldn’t expect really good runs in those conditions.

This^

[S58Sal]

Originally Posted by Jnat

This^

Ya see I would move on and say "fair enough," but check this out. After work today I went for a quick run to see if I could do any better, given that the weather was better and so was DA. See the results below.

Something seems off. Like I don’t feel anything wrong but the time doesn’t seem right. That was leaving off launch control, 0 spinning, sport plus everything, automatic shifting.

[BrockDM]

A few takeaways that I'm noticing;

27 psi is very low for 21" Michelins, especially on the factory tune. The factory tune doesn't spin very much if at all so I would up those to 34-35psi. That low of tire pressure creates a lot of rolling resistance and drag which eats up MPH in the trap speed.

Try holding launch control longer before letting off the brake. Once the RPM stops moving, wait 1-2 seconds then go. You can knock off a tenth from you 60ft on the a bone stock vehicle which will net quite a bit in the 1/4 ET.

Lastly, I know you said sport plus everything and dsc off. Were you in 4wd or 4wd sport? S3 shifting (manual) or D? I presume you saw the little flag pop up on the dash saying launch control active? Did you let the car shift itself or did you manually shift it each gear?

[S58Sal]

Originally Posted by BrockDM

A few takeaways that I'm noticing;

27 psi is very low for 21" Michelins, especially on the factory tune. The factory tune doesn't spin very much if at all so I would up those to 34-35psi. That low of tire pressure creates a lot of rolling resistance and drag which eats up MPH in the trap speed.

Try holding launch control longer before letting off the brake. Once the RPM stops moving, wait 1-2 seconds then go. You can knock off a tenth from you 60ft on the a bone stock vehicle which will net quite a bit in the 1/4 ET.

Lastly, I know you said sport plus everything and dsc off. Were you in 4wd or 4wd sport? S3 shifting (manual) or D? I presume you saw the little flag pop up on the dash saying launch control active? Did you let the car shift itself or did you manually shift it each gear?

So, the 27 psi was when I was at the drag strip. I did that to avoid any wheel hop given that I was on a prepped track. The hit I did with the dragy today was on stock tire pressure—so that’s out.

As far as launch control goes—I’m not sure I noticed the flag on the dash—I’ll look for that next time—but when I did it this afternoon, I held the brake down and held the throttle down and it seemed to operate as intended. It doesn’t fall on its face or anything. I do not manually shift gears, I let the car do all shifting bc none of us are faster than the computer. The car was in 4wd sport as well.

[S58Sal]

Also— D3 everything. Like I wish I was doing something wrong but I promise you I’m not new to drag racing and everything was set up optimally.

[BrockDM]

Originally Posted by S58Sal

Also— D3 everything. Like I wish I was doing something wrong but I promise you I’m not new to drag racing and everything was set up optimally.

This is the problem. You should be in S3 not D3. As long as you see the launch control active flag pop up then the car will automatically upshift in S3 (manual) mode. It's built into the launch control sequence. D3 does not activate launch control. It is simply brake boosting.


Also, switch to 4wd and not 4wd sport. It's proven to be faster and provides maximum traction.

[S58Sal]

Originally Posted by BrockDM

This is the problem. You should be in S3 not D3. As long as you see the launch control active flag pop up then the car will automatically upshift in S3 (manual) mode. It's built into the launch control sequence. D3 does not activate launch control. It is simply brake boosting.


Also, switch to 4wd and not 4wd sport. It's proven to be faster and provides maximum traction.

You’re telling me I haven’t even felt launch control yet?? LMAOO

BUT, Noted—but I’m still not sure that would be why I’m only trapping 113ish, especially when my 60’ is still 1.88. I will give it a try and report back when I have the time to.

[Kevin_The_Clean1]

Originally Posted by BrockDM

This is the problem. You should be in S3 not D3. As long as you see the launch control active flag pop up then the car will automatically upshift in S3 (manual) mode. It's built into the launch control sequence. D3 does not activate launch control. It is simply brake boosting.


Also, switch to 4wd and not 4wd sport. It's proven to be faster and provides maximum traction.

I'm glad BrockDM chimed in & was hoping he would. He's more familiar with launch control then probably anyone else on this site. I'm sure your numbers will improve once you're in the right LC mode.

[Jnat]

Great feedback by BROCKDM and agree with KEVIN, BROCKS got mucho experience with LC... the 4WD thing is also a great thought and has been noted by more then one serious quarter mile enthusiast!

[Max Well]

Originally Posted by S58Sal

...

All in all - I just want to see if anyone has some good input as to if this was a normal pass or if you notice something off. I am looking to be in the mid 10's after tune but want to make sure I get there starting from the best I can be stock. I appreciate the help!

Agree with comments others have made, and as you know from your experience, as simple as a drag strip run seems to be it takes a number of variables to align just right for personal best times. I've been to the Strip a number of times and am still chasing them. Suspect you've seen the Members 1/4 mile thread in the Stickies section where a lot of info has been shared [ https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1444613 ].

Some thoughts -

If you are trying to get a baseline for your car before tuning ideally you should get a number of runs in, as I've seen 0.4-0.5s differences between a group of runs same day and even same lane. To just use one run as a reference is tough to decipher.

When you do those runs, make a spreadsheet as found in the 1/4 thread and look at your interval times. That takes the 0-60' out of the equation and can give you an idea if there is a problem early or later in the runs consistently.

How old are your plugs? In my Sep 2022 runs something just felt off and I couldn't break 12.0s, and the DAs were about what you were seeing. https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showp...&postcount=431 I changed the plugs in Dec 2022 and got my personal best when I went in Jan 2023 (of course the DA was much better as well). https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showp...&postcount=462

How old are your tires and how many miles on them? Tread depth an issue or not? But note that I had brand new PS4S in that Sep 2022 track day and still ran bad (for me) times but it is still one part of the equation...

And always possible to have 'less than optimum quality' gas sometimes, but that ones tougher to sort out and less likely if you always get from a place you frequent.

Good luck and have fun with your F97!

[S58Sal]

Originally Posted by Max Well

Agree with comments others have made, and as you know from your experience, as simple as a drag strip run seems to be it takes a number of variables to align just right for personal best times. I've been to the Strip a number of times and am still chasing them. Suspect you've seen the Members 1/4 mile thread in the Stickies section where a lot of info has been shared [ https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1444613 ].

Some thoughts -

If you are trying to get a baseline for your car before tuning ideally you should get a number of runs in, as I've seen 0.4-0.5s differences between a group of runs same day and even same lane. To just use one run as a reference is tough to decipher.

When you do those runs, make a spreadsheet as found in the 1/4 thread and look at your interval times. That takes the 0-60' out of the equation and can give you an idea if there is a problem early or later in the runs consistently.

How old are your plugs? In my Sep 2022 runs something just felt off and I couldn't break 12.0s, and the DAs were about what you were seeing. https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showp...&postcount=431 I changed the plugs in Dec 2022 and got my personal best when I went in Jan 2023 (of course the DA was much better as well). https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showp...&postcount=462

How old are your tires and how many miles on them? Tread depth an issue or not? But note that I had brand new PS4S in that Sep 2022 track day and still ran bad (for me) times but it is still one part of the equation...

And always possible to have 'less than optimum quality' gas sometimes, but that ones tougher to sort out and less likely if you always get from a place you frequent.

Good luck and have fun with your F97!

I really appreciate the insight here! The tires are all good, but I do believe I am due for plugs - I have some I bought a week or two ago from FCP that I need to install. I will get that done this weekend - but very possible that is the problem!