525i for breakfast....

[rsiwicki]

It has been a long while since I found a good place to lay my "temporary drag strip" in the middle of a freeway with a suitable contender, but this morning everything was so right for the pickings….I was behind a new 525i merging onto the freeway and I guess the guy did not like me all up in his jock so he did a WOT merging onto the freeway from about 40mph till 80mph….well I had the car in second gear just in case the guy was a player so sure enough when he went at it I dropped the hammer as well and rode his jock all the way until we merged into traffic not even losing a foot of ground, then the fun began as we got across the bridge 30 secs latter there was only 3 cars immediately infront of us and clear wide open 3 lane across temporary dragstrip calling our names out. So after some quick manuevering and the like side by side at 75mph we went at it and I had the car locked in 2nd ready to rumble….by the time I hit 100mph he was staring at my a$$ for a change and then when I hit 130mph I eased up as I had put a solid two car lengths on the guy and we were coming to the close of the "temporary drag strip" with traffic and all….well I guess that really pissed him off because he still wanted more after we were in traffic but I backed off and just watched him weave in and out of cars like a pissed off little kid that could not take a beat down somewhat hoping that he would lose control hitting the guard rail but that damn bimmer sure can handle nicely….I need to give my Q more respect as I just don't think of it as that fast of a car still for some reason, but I am starting to become a believer. Somedays I am like….just go buy your sports convertible and move on and then other days, like today, make the ownership of having a no payment 147,000 mile 10+ year old sedan whip a brand new $50,000 sedan just too much fun to give the beasty Q45 up.

[pito11213]

No doubt that the Q is fast....especially with your mods. I kill my friends 98 528 all the time. But when we get into traffic the handling aspect comes into play. I love the brakes on that car they feel so solid and give you alot of confidence when street racing.

I can keep up with the beamer in traffic but with 4200 lbs dont feel to confident with too much stop and go braking. Maybe after a 300zx caliper and rotor upgrade I will feel better.

I like beating my friends BMW in front of people because it has a full M5 conversion, so it looks like I am kicking an M5's ***.

[elwesso]

Good kill Rob....

All ive got to race here is ford taurus and chevy celebrity.....

Did you get the upper links installed yet?

its also fun when you have a sleeper... As i understand your car is not in perfect cosmetic and its got no flashy mods... Very sleeper, except when you hear it!!!

[rsiwicki]

I got them yesterday...I will put them on tonight or tomorrow. I can't wait to get rid of that squeaky stillen adjustable link.....it has been so embarassing having a car squeaking like an old door on the slightest movement. I was about to name my car "squeaker" becuase of the squeaks. Those damn Stillen adjustable cambers were only on my car for 6 months. Do you know if the bushings can be switched out by a local chasis shop?

I go through tires too quickly to really worry about proper camber and wear anyway to worry about these Stillen things...I will need new tires again this summer so I got about a year on the last set which is average for me becuase I drive the car very car...especially now that I have a little extra under the hood.

[elwesso]

IM pretty sure the poly bushings are non replaceable..

Even though you can grease them through the zerk fitting, they still go bad.....

[driverdriver]

Love it.......LOL

[louiegz]

A 525 Rob? That's not a fair fight. The Bimmer doen't even have 200hp. Pick on on someone your own size. Just kidding. Good kill. My wife's 330i is a quick car, but I've never done an all out highway thing against the Bimmer. I've never done 130 in my Q. You can't in NJ Traffic.

[Jesda]

I was going to post something related and then went on a search for Chevy Celebrity photos, now I've forgotten what I was going to say. Cant let a good Googling go to waste!

I actually saw three of those (still running!) in Anderson as I was leaving. Two were wagons. I think Anderson is the GM A-body capital of the world.

[rsiwicki]

this was a brand new 2005 525i...so it should have at least 250hp (i think...I know it has the V6) anyway he wanted to play and so we did. I would love to race a brand new 540i. When I went to the 1/4 track I was trying to line up against a few Mustangs to see how I would do against them as it is so much more exciting going side by side all the way down the track.

[Rex]

... You can't in NJ Traffic.

You're kidding me, right? I spent a few years in NJ in the early 90's and between the turnpikes and the road that connects them ?195? I saw MANY a white Lexus with the gold package going over 100, I dd my best to keep up in the Honda I had at the time.

[redmanfx]

Way to go Rob!!!! When will these guys learn theres almost nothing like the Q on the rode???? It's when they get a good look at your rear end and see Q45!!!!!

red

[louiegz]

this was a brand new 2005 525i...so it should have at least 250hp (i think...I know it has the V6) anyway he wanted to play and so we did. I would love to race a brand new 540i.

Nope. Here are the stats.

The 525i has a 2.5 liter strait 6 with 184hp.The 530i has a 3.0 liter strait 6 with 225hp. This is the same 3.0 liter that's in my 330i. The new 06 330i that's coming out this year has a revamped 3.0 liter that has magnesium heads and other nice stuff to bump up the hp to 255 and 220 ft lbs of torque at 2750 rpm.

The 545i has a 4.4 liter V8 with 325hp. I drove one and it’s very nice. To quote Ferris, “It’s so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend it.” I could live without the I-drive, though.

[elwesso]

I was going to post something related and then went on a search for Chevy Celebrity photos, now I've forgotten what I was going to say. Cant let a good Googling go to waste!

I actually saw three of those (still running!) in Anderson as I was leaving. Two were wagons. I think Anderson is the GM A-body capital of the world.

Just think when you came, you single handedly doubled the Q45 population..

Actually every so often i see pearl white Y33 AE.. I was behind it at the car wash one time, and I must say, its not as attractive in person..... Its kind of like "ok this is nice"....

[rsiwicki]

damn....I was thinking that thing had at least about a 250HP V6. I can't believe somebody would pay over $40K for a little V6 in a mid-sized sedan. Ohh well....I guess that explains why I whipped his butt so damn hard. No I have got to go find me a real challenger so that I feel better. I can't believe I just beat up on a little whimpy V6.....then again I can't believe the guy wanted to race me either. I guess he will not try a Q45 anytime in the near future.

[Q_SHIP]

Regaurdless of it's 184 h.p., those inlines make plenty of torque with a car half the Q's size. Nice kill. Im sure a 330i would still get a whooping. I have driven one. It was ok.

[Falkdesigns]

A 525 is the same size roughly as a Q. But I agree that those inline 6's in BMW's pull pretty good.

[Q_SHIP]

Hmm, I have my Q sitting next to a 1999 5 series right now. It seems so much bigger.

[louiegz]

A 525 is the same size roughly as a Q. But I agree that those inline 6's in BMW's pull pretty good.

The Bimmer has the weight advantage at 3450 lbs for an auto. 3417 lbs for the manual transmission. The Q is about 4200 lbs.

Q about 15lbs/hp525i is 18.75lbs/hp

Im sure a 330i would still get a whooping. I have driven one. It was ok.

I don't know about that. I find my 330i quicker in real world driving. I don't know how it will do with the 80-120mph times I keep hearing about on the forum, but the 330i is a fast car.

330i is 3285 lbs. Quite a bit more with my fat arse in it. 14.6lbs/hp

[Falkdesigns]

That's why I said roughly

I didn't know the weight was that different though. When I describe the Q to people I say it's kind of between the 5 and 7 series BMW, but IMO it's closer to the 5 series in size. Or between an E and S-class Benz, but again, closer to the E.

[louiegz]

damn....I was thinking that thing had at least about a 250HP V6. I can't believe somebody would pay over $40K for a little V6 in a mid-sized sedan.

This is why you have to be silly to get a BMW 5 series. When the new M comes out, you’d have to be stupid to get a 5. Here are the facts.

525i with an auto and leathers optional is $44,720 184hp

530i with an auto and leathers optional is $48,820 225hp

M35 with an auto and leathers STANDARD will be $42,800 280hp

This is a no brainier. The M wins hands down and, in my opinion, a hell of a nicer car than the 5. Go to the Bimmer web sites and check out the prices. You'll be outraged too.

[Q_SHIP]

The only way I would go BMW is a 740 I Or 740 IL. I just like a bigger car and they still have almost 300 H.P. They move out quite nicely.

I think the 330i would kill the Q on city streets but on the highway, I think the Q would have it.

[rsiwicki]

The Q actually weighs 3,960lbs with about 1/8th of tank of gas...that was my 95 Q45t on the scales at Moroso this past summer after some crazy 1/4 ET's.

With my 210lbs a$$ and maybe a little more gas...yes 4,200lbs on the road is definitely a realistic weight.

I hope Infiniti get things right this time with marketing and goes after BMW while they are having styling and reliability issues....not to mention paying $45K for sedan with less than 200hp. If there was ever a time to grab a few new loyal customers from BMW...this is probably one of them.
Modified by rsiwicki at 4:52 PM 1/7/2005

[elwesso]

The only way I would go BMW is a 740 I Or 740 IL. I just like a bigger car and they still have almost 300 H.P. They move out quite nicely.

I think the 330i would kill the Q on city streets but on the highway, I think the Q would have it.

Ive heard a lot of thigns that indicate that they dont drive much differently than the G50......

However they do have the sex appeal!!!

The main thing infiniti needs to do is get some good gears... You simply cant put V6 gears behind a V8 and call it good.....

[HeavyDuty]

My buddy AJ has a 330ci. From a 60mph roll, I slaughter him. He has a Dinan intake, chip, and exhaust. From a stop with him behind me, I could not shake him off my tail, and was getting a friendly nudge back & forth as I tried to pull away.

Nice car though, for sale if anyone wants one 2002, 20k.

[sijoko]

I used to have the Stillen upper links. The bushings are replaceable. You can buy them from Stillen. They were real easy to replace with a hammer and brass drift.

I sold my set on Ebay a while back. The biggest drawback was the squeaking. It was noisy all the time.

The best fix is to put some flat washers behind the upper link bracket and use the stock upper links. That's what I have done and so far no problems and no noise.

-sijoko