Turbo Lag and Reviewers...

[Accel Junky]

Originally Posted by /// M sa

rather have a bear fest

Sorry... I just had to

[SakhirM4]

Originally Posted by Accel Junky

Sorry... I just had to

[JNoSol]

LOL. This thread is still going on? Yes, there's lag and not enough to ruin the fun.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by JNoSol

LOL. This thread is still going on? Yes, there's lag and not enough to ruin the fun.

Let's get t-shirts!

[/// M sa]

Originally Posted by Accel Junky

Sorry... I just had to

LMAO typing fast and not paying attention doesnt help

[JustChris]

Originally Posted by JNoSol

LOL. This thread is still going on? Yes, there's lag and not enough to ruin the fun.

Thread Lag!

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by ChesterM2

Thread Lag!

But you hardly notice and before you know it ... holy shit! 300 post-power!

[V1.47fan]

Originally Posted by Accel Junky

I LOVE my F80 M3. It combines some great things about most of the 35+ vehicles I have owned. But, I just have to get this off my chest.

I read just about every review from the press and from individuals and watched every video I could. The majority of these outright proclaimed turbo lag was either eliminated or virtually eliminated or greatly reduced or barely present.

I've owned a lot of turbo cars. Some factory, some aftermarket, some small turbos, some big turbos, some singles, some twins, some sequential, some non-sequential.

I can absolutely detect the turbo lag in this car. It is plain as day to me. I do not think there is anything remarkable about the lag reduction. That's OK. I bought a turbo car...I knew that going in. But let's not kid ourselves...

+1

[Capt Crunch]

I prefer turbo cars because of the lag. Gives that slingshot effect that makes the car feel like a rocket ship on the street, which is where I'm driving 99% of the time.

My old 2 liter JDM STI had turbo lag out the wazoo with only 300 whp. My buddy with a Lingenfelter Z28 Camero (450 whp) got in it and was blown away by how fast it felt.

[mjcecil]

I'll go ahead and put it on record. I just don't care. Maybe there's lag. Maybe you learn to drive to avoid it. Maybe it just doesn't matter

The engine is spectacular. The car as a whole is spectacular. It's my 4th M car and the best of the lot.

So, IMHO, if you're concerned about turbo lag, quit bitching and get something else with normal aspiration or a supercharger.

[8600RPM]

For a turbo car it's got decent response. It's mostly due to small turbothough and no real magic by bmw. If you are keeping revs high and driving hard, response is quite good, almost lag free.

However get into an e92 m3 and you really feel the difference in throttle response

[F83]

Originally Posted by Accel Junky

I've owned far more forced induction cars than 99.9% of the population has owned any car.
Eating my popcorn as well..

Yeah I don't think that's true for me so you probably win there. But I think the Turbo lag is pretty low in Sport and Sport+. Certainly far far less than the E90/N54 which is my most recent base of comparison. As others have said, once you're in the power band you're rocking IME with this car.

[Falafel Combo]

My 6MT n55 335i had turbo lag

My 6MT s55 M3 has turbo lag


Nothing to see here ... just turbo cars being turbo-y.


And I absolutely agree with Accel Junky , in that reviewers need a solid kick in the nuts. It's not that I'm bothered by the lag. Not at all. But it is terribly misleading to say that there is no lag, or other silly statements like "virtually undetectable", "zero lag", "BMW has eliminated turbo lag" etc.

[dhoggm3]

On upshifts in Sport+ (and heel-toe downshifts as well) there's no lag at all due to the fancy BMW gimmickery. That's been the most annoying aspect of turbos for me, and BMW has fixed it.

Under all other conditions, there's lag. The small turbos reduce it but it's there.

[TRZ06]

Originally Posted by dhoggm3

On upshifts in Sport+ (and heel-toe downshifts as well) there's no lag at all due to the fancy BMW gimmickery. That's been the most annoying aspect of turbos for me, and BMW has fixed it.

Under all other conditions, there's lag. The small turbos reduce it but it's there.

Agreed!! My Audi TTRS (US Versions) only came in a manual and by the time you shifted and got back on the gas, you needed to re-spool the turbo before you got back in the power band. That is the beauty of a twin clutch in turbo cars

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by dhoggm3

On upshifts in Sport+ (and heel-toe downshifts as well) there's no lag at all due to the fancy BMW gimmickery. That's been the most annoying aspect of turbos for me, and BMW has fixed it.

Under all other conditions, there's lag. The small turbos reduce it but it's there.

It's interesting that you say that, because I almost never drive my car in sport+ (love the rev match). Could that be the lag i'm feeling? The comfort/sport settings?

Thanks for sharing this.

[Hazey82]

Shame the anti lag feature is only present in sport + and not sport as well. Id be wanting anti lag but without losing the rev match feature.

[jwilliams]

I have laughed so hard at the posts on here. One way to test your turbo lag theory is to get a JB4. Stick it in can map (stock map but with can options ie. Boost guage on fuel) touch the throttle and watch your guage hit full boost within a split second of touching it.

The "lag" you are feeling is the rise in RPM not turbo lag.

[pertierr]

When reviewers say 'little to no lag' in a turbo car review, it usually means 'little lag for a turbo car'. I never take it as 'it is undistinguishable from an NA car'.

It's like when a lawyer tells you 'they can't do that'. He/she really means 'they can't legally do that'. People can do whatever they want.

You just have to remember you're talking to a lawyer or reading a turbo car review.

[blloydtbird]

Small enough turbos coupled with enough displacement equates to minimal lag, which is what I would say the cars have. Having owned a 2.0L Evo with a PT67 turbo, I can say the F80 turbos spool very fast. Heck, even the stock 16g turbo in the Evo had a lot of lag. The F80's lag is indeed barely noticeable, as compared to many other turbo cars, even with their stock turbos. My current daily driver is a Fiat 500 Abarth, and I notice the lag more in the Fiat for sure.

[AlterZgo]

The M3 has about as little lag as can be expected for a turbocharged car. It just doesn't have the immediate, throttle wired directly to the throttle body feel that a responsive NA engine has. To me, all turbocharged cars have sort of a soft pedal feel... Almost like there's a pillow btw the foot and accelerator pedal so that when you push on it, it's not so much lag but more like a soft initial throttle tip in response. On good, high revving NA cars, the throttle body seems to be wired directly to your foot.

[pertierr]

Originally Posted by blloydtbird

Small enough turbos coupled with enough displacement equates to minimal lag, which is what I would say the cars have. Having owned a 2.0L Evo with a PT67 turbo, I can say the F80 turbos spool very fast. Heck, even the stock 16g turbo in the Evo had a lot of lag. The F80's lag is indeed barely noticeable, as compared to many other turbo cars, even with their stock turbos. My current daily driver is a Fiat 500 Abarth, and I notice the lag more in the Fiat for sure.

Agreed. My old Evo 8 stock had insane lag but you could definitely tell when the lag time was over. I would say the 2001 S4 had pretty low lag, if I recall it had small turbos one per 3 cylinders, similar to the M4 but far less boost.

A good comparison is a supercharged car. If the turbo car reacts just like a supercharged car then they have performed magic and there is truly no turbo lag. The M4 is pretty darn close, but not quite.