[MUSIC PLAYING]
CARLOS LAGO: This is the 2018 BMW M4.
It's got the competition package, which
means it has 444 horsepower.
We're going to do an acceleration run, which
should be a bit of fun, considering
you have that power, a rear drive car, and a six speed
manual.
Now, we'd like to start by doing what we call the key up run.
Assume you had just turned the car on, let it warm, up
and jumped on the gas, and found out what would happen.
That's what testing is, after all.
I have got to key up settings on.
So comfort everything, from the steering, to the suspension,
to the gas pedal.
And I think I mentioned the stability control too.
Let's go with a 2800 RPM launch.
So a little bit of slip before stability control comes on.
This 3 liter straight or V6, to a straight-six.
Ha.
You saw that.
This test track we're doing the acceleration run on
has a few bumps.
The bumps are apparently big enough
to trigger the stability control.
That could be interesting.
So for run number two, I'm going to put the gas pedal
aggressiveness in sport.
I'm going to put the dampers in the sport plus
to see how they do with those bumps that we're hitting.
And I'm going to put the steering in sport,
because why not.
I'm feeling sporty.
Stability control and trash control are now completely off.
We'll go with let's say a 2,300 RPM launch.
And we'll come off the clutch quickly
instead of sidestepping it.
Very quick, very quick car.
You've got to take your time with the shifter.
You can't do it too quick.
A little rubbery with the feel.
Though, I kind of like it.
It's a classical BMW feel.
The rear end of this car when it gets a big bump,
there's so much power going to those tires
that it feels like it's almost about to lose traction.
It doesn't.
It stays straight and true.
But I've got to say, it's surprising at how loose
that rear end can feel under straight acceleration.
OK.
Here we go.
Run number three.
We're going to see if we can bump up the RPMs a little bit
and get a smoother launch out of the car.
There we go.
Bump one.
You've got to consider that where
I'm hitting the bumps on the straightaway
are always right at the top of the gear.
So like at 7,400 RPM, 7,300 RPM, there's that bump.
And that's when the engine's doing peak power, I think.
It may be doing peak power a lot lower at the engine speed.
A lot of power are going to those rear tires
when the rear axle gets that bump.
I wish it was a little bit better controlled.
Run number four.
Here we go.
Yes.
Yeah.
A little bit of wheel spin right at the top.
I I think I was a little too high on the engine
speed right there.
I've got to say, for a car with this much power going
to the rear wheels, with a traditional six speed manual
layout, it's not a too difficult of a car to launch.
The motor rips.
I've said that before, but it's worth repeating.
This thing has a ton of power.
It sounds really good at high RPMs
and not so great at low RPMs.
It's kind of hard to fault it over power delivery.
I just wish the rear end was a little bit more buttoned down.
So that's going to wrap up this episode of how
to accelerate your BMW M4.
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