525d Manual vs 525d Steptronic
12-06-2005, 01:27 PM
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My Ride: E61 Titanium-Grey, Leather Dakota Black, 525d, Steptronic, Navi Prof & TV, Voice Input, Panorama ceiling, Xenon with dir, etc
Hi,
Me and my partner got two e61s 525d from Dusseldorf this month. One is Manual, the other is Steptronic (mine).
Now after 3000km of driving i think i got the picture.
If you want performance, go manual.
If you have a heavy foot and care about consumption, go manual.
If you spend a lot of time at the wheel (like me), go steptronic.
The gear ratios are really different. 3000rpm = 200 km/h -> Good for engine long life
Steptronic is definitly NOT a performance gearbox. Specially to drive in the mountains. The 0 start even in DS is really not up to it. I just wonder why 535d & 545i are sold with it. For sure performance is not the goal
(ok, ok, it is not so bad. i am just picking a little).
The cars are marvelous to drive, specially for long highway trips. Really amazing! Nav prof is a must! Specially to do a travel around europe like i did!
The top speed (going down, of course) is 245km/h. In straight it keeps fine above 220km/h but has more difficulty to get there than i was expecting... (who said 530d and 525d are not so different?..)
Note: i found how to use DS in 6th gear! Just change to DS at 245km/h
Just made a little video of mine at 0-100km/h and it takes about 9,5s to get there <_< i was expecting something around 8,5s. I was in DS mode. Will do another tomorrow as it had a wierd delay from rev start to car start
Now lets get back to life and to my daily 55km/h average...
See you!
Me and my partner got two e61s 525d from Dusseldorf this month. One is Manual, the other is Steptronic (mine).
Now after 3000km of driving i think i got the picture.
If you want performance, go manual.
If you have a heavy foot and care about consumption, go manual.
If you spend a lot of time at the wheel (like me), go steptronic.
The gear ratios are really different. 3000rpm = 200 km/h -> Good for engine long life
Steptronic is definitly NOT a performance gearbox. Specially to drive in the mountains. The 0 start even in DS is really not up to it. I just wonder why 535d & 545i are sold with it. For sure performance is not the goal
(ok, ok, it is not so bad. i am just picking a little).The cars are marvelous to drive, specially for long highway trips. Really amazing! Nav prof is a must! Specially to do a travel around europe like i did!
The top speed (going down, of course) is 245km/h. In straight it keeps fine above 220km/h but has more difficulty to get there than i was expecting... (who said 530d and 525d are not so different?..)
Note: i found how to use DS in 6th gear! Just change to DS at 245km/h
Just made a little video of mine at 0-100km/h and it takes about 9,5s to get there <_< i was expecting something around 8,5s. I was in DS mode. Will do another tomorrow as it had a wierd delay from rev start to car start
Now lets get back to life and to my daily 55km/h average...
See you!
12-06-2005, 02:05 PM
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Originally Posted by BigGrey' post='208064' date='Dec 6 2005, 05:27 PM
Hi,
Me and my partner got two e61s 525d from Dusseldorf this month. One is Manual, the other is Steptronic (mine).
Now after 3000km of driving i think i got the picture.
If you want performance, go manual.
If you have a heavy foot and care about consumption, go manual.
If you spend a lot of time at the wheel (like me), go steptronic.
The gear ratios are really different. 3000rpm = 200 km/h -> Good for engine long life
Steptronic is definitly NOT a performance gearbox. Specially to drive in the mountains. The 0 start even in DS is really not up to it. I just wonder why 535d & 545i are sold with it. For sure performance is not the goal (ok, ok, it is not so bad. i am just picking a little).
The cars are marvelous to drive, specially for long highway trips. Really amazing! Nav prof is a must! Specially to do a travel around europe like i did!
The top speed (going down, of course) is 245km/h. In straight it keeps fine above 220km/h but has more difficulty to get there than i was expecting... (who said 530d and 525d are not so different?..)
Note: i found how to use DS in 6th gear! Just change to DS at 245km/h
Just made a little video of mine at 0-100km/h and it takes about 9,5s to get there <_< i was expecting something around 8,5s. I was in DS mode. Will do another tomorrow as it had a wierd delay from rev start to car start
Now lets get back to life and to my daily 55km/h average...
See you!
Me and my partner got two e61s 525d from Dusseldorf this month. One is Manual, the other is Steptronic (mine).
Now after 3000km of driving i think i got the picture.
If you want performance, go manual.
If you have a heavy foot and care about consumption, go manual.
If you spend a lot of time at the wheel (like me), go steptronic.
The gear ratios are really different. 3000rpm = 200 km/h -> Good for engine long life
Steptronic is definitly NOT a performance gearbox. Specially to drive in the mountains. The 0 start even in DS is really not up to it. I just wonder why 535d & 545i are sold with it. For sure performance is not the goal
(ok, ok, it is not so bad. i am just picking a little).The cars are marvelous to drive, specially for long highway trips. Really amazing! Nav prof is a must! Specially to do a travel around europe like i did!
The top speed (going down, of course) is 245km/h. In straight it keeps fine above 220km/h but has more difficulty to get there than i was expecting... (who said 530d and 525d are not so different?..)
Note: i found how to use DS in 6th gear! Just change to DS at 245km/h
Just made a little video of mine at 0-100km/h and it takes about 9,5s to get there <_< i was expecting something around 8,5s. I was in DS mode. Will do another tomorrow as it had a wierd delay from rev start to car start
Now lets get back to life and to my daily 55km/h average...
See you!
And, you mention the differences in the rear-end ratios. I suppose you are saying that the Step is quite a bit lower--which is true--which should make give some advantage to the manual in mileage. But, the overall gearing is closer than might be expected just looking at the rear-end ratios.
I have a Step and never use D. I use a mix of DS and manual. I like the Step a lot. But, unlike you, I don't drive in the Mountains much. Darn.
Happy trails to you and your partner.
12-06-2005, 02:12 PM
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From the 545's standpoint, I think some of the quickest times from the road tests in the major US mags were actually done with the steptronic.
12-06-2005, 02:15 PM
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My Ride: MY RIDE is DA real .-) HAMANN 5 aka BLACK MAMBA born on 16/06/2005/delivered on 05/08/2005 as following:
530dA (steptronic), Black II (JET), leather Dakota auburn black, mapple trim, head-up display, dynamic drive, active steering, adaptive xenon headlights (auto levelling) with headlight washers, alarm, comfort seats with massage function, advanced A/C, big compartment armrest, aux-in, MP3, Logic 7, Radio PRO, CD in-dash+cd changer, power rear sunshades, rear airbags, park distance control, auto dimming folding mirrors, smoking package, shiny shadow line (individual), fold down rear seats, ski bag, sport suspension, run flats on �116-style� rims (Good Year NCT5+), cup holders, debadged, fire extinguishers, additional permanent power outlet, BMW coat hanger, trunk release button (installed by Hobi), GPS tracking device and a big thx 2 Iceman.
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I sometimes use my Step as manual then you leave it upto 4-4500 than change it is a nice sound 
12-06-2005, 02:23 PM
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My Ride: E61 Titanium-Grey, Leather Dakota Black, 525d, Steptronic, Navi Prof & TV, Voice Input, Panorama ceiling, Xenon with dir, etc
Originally Posted by swajames' post='208079' date='Dec 6 2005, 11:12 PM
From the 545's standpoint, I think some of the quickest times from the road tests in the major US mags were actually done with the steptronic.
Isn't Steptronic the standard option in US? Is there a face-to-face Steptronic vs Manual in the same mag made by the same drivers? That would be interesting.
About the numbers, there are some interesting things. The 0-100km/h values for the 535d are 6,6s (!). I just saw a video here at the forum of one doing it in less than 6s
Was the video guy going down the hill?
The 0-100km/h official bmw figures for the 525d with steptronic are 8,3s for e60 and 8,5 for e61
See you!
12-06-2005, 02:24 PM
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Originally Posted by ats77' post='208081' date='Dec 6 2005, 06:15 PM
I sometimes use my Step as manual then you leave it upto 4-4500 than change it is a nice sound
If, yes, then what is your weather prediction for that period?
12-06-2005, 02:47 PM
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Model Year: 2008
Isn't Steptronic the standard option in US? Is there a face-to-face Steptronic vs Manual in the same mag made by the same drivers? That would be interesting.
About the numbers, there are some interesting things. The 0-100km/h values for the 535d are 6,6s (!). I just saw a video here at the forum of one doing it in less than 6s
Was the video guy going down the hill?
The 0-100km/h official bmw figures for the 525d with steptronic are 8,3s for e60 and 8,5 for e61
See you!
[/quote]
That's right, the auto is standard in the US, I think the manual is a no cost option if I recall correctly. BMWUSA listed the 0-60 time for the 545 (step) as 5.8 but the major US car mags all recorded lower times, ranging from 5.2 to 5.5 for the step equipped car. From looking at other times (e.g. the 535d) it seems safe to say that the official times are conservative. I don't think I've seen a step vs manual test over here, but in use the step does suit the 545 engine pretty well and there's rarely a sense in general usage that the transmission is limiting peformance, I'm sure the same applies equally to the diesels.
12-06-2005, 03:25 PM
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535d is only sold in steptronic as the manual gearbox cannot take the torque from the engine. Its got more torque than an M5
Love them diesels.
Love them diesels.
12-06-2005, 03:47 PM
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Originally Posted by swajames' post='208079' date='Dec 6 2005, 06:12 PM
From the 545's standpoint, I think some of the quickest times from the road tests in the major US mags were actually done with the steptronic.
12-06-2005, 03:52 PM
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My Ride: E61 Titanium-Grey, Leather Dakota Black, 525d, Steptronic, Navi Prof & TV, Voice Input, Panorama ceiling, Xenon with dir, etc
I think i am with a stroke of "european-auto-gearbox-syndrome". It will pass. We will swap cars for a week soon so then i will be able to compare better. Then i will be sure i made the right choice 
.
Tomorrow i will do some more tests and vid of 0-100km/h in D, DS and Manual (i will do it on a completely straight road for a change
)
See you!
.Tomorrow i will do some more tests and vid of 0-100km/h in D, DS and Manual (i will do it on a completely straight road for a change
) See you!