pennetta

I followed the link but that is not supporting evidence. Different cars, different days, different drivers does not constitute supportive evidence, sorry.

From www.Wikipedia.com:
Manual transmissions are typically more efficient than automatic transmissions. This is because manuals generally involve a clutch instead of a torque converter, which can cause significant power losses and because an automatic transmission introduces parasitic losses through the high pressure hydraulic pumps it requires. This results in both better acceleration and fuel economy.

http://www.roscommonequipmentcenter....notes/nn15.pdf
Read second and third paragraphs.

There are many more articles but I think the point is made.

znod

I am not offended, but my sides, like yours, are splitting.

znod

Whether or not the Step is slightly less efficient is not the point. You are ignoring the most important factor; the Step's gearing is far superior to that of the SMG and the manual for straight-line performance. Also, both of the others are much harder to extract maximum performance from. And, actually, the better automatics have losses much more comparable to manuals and, of course, to the SMGs these days. Read the thread I linked; it contains analyses of the superiority of the Step in relation to the manual and the SMG.

pennetta

I think that you are not following me, your link is showing statistic encompassing many different variable so you can't draw a conclusion. If you drive your car today and run statistics and then run the car in at different track, different day you will have different results.
I will leave you with the verifiable fact that BMWUSA itself lists the acceleration times SLOWER for the Steptronic than the SMG or Manual.
Other than that we can agree to disagree , but nice car anyway.

znod

I found these data on dragtimes.com for the 535d. The results were produced at Santa Pod in the UK.

14.174 (1/4 time)
98.060 (1.4 speed)
9.146 (1/8 time)
77.840 (1/8 speed)
2.126 (60' time)
BMW 535d Sport 2004
Clive Donaghue

Dragtimes has the same ole same ole on the 545i--the US mag results and a pass by an individual called "Daddy" that is consistent with the US mag results. Does the 2004 have the current 535d engine?

znod

I am not referring to my stats or those of anyone else. You still are ignoring the Step gear ratios versus those of the manual/SMG. The Step's are much more favorable for straight-line performance. Again, please read the thread I linked above to the point where we discuss gearing. Also, as mentioned, the Step's losses are not that much greater than those of the manual/SMG--with the latter two being much harder to obtain optimal performance from. Why not buy a meter and join us in testing? We'd love to have some Step results. And, BMW is wrong. Among other things, BMW has a vested interest in claiming that SMG's are as fast as manuals and are faster than Steps. Note that BMW seldomly gets the numbers right regardless of the car.

BetterMakeWay

Yes i think it has if i'm not mistaken. Nothing changed to it since it was introduced.
Refering to the times posted i think those are correct, especially the 1/4 time. 14,1 seems the most realistic time. With some mods to the car, lighter wheels, better rubbber, remove of the spare wheel and you know minour mods that anyone can do to the car, i think it will come close to 14 dead, wich however you put it, it's still slower than a 545i on a quarter mile but only 0,3 seconds or so. That's by far a zillion car lenghts. Or 12, or 10, or 8, or 6, or 4 or even 3. 2 car lenghts is maybe close, i dunno. Anyway i threw a post on our local site bmwclub.ro and asked for a guy with a 545i from Bucharest to stepout for a test.

M3>535d

This is Clived who was a regular on this site his best run was a 13.8 but i cant remember whether this was pre - or post -

DMS remmapping santapod

znod

14.1 is only one data point. Our other 535d data points either are much slower than 14.1 in the 1/4 or imply much slower times. I am hard pressed to accept the most favorable data point for the 535d rather than what the preponderance of the evidence implies. I will need a great deal more evidence pointing at 14.1 for a stock 535d before I can accept anything close to 14.1 You are a speed guy. Why not buy a meter and provide us with some additional data--joining in on the testing thread? I know that you are DMSed, but still your data would be great to have, and we would enjoy your company on the thread.

znod

I asked him before--above--since he did not clarify. But, he did not reply. I suspected the time I found was Clived's. Thanks for the info.