ynottony

What's the best way to launch a manual transmission 535i?

Steptronic 1st gear?


I read on another post something about "power launching" with the eBrake and turning "DSC" off.

What will turning DSC off accomplish?

DrLev99

Gives you some added wheel spin that normally wouldn't be possible with it active.

ynottony

That would be a deterrent to trying to launch quickly, would it not?

dbae1978

launching in a 535i w/SAT is simple but requires some practice.
Put the trans into ds mode manually go in to first gear
Turn the sports mode on with the dsc fully off (hold for 3 seconds)
push the brakes and hold rpm, let go of the brakes and off you go.
be sure not to rev too high or else you'll end up spinning your wheels,
defeating the purpose of the launch.

if you don't turn the dsc fully off, you will get interference.
the cpu will attempt to take power off of the spinning wheelsd add it to the other wheels.
In order to get a good launch dsc must be fully off.

craigm1841

1. the sport automatic transmission is not a manual transmission. if you do in fact have a manual transmission you simply need to turn off DSC and find the right launching point when dumping the clutch which would result in maximum power/RPMs coupled with minimum wheel spin.

2. if it is a SAT, turn off DSC and put it in DS and just floor it. power launching? using the eBrake? you need to stop talking your buddies that drive honda civics. dont touch the eBrake, as it can only be counter productive on a rear wheel drive car. on RWD cars, if anything you would only use an eBrake like device called line lock which locks the front wheels so you can cook your back tires for added grip while not damaging your rear brakes. your car is not a 10 second mustang, therefore dont worry about heating up your tires, line locks, eBrakes, power braking, or any of the above.

3. Dynamic Stability control is BMWs Electronic Stability control. I would refrain from completely deactivating DSC. this does not effect your wheelspin, rather your cars ability to electronically counter driver error by compensating with braking. the definition of ESC is as follows: Electronic stability control (ESC) is a computerized technology that improves the safety of a vehicle's handling by detecting and preventing skids. When ESC detects loss of steering control, ESC automatically applies individual brakes to help "steer" the vehicle where the driver wants to go. Braking is automatically applied to individual wheels, such as the outer front wheel to counter oversteer, or the inner rear wheel to counter understeer. Some ESC systems also reduce engine power until control is regained....

ESC devolopment began in 1987 with MB and has come a long way and is extrememly useful. unless you are on a track with turns and you are experienced enough to drive the course quick enough to drift and or compensate for under/oversteer yourself, leave it activated.

4. Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) has become somewhat of sub feature of DSC. Luckily BMW lets you control these features independantly by either hitting the DTC button (which disables DTC and Limits the function of DSC without completely deactivating it) and then of course completely deactivating it, by holding the DTC button down. Your dash and i-drive will display what you have deactivated. For straight line driving, whether you Deactive the DSC entirely or just the DTC (which controls rear wheel spin as opposed to the entire cars stability) makes no difference what so ever. the only problem is if you are out fucking around in your car like a madman, then you may forget to reengage DSC/DTC which could save you, especially of road conditions change quickly. why deactivate a feature that doesnt affect your original inteded goal to begin with. since your original inquery was about launching, I presume you only want to launch your car as fast and hard as possible. so why deactivate a feature that has no bearing on your acceleration (thats directed at you dbae ).

alright peoples... the moral of the story is Dont completely deactive DSC if you are just looking to launch hard. it may save you 5 minutes down the road. it doesnt effect rear wheel spin. Disable the Sub feature of DSC, which is DTC. this will allow rear wheel spin. WHY WOULD YOU WANT REAR WHEEL SPIN YOU ASK? great question johnny. I have an answer for you... because DTC is so cautious about limiting rear wheel spin that it will actually take away enough power that it becomes worse then if you just had a little wheel spin. wheel spin is okay when the other option is bogged down power. Put the car in DS. yes, the paddles are cool, but for launching, i promise you, your $60,000 rolling computer knows what to do better then you do. I promise.

i hope i have provided a little bit of insight to DTC/DSC and provided not just an answer to your question, but a reason for my answer as well.

i know, this write up wasnt as good as my carbon write up, but i actually typed this from scratch. it wasnt a copy-paste job...

Fastdsl

I would say for autotrans:

1. DTC + DSC off
2. apply brakes and put it in manual mode 2nd gear
3. hold revs at 2000-2500 (mayby more for gasolin engines, experiement )
4. release brakes and floor it at same time
5. enjoy

craigm1841

that is so far from accurate it is rediculous, but thanks for reading my reply...

ynottony

My car doesn't have "sports mode".

I didn't get the Sport Package. Only the premium.

Still the same?

craigm1841

what kind of car is it? you should be able to slap the shifter to the left and it will display "DS" on the dash. that is "Drive Sport"

swajames

Other than the error re 2nd gear it's far from inaccurate in relation to launching with an automatic. Brake torquing has typically produced the fastest times on the E60's with step or SAT. Two posters who were here before your time, Znod and Grogan545, achieved the best 0-60 times recorded on the forum using the basic approach outlined by fastdsl. Fastdsl's approach to launching a automatic E60 is right. Yours is off, as you incorrectly counsel against brake torquing.