I thought Launch Control on a SMG car was a maximized acceleration program. You really need technique, I guess, because when I have tried it it just smokes the tires. Anybody have better luck or suggestions.

That's why BMW recommends not using it too often.

But Dunlop is all for it.

Haha, : "Launch Control, brought to you in conjunction with Dunlop".

I can see the pre-launch messages in i-drive now :lol:

Hey pennetta, how about an mpeg? :thumbsup:

JDN: Good one! :lol:

I always thought the car would give optimum accelaration with launch control without smoking the tires.

That is maximum acceleration. If DSC or DTC would be active the car would not smoke the tires, but what start waaaay slower, since the systems holds back the energy, so that the tires are not getting smoked. Acceleration wise it is the maximum with launch control, since once the tires have enough grip to move the car forward... well... you'll feel it... ;) :D

Do us stepowners have a similar option???
I have a friend who owns a very old american car. He puts the car in neutral, revs the engine and drops it in D. Okay, you get big burnouts but I can almost feel the pain in the automatic transmission.

Didn't doing that void the warranty on some of the E46 m3's if activated a certain number of times (at least that was the scuttlebutt) over in europe..... in the US... laws mandated that such a stipulation could not be made and dealers just downplayed the fact that such a function exist.........

The guy doing the "Neutral Drop" with the Steptronic will void his warranty. A SMG transmission is a manual transmission with a clutch.

With SMG, the clutch actuation is controlled electronically and usually enagages around 1800 rpm. The Steptronic is an automatic transmission that has a torque converter and all the hydro plumbing/gearing that goes along with it and functions in the normal automatic transmission way.

Since the SMG is a manual transmission and has a real clutch, BMW programed a more aggressive clutch engagement wihich deploys at 4500 rpm. Its described in the Owners Manual and does not cancel your warranty. It says that utilizing it to much can cause increased wear. Tires and Clutch are the most obvious but if you get really obsessed it should also increase transmission wear.