ray06

HI All,
I have very little experience as a driver of manual transmission. i recently purchased a 530 with smg. how do i get the best out of this driving machine. When do i shift etc. was previously told to shift @ 2500 rpms. do i shift down to 2nd from 3rd when comming to a stop? if im cruising on the highway at 70mph in 3rd gear and some idiot ease in front of me, do i temporarily down shift to 2nd gear then back to 3rd to pass him. Aside from being physically clutchless how is driving a regular stick different from smg?

subterFUSE

You don't need to worry so much about when you shift, because the engine will match revs for you.

There is a trick to smooth shifting:



Accelerate like normal, and when you are ready to shift gently lift your foot pressure off the accelerator pedal. Don't remove your foot completely, but gently release a small amount of pressure. Think of it like this: "Don't lift your shoe off the pedal, but lift your foot inside your shoe." I read that somewhere else on this forum, and it's a great explanation.

Then click the shifter to change gears up. The engine will match revs and shift. Once the shift has completed, apply pressure to the accelerator pedal again. You will have a smooth, comfortable shift using this method.

If you hold the accelerator pedal down while you shift up, you will get a rough shift when the gear re-engages. This is why you want to pause slightly before pressing the pedal again. It gives the engine the time to match revs and shift, and then when the clutch is released you can accelerate more smoothly. Otherwise, when the clutch releases you will get an abrupt jolt.


Another point... I have found that I get smoother shifts from 1st into 2nd if I let the RPMs get higher. For example, I prefer to shift at arounf 4000-4500 rpm, rather than at 2500 like you suggest. At this higher speed, I am able to use the technique I described above better.

JDN

It's not as far as shift points go. Shift when you would normally shift a stick. Works for me, except I probably downshift more since it's safer.

jdubbs

Interesting... I have only taken SMGs for a handful of test drives (though I am planning to include it on my new 550i) but the dealer told me basically the opposite: that you shouldn't lift your foot from the gas, even slightly, when shifting with SMG. I don't know that his word is gospel, but he is very knowledgable in most areas where the 5 series is concerned, moreso than most. I did find that the 1>2 and 2>1 shifts were the roughest, esp. in Auto mode, but like subterFUSE I was able to alleviate this by shifting at higher RMP, 4000+, though this may not be advisable during your break-in period.

I've searched these forums for "SMG" and found a lot of good advice, including techniques for rolling to a stop (e.g., forgoing downshifts and toggling the stick to Neutral, as I do in my manual). If you haven't done so already, you might do the same...

PASQUALE

I am with 530i and smg now for nine months. Never had a problem. I bought it without test drive; only based on this forum experiences (Rudy and some other guys ...) and I think that was excellent decision because it is so much fun to drive. So actually you don't need to lift foot of the accelator. Anyhow, in normal conditions of driving I am doing that as well (similar to manual but smaller portion). For the rest you need some time. I drove it good from the first moment but in a month you'll get the feeling and questions will desapear. You need to know that smg is a computer and hidraulicaly driven "normal" clutch (without pedal). So you can burn lamels down in few minutes like normal manual.

pennetta

You can leave the car in auto mode and see how the car shifts under different conditions, then mimic it when you shift manually.

miss525i

I couldn't tell you...I am still trying to learn how to shift with the Steptronic
but one thing I can say...don't try it on a date until you master it

drjochen

My experience is that shifts above 2500 rpm are much smoother. Shifts below 1500 rpm can be very rought sometimes. I can't get the downshifts right, in particualr when I roll to a stop at a light on in heavy traffic. The entire car shakes and shudders sometimes, in particular when I let the SMG downshift by itself. On the upshift, it doesn't really matter if I lift or not. I played a lot with this and I leave my foot plated on the gas now.

...and I had sort of a date one week after I got my car (with a very important customer working for Toyota), and of course I screwed up.....I forgot to put it in N when I started the car.

jet190rs

Generally my rule is:
When I'm just trying to get around town and be more fuel efficient, I shift around 3k RPM.
When I'm driving for 'fun', I'll shift at higher RPM, even redline sometimes.

Uh, I wouldn't call this cruising...
70mph in 3rd gear would be a very high RPM. You'll be burning a lot of gasoline for no reason and getting terrible mileage. You're not cruising all the time at such high RPM are you?! I hope you meant a higher gear...
When I'm cruising on the highway, my RPM are around 2k RPM. At 70mph I'll be cruising in 5th or 6th gear.

This is what some of the other members have been discussing so far - subtle things like easing off the throttle to make upshifts smoother, etc.

I would add that traditionally, when you're learning how to drive a regular manual, you're taught that 1st gear is used only to take off from a dead stop, and that you never drive around in 1st gear or downshift back into 1st gear. I guess with SMG, its ok to downshift into 1st gear since the computer can do it much smoother than a human.

ray06

Guys, this guy says he's new to manuals (understandable since his profile says NYC), so it sounds like he's asking for general advice about when to shift gears. Lets help him out with that first, before moving onto more subtle stuff such as how to make the shifts smoother, etc.

ray06,
Like pennetta said, for now the best thing for you to do is to leave it in auto mode and mimic when it shifts.

But to answer some of your questions directly -

That's up to you. In a regular manual, I would just stay in the gear that I was in and only use the brakes to come to a complete stop. Sometimes I do downshift when coming to a stop, but only if want to have some fun and hear the engine. The arguement for not downshifting and only using the brakes when stopping is that it saves wear on the transmission. A clutch is a lot more expensive to replace than a set of brake pads.

So the short answer is, no, you don't have to.

(If you're slowing down not to stop but for a turn, then yes, you should downshift so you'll be at an appropriate RPM to power through the turn)

Like I mentioned, at 70mph you won't be cruising in 3rd gear, and you won't be able to shift down to 2nd gear because 2nd gear tops out at around 60mph. Instead, lets say you're cruising at 70mph in 6th gear. Should you downshift to 3rd or 4th gear to pass him?

Yes, if you want to pass him quickly. In a high gear, you'll be at a lower RPM, so acceleration will be slow. The engine develops more power at higher RPMs, so you should downshift however many gears it takes until you are up in the 'meat' of the power curve.

Basically, downshifting until you are at 4k RPM or so outta do it.

This is what some of the other members have been discussing so far - subtle things like easing off the throttle to make upshifts smoother, etc.

I would add that traditionally, when you're learning how to drive a regular manual, you're taught that 1st gear is used only to take off from a dead stop, and that you never drive around in 1st gear or downshift back into 1st gear. I guess with SMG, its ok to downshift into 1st gear since the computer can do it much smoother than a human.
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Thankz guys I'm on my way