When driving the car a little aggressively, ok a lot aggressively, when nearing the rev limit while using step, the auto sport takes over and shifts for you. Maybe a little picky but it shifts a hair too early for my liking. I know it's not a manual but a little more " holding of the rev" would be nice.

How about you SMG guy's, if you push the limit of rev's does "Hal" take over?

Still love the beast but my M5 descision my be in the air.

 

If you leave it out of D mode and flip the paddles, it will shut down on the red line. Secret is to pop the paddle as you anticipate the needle sweeping across the red line. That may be what steptronic is doing for you.

 

my question is for the steptronic folks... do you ever feel like the car is starting to accelerate on it's own, usually close after starting it when it's not warm... it seems to hesitate first, then cough/hesitate then react to the acceleration i gave it when it first hesitated, which makes it feel like it's going off under it's own power, a little bit
?

 

Skidster,

I think that only happen to 520i...I do have the same problem. Most of the 530i don't have this problem.

 

To add to what JDN said, the SMG will not shift at red-line while in manual mode.

As I mentioned in another thread, the rev-limiter on the E60 is much improved over the one in the E39.

The E39's limiter would cut fuel in a pretty harsh way when it kicked in. The car "bogged" as if the engine just blew. It was so heavy handed that your head would move forward like someone put on the brakes and the tach would go from red-line down to some lower rpm (can't remember how many rpm's less).

The E60's limiter works more like a race car. It cuts fuel just enough to keep the car right at red-line. You almost don't feel it work, you hear it work. It doesn't feel like you broke anything, the car just maintains everything and waits until you shift.

Amazing, this car.

 

I dont have that problem.
On the other hand, i find that it shifts gears too slow. But this is my first automatic so i'm still learning about it.

 

Rudy, JDN, (smg'rs et al) please forgive my ignorance but are you saying that in manual SMG mode the car will hold the high redline limit, it will not "Hal" you and decide (for the cars own good) that the next gear needs to be engaged? All out third gear it stays at 6500, whining away, begging, pleading for the upshift ?

The reason I ask is that this is my only slight, very slight (hey I bought steptronic) dislike of the step. You would have to REALLY concentrate on keeping her at 6000 rpm or it will up shift on you.

As you can imagine in the heat of the moment you can't watch the tach and the road and I would like a little more say in the matter.

 

Aye. jtxc. Rudy has obviously hit it more than I have. When I touch it, I immediately shift, but the effect is that it flattens acceleration versus axing the fuel completely as in the E39. I plan to develop skill to the point that I don't even touch it -- after all, who wants to flatten the curve at the greatest moment of exhiliaration.

 

That's right. The SMG will not upshift in manual (normal) mode -- ever. The only thing it does by itself is downshift but only after the car is going slowly in too high a gear or if the car comes to a stop. (JDN's description of the rev-limiter "flattening" acceleration is a good choice of words. The E39 sort of clobbered the acceleration and caused a "dip" instead of keeping it flat.)

As a matter of fact, even the automatic downshift to first happens too late for me. I'm always popping it into first before the car does at stop signs, or intersections that don't have stop signs, etc. because unless you come to a complete stop, it'll stay in 2nd.

Another nice thing about the SMG is that if you want to, like on snowy roads, you can start out in 2nd by choice just by upshifting from 1st to 2nd before you begin to move.

 

There are definitely some similarities between SMG and Step but it seems your closer to manual. I don't regret the auto choice (wife needs to have fun once in a while too) but I don't like being overruled. "Hal" as I refer to it seems a little too smart for it's own good sometimes. Maybe there will be a "chip" to change the way the car senses when to shift at max out put. Maybe I'm alone in that I have driven this car at the upper edges of performance and I feel as though I'm getting short changed by a few hundred RPM. When it is at max RPM there is a slight loss of power between shifts. Yeah with 325 HP you still have plenty under foot, but why can't the engine hold it for a second or two more? Anyways enough bitching, but before I go further in my M5 dreams I'll need to drive an SMG, assuming a stick won't be available