550isport

I read somewhere that the optional sport auto offers paddles for the steering wheel and quicker shift times. My wife's 335xi has it and it is a noticeably quicker shift (as well as rev matching on downshifts). But here's the real question: in regular "D" cruising around town, does the sport auto behave differently than the standard auto? (I can't compare my wife's 335xi to my 550i with non sport steptronic b/c its apples to oranges).

I avoid "D' like the plague b/c it upshifts at less than 2k rpms and then revs often drop to as low as 850. And at 850 rpms, the car chugs a bit and I even get an intermittent vibration/rattle in the exhaust as the car starts to accelerate from such a low rpm. The 4.8 in the 550 is not a low end, torque-heavy, Mercedes-style engine. So the transmission should not have Mercedes style shift points. I'm just curious if the sport auto in an 08' or 09' 550i is better when just relaxing around town in Drive?


DRP

Phantom Mark

I wonder if this is purely an ECU controller upgrade but same mechanicals - I would be super interested in upgrading my box to the sport auto rather than std auto if its worthwhile......

Palmo

The standard auto can be upgraded to the sport auto relatively easily on LCI cars. Not sure if it can be done with pre-LCI cars though. Adding the steering wheel paddles is another matter and much harder to do.

See HERE for a topic where this was done - there are others if you search.

westcoast550

I think it works great , much nicer than the pre LCI, sharp, crisp shifts, but it does not make the car any faster.