Bimmer32

Until the steptronic can do an H pattern, pushing the stick up and down to shift is distracting. When I put my Steptronic in manual mode, I always have to look down at the screen to see what gear I'm in. And in spirited driving, it's a pain in the bottom. :'( :'(

In a manual, at least one does not have to "think" twice about what gear the car is in. You shift the H pattern, you know by heart what gear. In a steptronic, it sucks. I still have not gotten use to the manual shifting of the steptronic.

I have been trying train my brain to think, "OK, in D high speed, gear 6, switch to DS, gear 5, push up once, gear 4, and push again, gear 3." Man, that's too much. With a manual, "clutch upper middle H" and I'm in gear 3. It's like writing my name blindfolded.

Anybody agree or disagree? How does the SMG and/or pedal shifting differ, if any (both train of thought and mechanical function), from the old fashion manual?

my530i

You'll get used to it if you use manual mode every time. Without looking at LED screen even blindfolded, I can tell what gear I'm driving and the engine sound and level of jerkiness.
I have not driven SMG, but I'm sure it's hold gear much better than steps without losing power.
SMG is the best choice, but it's reliability issue is unknown.

monster

I've had my car for 2 months now and I am only
just starting to use manual mode occasionally.
I usually wait until I come to a halt so as to start
from 1st and then keep each gear in my head so
that I don't have to look and the dash info for it.
I find that I prefer my gear 'changes' to the drive
mode changes as it never seems tp change at the right time.
It seems to change down a bit harshly sometimes when stopping/slowing down
I suppose it is using the enegine to aid the brakes?

info@trinityautosport

whenever i drive the bimmer i seriously cant drive that car in just D.. im always in manual mode and i know it just like im driving a stick

PoleApart

I totally agree. I hate the spool up of the torque converter when the revs rise but the car doesn't accelerate. I hate the slow gear changes and I hate the way that it shifts up or down at the lightest input to the gas pedal when I would prefer it just to stay in gear and ride the torque.

I really regret not having taken the manual shift.

dlevi67

No, it's not a manual. But the biggest difference is the torque converter and the inherent smoothness (good - in a good box, and the E60's is at least debatable) / slowness (bad - all of them) that it carries with it.

The pain in the neck (for me) is the nannying of not letting you change when you want, of upshifting when you hit the redline - just let me carry on there for a little, you bloody little computer, there's a bend right here - of kicking down when actually you don't want it, you just want to floor the accelerator, of hesitating, of ... But not knowing what gear I am on? Why do I even care?

I am perplexed by you finding it "distracting". Why do you care in what gear you are? Surely you know what your speed is by looking at the surrounds, what the speed should be looking at the road ahead and similarly for revs from engine noise and pulling. Just shift when the situation demands. Learn your car.

I don't mean the previous harshly, but I learnt to drive on motocross bikes. Just an accelerator, a gear lever and clutch to start (not to change). No rev counter, no speedo, no gear indication, no possibility to skip a gear. The only instrument is your bum on the seat! And it's so much fun you would not believe it unless you tried.

BTW - SMG is the same. Pull the paddle for upshift, push it for down. It's not called Sequential Manual Gearbox for nothing.

EBMCS03

Hahahah You'll get use to it. It took me a little to get use to it. I came from a triditional manual to SMG and SMG shifts basically the same as steptronic when put in manual mode. Of course minus the sloppy-ness of the TQ converter. Exactlly what PoleApart said... I hate how an auto "spools up" the engine before the car actually goes... and when you let off the gas you can see the RPMs drop before it "holds its gear" SMG the engine and wheel are LOCKED no sloppyness.

Maybe I'm just use to it but for the most part, probably 90+% of the time I know exactlly which gear I'm in without having to look at the center info display. Like my530i said you get use to it. you can feel how responsive the car is and how loud it is and at what speed you're going at. I admit I sometimes glance at the info display to check to make sure I'm actually in the gear i want to be in but normally no problems.

Cruising on the freeway double tap forward and I'm in 4th. good gearing to pass. EASY.

As I slow for a turn or a stop or traffic ahead I downshift accordingly and my brain automatically keeps track of what gear I'm in along with the speed, engine noise, amount of engine braking the car is doing and responsiveness of the gas pedal I know what gear i'm in. EASY!

I think you lose that in a steptronic. you cant really feel the engine and the car as much as you can with a triditional manual transmission so I'm almost sure that is why you're having so much problems.

I know... cuz i've sold my triditional 6spd manual for a slush-box. So I now have a SMG and a slush box while before I had a 6 spd manual and a SMG.

EBMCS03

SMG isnt the same... its the same way to shift but its a totally differnt drive feel.

dlevi67

Bimmer32's question was whether SMG would allow one to determine the gear in a similar way to a normal H-pattern manual gearbox (and thus for example shift 5->3). SMG will not, and in that respect it's exactly the same as a step.

my530i

I totally agree. I'd rather drive my 4-spd slush box Toy Solara V6 3.0L than driving my BMW E60 V8 4.8L in D mode Toy auto transmission (4-speed) or GM auto transmission is much more responsive than BMW's.
I either drive in DS or Manual mode, but 99% of the time is in manual mode using paddle for spirit driving and knob for relax driving.

I cannot agree more. Problem is torque converter. I like the gear get lock like the case of SMG or manual. Manual is not a choice for me due to wife drive this car occassionally and Bay Area traffic congestion.