This idea just popped into my mind...

Is the 'throttle plate' in the 545i only for traction control or does it function on startup / other driving states as well?

I am wondering whether trimming the plate might reduce the amount the traction control causes the car to fall flat on its face after a little bit of wheel slip...

 

 

The V8 uses variable valve lift to throttle the engine, and but uses a butterfly valve to reduce power when traction control detects wheel slip. I find the traction control way too aggressive, the car falls flat on its face when the wheels slip a little. I am thinking by making the plate in the butterfly valve a little smaller, the traction control will have less influence on the overall throttle level.

The only thing I am wondering is whether the throttle plate is used for anything else...

 

I just push the DTC button for 5 seconds and it becomes a tire smokin' party!!

 

Strikes me as a fairly bad idea, and a question that only a BMW engineer would be able to answer definitively. I think it also comes into play if anything happens to the valvetronic system, but I really don't know.

Better idea - get an LSD installed.

 

This is what you want to do. Allows the wheels to have some slip.

See my miDrive thread in my signature... This will be one of the startup options and one of the settings changed when the "miDrive" button is pressed (the diamond on the steering wheel).

 

+1

 

Yeah, a single tire smoking party. The differential braking is a nice feature in lieu of a lsd but I want control of the throttle and I can't be arsed to hold that button for 5s every time I go for a drive.