BetterMakeWay

In fact it depends on the cip version also. Let me make it more complicated, as i know cip 22 or 23 always selects 1st gear in D mode for Steptronic.

Bottom line, getting back to the topic i don't get it with the winter mode, apart from what i've said in my earlier post about the steptronic behaving in winter, i simply don't get it what's more about it.

Spyder44

Bettermake....
heal toe works as you say when down shifting and rev matching. So when traveling down a hill with dubious grip, matching the revs for a down shift assists in making a smooth transition and aleviates any potential hiccup and loss of traction.

BetterMakeWay

Hmmm true, didn't think of it that way. I always thought of heal and toe in dry, racing hard
Anyway i'm no snow expert, but i hardly doubt that makes such a huge impact. Yeah it will help alot reduce any potential wheelspin produced by downshifting but in any case DSC is always there and even if you downshift in a manual without heal and toe dsc will detect excessive wheel spin and takes care of it. And may i say that from my experience i found that if you are already on a slippery downhill area it's better to use the engine brake than the normal brake to stop or reduce speed, engine brake that's incompatible with heal and toe. The only valid situation i see, would be if you want to accelerate in on a slippery downhill area, and you don't want to unbalance the car and take off quickly, i repeat on a slippery downhill area...

Spyder44

All that and....I just like doing heel toe! Makes it a full driving experience and feels good knowing one can have full control over the tranny/engine. I know dsc will do it's job if I mess up. I'm still learning the technique and usually wear western style boots (not helping). Do you have any experience with a pedal set that is designed for heel/toe? I know there are a few out there and even some that offer different geometry. Each offer their own separtion between pedals (right now stock is about 2"). Thoughts?

MrTrilby

We have a Mercedes with a winter/summer setting for the autobox. It acts to reduce the kickdown effect - you have to push the throttle pedal down a lot further before it gives up trying to accelerate in the current gear and elects to change down a gear or two.

I think it would be a useful thing to have on the BMW. My 530d seems exceptionally keen to kick down gears even when you're not driving that hard, and sometimes they're not that smooth - the power comes in quite hard. Doesn't strike me as a great idea if it's close to freezing out and there's a risk of ice, or even if there's just a load of standing water around for that matter.

I realise that I have the option of switching to M to simulate that kind of behaviour, but that kind of goes against the point of buying an auto. the S/W switch on the Mercedes gives you a nice extra bit of control over which mode the gearbox is in.

Rudy

I'm not so sure that DSC will be as effective if the downshift causes the wheels spin...

Minimizing the spin in the first place (by heel-toe or simply using SMG ) is a good idea. Keep in mind that if you're going down a particularly slippery slope, using neutral will actually give you the most grip and the least amount of slip...

Ricracing

Did test drive today - on compleately icy roads, in southern Finland - a 325xiA.

Did run a couple of hundred miles, with a big on my face all the time.

The BMW xDrive is fantastic, great, superiour... simply incredible in a postive way


I do not remember having such fun in a long time

Spyder44

Rudy

i know intellectually that neutral would offer best grip, but....I just love the sound of that engine winding up and down the rev curve! 'Spose if I want to KEEP hearing that melodious tone, I should put 'er in neutral on the steep stuff.

BetterMakeWay

I'm also in the learning state, because i don't get to drive manual cars that often now (i mastered it 2 years ago but ever since i lost the practice), and because you can hardly do a proper heal and toe in normal manual layout of padels. I drove once in a friend's car that had mounted the accelerator pedal, with the additional lower left lip special for heal&toe and i must say it was easier. But still he needed to reposition the brake and gas padels, slightly, both in height and distance from each other. I don't know for sure what space he had or what would be the proper one. My opinion is for you to buy a set and then fiddle with the positions untill you find the pefect blend of comfort and race feel.

pinguhk

we dont get snow but we do get frost and ice sometimes in the hills
queuing is when you got alot of cars in front of you but when at night there car less cars but loads of light that why I always start and stop
but I supose you could call it queuing. queuing to the lights