FlaGuy

If you take 2BT/shift paddles away and keep ZSP.... what is the difference in the way the car drives and handles?

Gene

SAT/2BT would change the engine responsiveness, gear changes/shifting, rev's/rpm's..etc....does not change handling AFAIK...

but without ZDH you won't have ARS and EDC...so handling will be effected: more body roll, floaty, soft....

FlaGuy

So SAT/2BT would not change handling at all. I assume this combo would eat more gas but does it improve acceleration?

tadtaggert

I wouldn't agree with this.

Handling includes being able to setup turns, so coming out of a turn and having no control of what gear you're in/how the engine is rev'ing wouldn't be great handling to me. I can't imagine having an F10 and not having either the 6MT or the SAT. What the SAT gives you is the choice to manually control the gearbox or when you feel like just driving to have some choice in how the car performs/handles. If you want any kind of sporty ride whatsoever, then you have to have either 6mt or SAT (my opinion).

The questions on DHP (ZDH) seem to be where much of the debate is. TBO only the driver can answer that by what you expect out of the car. For me, I believe ARS and EDC enhance the experience, but more importantly there are times when I drive in 8-10 hours stints and I'm just looking for comfort on the interstate. I also believe that there are a lot of people without 'larger/heavier car' driving experience that simply aren't used to the 'feelings' of driving such cars, and when you compare that to 3's or smaller 5's it's different. I can't and won't argue what people like, but I will argue that not enough are taking the time to learn the F10's.

As for springs that stiffen/lower the car, know that for me it's as much if it takes away too much comfort in the Comfort/Normal settings as to how much it adds in the Sport/Sport+ settings. I like being able to choose over a range depending on where I'm driving/how I'm feeling. With ZDH is a very wide range now.

FlaGuy

Thanks for the clarification. Sounds like for $500 it makes sense to get the sports auto trans along w/ZSP. Also, I would think that w/2BT gas mileage might be negatively influenced to a small degree. Are there any current owners of a 535i w/zsp, zdh & 2bt that can comment about the positive/negatives of this combo? Likes and/or dislikes? Thanks!

bimmernic

With the 2TB set to Normal mode, the steering weight and feel appears to be better than the standard steering as well, in that there is more "meat" to the steering, even if light by E60 standards, and it feels less overboosted and artificial.

Also, the D/S mode (moving the gearshift lever to left) in Normal mode is rather different from the Sport mode.

# 2TB in Sport mode

With the 2TB in Sport mode (a) the accelerator pedal is heavier, with more effort required to depress the pedal; (b) the accelerator is more sensitive, in that less pedal travel is required to achieve a certain engine speed; and (c) the throttle lag experienced in Normal mode is reduced and the engine speed climbs faster.

The steering also becomes heavier and more direct. Plus, the transmission shift speed and points are faster and higher, respectively. Whether both are the same with the standard transmission in D/S mode as well, I have no idea.

# Standard transmission in D/S mode (on the basis that this is the equivalent of the 2TB in Normal + D/S mode)

There is no change in the weight, feel or response of the steering and accelerator pedal, even if the car feels snappier due to transmission shift points being higher as the lower gears are held for a longer time before changing up. So, even if the transmission is more sporty, the steering and pedal feel is, for lack of a better description, normal with less of an "as one" feel with the 2TB in Sport mode.

# Steering paddles

I used to take the view that the steering paddles, while nice to have and aesthetically pleasing, would be somewhat redundant.

However, I have had the occasion to use them for overtaking manoeuvres recently and now appreciate them more. Since the transmission tends to change up to, and maintain, the higher gears to reduce the engine speed for better fuel economy, a click or two on the left/(-) paddle helps to get the engine into the power band faster than to floor the accelerator to trigger the kick down response. While it is possible to achieve manual override by moving the gearshift lever to the left, (a) the paddles are at your finger tips, allowing both hands to be kept on the steering wheel instead of taking one hand off the steering wheel to move the gearshift lever; and (b) there are less steps involved with the paddles; with one step/click for a shift instead of two when moving (i) the gearshift to the left; and (ii) then up/down for a shift.

FlaGuy

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and insights! I'm interested if there are members who have a f10 535i w/zsp, zdh, and 2bt that can comment on the handling, engine response, and overall drive/feel of the car..... Thanks!

gorban

So you mean that you can shift manually using the paddles without first moving the gear lever to the sport/manual mode? I didn't know that, interesting...

Scandic24

Yup.
Just hit a paddle with the gear lever in "D" and it will shift gear - up or down.
If you stop using the paddles it will automatically go back into "D" after a couple of seconds