E90 330i Auto v Manual

[Smuler]

Don't worry Lee, one day you're prince will come....I mean, one day your 330i manual will appear;)

I went DCT in my 335i , but even though after testing I found the auto modes much better than step or ZF , it didn't last. I just couldn't 'live' without the greater involvement of changing gears.

Now , fortunately, DCT is good in manual mode and I enjoy it. But I am better suited to a manual. My advice being, if you enjoy manual and I mean really enjoy, stick with it (pun intended) as the alternatives, even if they appeal at first, will lose their sparkle after a while.

[Billy_Whizzzz]

It's a SE but seems to fit the bill http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

There's a couple of M Sport on AT but they're more money

[cerb4.5lee]

Smuler said:

Don't worry Lee, one day you're prince will come....I mean, one day your 330i manual will appear;)

I went DCT in my 335i , but even though after testing I found the auto modes much better than step or ZF , it didn't last. I just couldn't 'live' without the greater involvement of changing gears.

Now , fortunately, DCT is good in manual mode and I enjoy it. But I am better suited to a manual. My advice being, if you enjoy manual and I mean really enjoy, stick with it (pun intended) as the alternatives, even if they appeal at first, will lose their sparkle after a while.

Thanks and you are spot on

[Swervin_Mervin]

I don't like the manual 'box in our 120d. Overly notchy. Like it's been designed that way to make it 'feel' like a solid change. It's far from snickety.

[GreenArrow]

Billy_Whizzzz said:

It's a SE but seems to fit the bill http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

There's a couple of M Sport on AT but they're more money

good spot and a late model N52 engine rather than a N53 engine with its problems...

[Mr Tidy]

GreenArrow said:

good spot and a late model N52 engine rather than a N53 engine with its problems...

Nice one, I wouldn't want to have to endure a walnut blast so N52 engine IMHO is the one to go for (works pretty well in my Z4C and 130is are pretty highly revered on here)!

[bennyboysvuk]

Swervin_Mervin said:

That's a fault, not a general issue with the 'box. Usually requiring a 'box service kit and a software update.

Sounds like you had a duffer as it changes quickly enough in Sport mode

That may be the case, but I found it was never in the right gear for what I wanted. I think it was PHer Donkey Apple who said think of the ZF like an employee. Within their remit, they work well, just going about their daily tasks, but give them a situation that they're not used to or expect more from them without direction and they can fail spectacularly.

[bennyboysvuk]

Swervin_Mervin said:

That's a fault, not a general issue with the 'box. Usually requiring a 'box service kit and a software update.

Sounds like you had a duffer as it changes quickly enough in Sport mode

That may be the case, but I found it was never in the right gear for what I wanted. I think it was PHer Donkey Apple who said think of the ZF like an employee. Within their remit, they work well, just going about their daily tasks, but give them a situation that they're not used to or expect more from them without direction and they can fail spectacularly. That helped me appreciate that I was expecting too much from the auto 'box.

I ended up driving the car in manual mode almost all the time, whilst missing all the control benefits of having a clutch pedal, so it went and I now have a manual M135i. I've not regretted going for the manual over the ZF 8 speed one bit.

[ORD]

My experience is that all auto boxes are very frustrating if you are a keen and careful driver. They always make the wrong decisions often enough that you just use them in 'manual' mode anyway.

[cerb4.5lee]

There just hasn't been and wont ever be a good substitute for the traditional three pedal manual and a stick and like most things regarding cars is that the older way is usually the better way.

Electronics just get in the way whether it be an auto or twin clutch auto gearbox or electronic driving aids...just let the driver drive and scrap all the electronic crap as it only interferes/hinders the driver and mostly makes the wrong decision.

[buggalugs]

The thing about comparing 0-60 times is that some journo was able to get 6.3 to 60 once in good conditions and with a bit of practice, if you tried it 10 times in a row how many 6.3's would you get? Whereas in an auto you just mash the pedal and wait, every time.

That said I'd go for the manual in that car!

[ORD]

buggalugs said:

The thing about comparing 0-60 times is that some journo was able to get 6.3 to 60 once in good conditions and with a bit of practice, if you tried it 10 times in a row how many 6.3's would you get? Whereas in an auto you just mash the pedal and wait, every time.

That said I'd go for the manual in that car!

Who does 0-60 runs in the real world? It's useful as a guide to low speed acceleration, but the actual 0-60 sprint is for car mags and dheads.

[philmots]

I've had the gearbox in 335d and now 550i, had no issues with it at all in either.

Most of the time it's in auto and I'm wafting, the 'box is superb, smooth and effortless.

If I'm wanting to drive enthusiastically then it does fail, but only because it can't read the road, I think you'd be unreasonable to expect it to be in the right gear all the time. That's what manual mode is for, you can always be in the year you want to be in and it changes easily as quick as a manual box, no slush as the torque converter stays locked. The only thing you lose to a manual is interaction, and I'm not bothered for that.

[bennyboysvuk]

philmots said:

If I'm wanting to drive enthusiastically then it does fail, but only because it can't read the road, I think you'd be unreasonable to expect it to be in the right gear all the time. That's what manual mode is for, you can always be in the year you want to be in and it changes easily as quick as a manual box, no slush as the torque converter stays locked. The only thing you lose to a manual is interaction, and I'm not bothered for that.

I don't expect it to read the road, but I do like the car to be in the right gear for the situation, hence I've voted with my feet and bought a manual.

Another thing that the E91 Auto did was hang onto a gear if I was wafting round a long curved motorway slip-road, where if it were straight it would have changed up. I then found that once on the motorway, it took longer than I wanted for it to shuffle up into top. I do dislike autos.

cerb4.5lee said:

There just hasn't been and wont ever be a good substitute for the traditional three pedal manual and a stick and like most things regarding cars is that the older way is usually the better way.

Electronics just get in the way whether it be an auto or twin clutch auto gearbox or electronic driving aids...just let the driver drive and scrap all the electronic crap as it only interferes/hinders the driver and mostly makes the wrong decision.

For cars that suggest any element of fun, I couldn't agree more.

[philmots]

You're describing some unusual characteristics, they normally start to hold and drag gears when something's wrong..

I'd suggest the box in yours was knackard, maybe through an undiscovered oil leak they all seem to suffer from. The undertray soaks most of it up, and the leak doesn't become apparent till its saturated with half the gearbox oil!

One of the reasons I've left off my middle undertray.

[bennyboysvuk]

philmots said:

You're describing some unusual characteristics, they normally start to hold and drag gears when something's wrong..

I'd suggest the box in yours was knackard, maybe through an undiscovered oil leak they all seem to suffer from. The undertray soaks most of it up, and the leak doesn't become apparent till its saturated with half the gearbox oil!

One of the reasons I've left off my middle undertray.

I don't think anything was wrong with it as when I was driving like I was chauffeuring, it was ok. It was the way I was driving it and the way it is set up. I.e. the car did hang onto gears during cornering, which is fine and I understand the reasons why it did that. I don't mind changing gear and unsettling the suspension a little mid-corner to avoid high revs when I don't consider the chassis to be working all that hard (no DSC intervention at that point, but starting to lean on the grip if you know what I mean). It just wasn't suited to my driving style and I knew I'd made a mistake within the month that I'd bought it. From then on, I slowly began to dislike it more and more. IMO, the electronics, chassis, manual gearbox and suspension of the 120d that I also had at the time made the car far more fun to drive than the 330i.

[ORD]

The slushbox kills that generation of 3er, in my view. I remember test driving an auto 330 and thinking 'What the hell is all the fuss about?'. A different story with a nice manual box and that I6.

[Swervin_Mervin]

Different strokes for different folks.

We have a 120d manual and yes, in a way it is more fun to drive. But that's got little to do with the manual box imo, and more to do with the fact that generally it feels more like a go kart than the 330i. Quicker rack, more direct steering with less tendency to understeer, less weight. If anything, I don't like the manual box in it as it's too notchy which ruins the smoothness of changes, as I've already said. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that if it's an indicator of BMW's manual boxes I won't rush to own another.

This brings me to another point about the 3 - if you are going for one another reason for the pre-LCI with the N52 is the hydraulic PAS. So much better than the later EPAS. It has a nice natural weight to it and feedback is much better.

[kooky guy]

I've just gone from an auto E46 330ci Sport which was wonderful to drive especially in Sport mode to a manual E90 325iSE and I'm really regretting going for a manual, especially in traffic. It's not a particularly nice gear change and being a 6 speed, I seem to be forever changing gear.

Being an SE, the ride is much nicer - the Sport was just too hard. It's got Sport seats, bodykit and wheels so everything else is the same.

My only excuse was that it was a distress purchase so I didn't have much choice (330 was written off by a dozy bint).

I would try and do some serious test drives before committing.

[macp]

kooky guy said:

I've just gone from an auto E46 330ci Sport which was wonderful to drive especially in Sport mode to a manual E90 325iSE and I'm really regretting going for a manual, especially in traffic. It's not a particularly nice gear change and being a 6 speed, I seem to be forever changing gear.

Being an SE, the ride is much nicer - the Sport was just too hard. It's got Sport seats, bodykit and wheels so everything else is the same.

My only excuse was that it was a distress purchase so I didn't have much choice (330 was written off by a dozy bint).

I would try and do some serious test drives before committing.

Im also surprised how much I dont miss a manual in my E46 with M54 I6.With a twitch of the foot you can make it change up and down the box.Certainly doesnt seem a bad box to me and im always grateful for an auto in todays traffic.