Talk me out of buying a flappy paddle
Discussion
I'll be doing a lot more town driving next year & I'll be needing a car with more than 2 seats, I have therefore decided we simply must have an M3!
But you try finding one under 2 years old that's a manual. So yesterday, our local dealership brought a dct equipped car over for an extended test drive. Country lanes, B roads, rush hour traffic nothing fazed it at all.
Apart from the niggling doubt I'll just really miss the Spanish box.
But you try finding one under 2 years old that's a manual. So yesterday, our local dealership brought a dct equipped car over for an extended test drive. Country lanes, B roads, rush hour traffic nothing fazed it at all.
Apart from the niggling doubt I'll just really miss the Spanish box.
I bought a 135i MSport with flappy paddles.
3.5l twin turbo and a srte of the art gearbox - perfect right?
No.
It was dull as ditchwater.
Very fast, but very dull.
Half the fun of spirited road driving is getting the gear changes just right.
Also, the car was too powerful to enjoy.
It had to be at 90+ to get any sense of pushing it, and that makes it useless on most A-Roads.
So most the time I was driving it there was no sensation of pushing on, and no fun of going through the gears.
I sold it six months later.
Don't waste your money.
A flappy box is an auto, with an extra feature.
It is not anything like a manual.
3.5l twin turbo and a srte of the art gearbox - perfect right?
No.
It was dull as ditchwater.
Very fast, but very dull.
Half the fun of spirited road driving is getting the gear changes just right.
Also, the car was too powerful to enjoy.
It had to be at 90+ to get any sense of pushing it, and that makes it useless on most A-Roads.
So most the time I was driving it there was no sensation of pushing on, and no fun of going through the gears.
I sold it six months later.
Don't waste your money.
A flappy box is an auto, with an extra feature.
It is not anything like a manual.
Krikkit said:
Do it - sounds like a great daily. Surely it's an excuse, however, to buy something a bit more basic and manual for fun at the weekend. Caterham? Elise? MX5?
I have thought of this & I've done it in the past but I hate the idea of having a car that doesn't get used. One car to do it all for meSnowboy said:
I bought a 135i MSport with flappy paddles.
3.5l twin turbo and a srte of the art gearbox - perfect right?
No.
It was dull as ditchwater.
Very fast, but very dull.
Half the fun of spirited road driving is getting the gear changes just right.
Also, the car was too powerful to enjoy.
It had to be at 90+ to get any sense of pushing it, and that makes it useless on most A-Roads.
So most the time I was driving it there was no sensation of pushing on, and no fun of going through the gears.
I sold it six months later.
Don't waste your money.
A flappy box is an auto, with an extra feature.
It is not anything like a manual.
Whereas in my opinion, the SMG 2 (well, 2.5 according to bmw) made the M3 CSL such an awesome car.3.5l twin turbo and a srte of the art gearbox - perfect right?
No.
It was dull as ditchwater.
Very fast, but very dull.
Half the fun of spirited road driving is getting the gear changes just right.
Also, the car was too powerful to enjoy.
It had to be at 90+ to get any sense of pushing it, and that makes it useless on most A-Roads.
So most the time I was driving it there was no sensation of pushing on, and no fun of going through the gears.
I sold it six months later.
Don't waste your money.
A flappy box is an auto, with an extra feature.
It is not anything like a manual.
Also, PDK equipped Cayman/Boxster/911 are great fun also. IMHO
Feraz said:
might be a stupid question but can you drive flappy paddles on a automatic license?
AFAIK you can drive anything without a clutch pedal on an auto licence, so that includes the DCT/SCT automated manuals/semi-autos.Snowboy said:
I bought a 135i MSport with flappy paddles.
3.5l twin turbo and a srte of the art gearbox - perfect right?
3.0l, non?3.5l twin turbo and a srte of the art gearbox - perfect right?
The Moose said:
Whereas in my opinion, the SMG 2 (well, 2.5 according to bmw) made the M3 CSL such an awesome car.
Also, PDK equipped Cayman/Boxster/911 are great fun also. IMHO
All of those cars have a certain sense of occasion about them thoughAlso, PDK equipped Cayman/Boxster/911 are great fun also. IMHO
A top end BMW when not being thrashed just feels like a bottom end one with an auto box and bit of leather.
If the OP wants an Auto with the ability to change gears then it's OK.
But if he wants a manual and thinks flappy paddles might be a good alternative, he's very wrong.
That was the mistake I made.
xRIEx said:
The only time I've tried one is two laps in a Ferrari 360. I'd like to spend some time in a car and really experience it, but from what people on here say and my brief drive it would probably be a let down. Still, it'll have to get crossed off the list at some point.
I'm sure it would be fun on a track if you were trying to get a good lap time.They allow very precise actions - but they aren't inherantly fun to change.
A really good gearbox offers a great tactile experience as you move through the gears with the left hand and get the clutch control spot on.
A FP box just has you pressing a button.
(To the chap who asked if the 135i was 3.0.
You may be right. It's not really a car I'm fond of remembering the details about.
)I really like the auto setup up in my S6 but i only use the flappy paddles to downshift in an overtake rather than just mash the accelerator.
I find that there is too much rotation in the steering wheel to make them easily usable when pressing on so much prefer using the gearbox in sequential mode.
I find that there is too much rotation in the steering wheel to make them easily usable when pressing on so much prefer using the gearbox in sequential mode.
LaurasOtherHalf said:
I'll be doing a lot more town driving next year & I'll be needing a car with more than 2 seats, I have therefore decided we simply must have an M3!
Apart from the niggling doubt I'll just really miss the Spanish box.
Not all "flappy paddle" gear boxes are born equal, but the E9x DCT is really nice to drive. If you are going to be driving in town the auto setting is really nice and lazy way to drive. And the just switch over to manual selection when you want to be more involved.Apart from the niggling doubt I'll just really miss the Spanish box.
I have no doubt from time to time you will miss the manual, but there will be times when your in a manual that you will miss the double clutch for its flexibility and amazingly fast shift speeds.
Edited by Web13 on Tuesday 24th December 09:40
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