E9X M3 DCT Questions
Discussion
Can anyone give me some basic info on this gearbox. I am after such info as
- How many modes are there etc and what are they
- Which mode is best for driving it ike an Auto
-Which is best for "normal" spirited driving
-Which is best for "extreme" srprited driving
etc
I dont live in the UK anymore and the staff at the local BMW dealers dont know much. When I was explaining to my mate who was thinking of buying one at the dealers that the gearchange is meant to be lightning quick, the salesperson agreed with me and said, yeah its so quick because its a 4 litre engined car.
Thanks in advance
- How many modes are there etc and what are they
- Which mode is best for driving it ike an Auto
-Which is best for "normal" spirited driving
-Which is best for "extreme" srprited driving
etc
I dont live in the UK anymore and the staff at the local BMW dealers dont know much. When I was explaining to my mate who was thinking of buying one at the dealers that the gearchange is meant to be lightning quick, the salesperson agreed with me and said, yeah its so quick because its a 4 litre engined car.
Thanks in advance
The DCT gearbox is brilliant, either working like a good auto or giving total manual control with instant smooth changes. Here are extracts from briefing notes I wrote for people driving my car - probably far too much info! Feel free to ask any follow-up questions.
M DCT is a 7 speed fairly close ratio gearbox with two wet clutches. You can drive in D Mode (automatic) or S (sequential manual).
There are 5 'automatic' modes - D1 to D5, and 6 'sequential' modes, S1 to S6. A higher number means 'more sporty'
Display. In the bottom centre of the instruments, in Drive you see Dn, where n is the gear currently engaged. It is quite useful knowing what gear is engaged. In Sequential, the D disappears and the gear number is bigger. A row of 5/6 lights underneath tells you what shift mode is selected.
Characteristics. Most of the time in D it drives like a good auto. But remember there is no torque converter – this means it may be a bit rough in 1st and 2nd, and care is needed with the throttle. In D settings 1 to 5 change the gear selection, with D1 cutting out 1st and D5 using a higher rev range. It is smooth even in D5, but I leave it in D2 - when I want higher revs on part throttle I use S Mode.
Manual Operation ‘S’ mode. You can use either paddles (left down, right up) or stick (forward down, back up). You will probably only want to use the stick when your hands are not near the paddles. If you want to change to Sequential mode without changing gear, you toggle the stick to the right. If you change gear with either paddle or stick from D, you select the new gear, and change to S mode. The box stays in S until you change back to D by toggling the stick to the right.
In S the gearbox still changes down automatically below 1,500 rpm – you have to be careful not to change down manually too far when it has changed down automatically. The current gear is displayed. Otherwise the box only changes when you ask it to.
I generally use the change setting S1. In this mode the change is quick, but also quite smooth. In S4 and S5, you get lovely aggressive blips on downchanges, but the change does not seem to be any quicker, and you get a thump of ‘torque surge’ on upchanges. I don’t like it above S3. There are shift lights at the top of the rev counter, amber then red.
Testing has demonstrated that there is no difference in acceleration times between S1 (extremely smooth changes even on full throttle) and S6 (pronounced thump on upchanges).
The gearbox has special features for hill starts, slow manoeuvering and launch control.
M DCT is a 7 speed fairly close ratio gearbox with two wet clutches. You can drive in D Mode (automatic) or S (sequential manual).
There are 5 'automatic' modes - D1 to D5, and 6 'sequential' modes, S1 to S6. A higher number means 'more sporty'
Display. In the bottom centre of the instruments, in Drive you see Dn, where n is the gear currently engaged. It is quite useful knowing what gear is engaged. In Sequential, the D disappears and the gear number is bigger. A row of 5/6 lights underneath tells you what shift mode is selected.
Characteristics. Most of the time in D it drives like a good auto. But remember there is no torque converter – this means it may be a bit rough in 1st and 2nd, and care is needed with the throttle. In D settings 1 to 5 change the gear selection, with D1 cutting out 1st and D5 using a higher rev range. It is smooth even in D5, but I leave it in D2 - when I want higher revs on part throttle I use S Mode.
Manual Operation ‘S’ mode. You can use either paddles (left down, right up) or stick (forward down, back up). You will probably only want to use the stick when your hands are not near the paddles. If you want to change to Sequential mode without changing gear, you toggle the stick to the right. If you change gear with either paddle or stick from D, you select the new gear, and change to S mode. The box stays in S until you change back to D by toggling the stick to the right.
In S the gearbox still changes down automatically below 1,500 rpm – you have to be careful not to change down manually too far when it has changed down automatically. The current gear is displayed. Otherwise the box only changes when you ask it to.
I generally use the change setting S1. In this mode the change is quick, but also quite smooth. In S4 and S5, you get lovely aggressive blips on downchanges, but the change does not seem to be any quicker, and you get a thump of ‘torque surge’ on upchanges. I don’t like it above S3. There are shift lights at the top of the rev counter, amber then red.
Testing has demonstrated that there is no difference in acceleration times between S1 (extremely smooth changes even on full throttle) and S6 (pronounced thump on upchanges).
The gearbox has special features for hill starts, slow manoeuvering and launch control.
Waremark - please send your DCT guide to BMW; it's far clearer than the handbook and much more informed than their salesmen. After cursing my DCT on slow manouevres into the garage, I now know from your post that there's a special mode I need to select.
Seriously though, that was a great write up. I tend to stick to D2 and S2, although it's been too icy/wet/slippery for me to give it full beans on different settings since covering the running in mileage.
It is a fantastic system and IMHO far better than Porsche's PDK (that system is actually even smoother than the DCT in auto, but the manual mode is a joke - fiddly little shift buttons and counter-intuitive set up).
The only criticisms from me on the DCT are that auto mode can be jerky until it's warmed up and the fact that my wife is now more than happy to drive the M3 (she's used to an auto in her 335d and didn't touch my previous manual M3).
Seriously though, that was a great write up. I tend to stick to D2 and S2, although it's been too icy/wet/slippery for me to give it full beans on different settings since covering the running in mileage.
It is a fantastic system and IMHO far better than Porsche's PDK (that system is actually even smoother than the DCT in auto, but the manual mode is a joke - fiddly little shift buttons and counter-intuitive set up).
The only criticisms from me on the DCT are that auto mode can be jerky until it's warmed up and the fact that my wife is now more than happy to drive the M3 (she's used to an auto in her 335d and didn't touch my previous manual M3).
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