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      02-24-2013, 08:47 PM   #92
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Drives: 2015 Alpina B6; 430i; X5 40e
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Orange County, CA

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Quote:
Originally Posted by bosstones View Post
I would definitely end up with the paddles. Coming from MT in my snow car, I'd go nuts driving straight auto again.

What I'm curious about, though, is how bad is the car programming about actually executing the shifts the driver initiates in certain conditions. My last auto car was a 2001 325i and it would usually shift decently but, say, down shifting going into a turn would suffer long delays before an actual down shift occurred (after I initiated it)....like the car thinks too much. Outside of a money shift, I wouldn't expect delay. Is that the case?
I had similar complaints on my E39 540i AT programming (no steptronic). My E46 was a manual. I was not fully happy with my 2009 335i. If I needed to down shift more than just one gear there was delay and hesitation at times. No such complaints with the new 8sp transmission. I can be cruising in 8th and triple click down to 5th in an instant. They say it can skip 5 gears at a time but I'm not that fast (I maybe went directly from 8 to 4 once while testing).

If you drive the car as if it is a manual, you will have no complaints. Since, I am used to driving manuals, instinctively I ease up on the throttle when I initiate shifts. The transmission does a great job of rev matching IMO. I have heard people complaining of surging when shifting and I believe these people are keeping a constant or even full throttle pressure when shifting.

If keeping constant/full throttle pressure, the transmission does best shifting on its own in my opinion and does a damn good job in Drive Sport mode.
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