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      10-05-2012, 09:04 AM   #1
pinemind
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8 Speed Auto on x35i Possibility/Rumors?

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I don't think there have been any leaks or rumors for getting the 8 speed automatic transmission on the x1 x35i model.

Has anyone heard of rumblings for a MY2014 revision to include this option? I hate to say it but it is the one thing holding me back from switching from my 2009 335i xDrive to this car. I currently have the 6 speed auto and with the new 335i having the option of the 8 speed, I find it hard to believe they wouldn't extend that to the x1. Suffice to say, I'm not as "down" on the 6 speed automatic mated to the N55 like most people, but if it's coming down the pike in a year, I can definitely hold off for it.
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      10-05-2012, 09:21 AM   #2
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I wouldn't hold your breath. A different transmission wouldn't even be an LCI type thing (it requires EPA recertification, etc). My guess is that you'll see a new transmission when the X1 moves to an F chassis.

Last edited by Bill B.; 10-05-2012 at 10:34 AM..
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      10-05-2012, 10:05 AM   #3
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Have you driven cars with both? We owned a 135i with the 6s for four years and drove the X3 35i and F30 335i and F30 328i and X1 28i with the 8s and just preferred the feel of the 6s to the 8s. Unless your goal is to save gas, which is noble, the 6s feels better in my experience. Note too that the F30 got lighter and more efficient than the E90, but slower. Changing gears all the time does not make for a quicker, more enjoyable car.

In another thread I mentioned that a friend has a 991 manual with the new 7s, it feels silly, like it just has gears for the sake of having gears. I notice that C&D mentioned exactly the same thing in a recent test. Efficiency is driving this stuff, but driving enjoyment and efficiency are not always the same thing. Drive both, pick what you like.

Oops, please note that only the transmission on the 991 feels silly, the rest of the car is pretty much awesome, even the EPS feels as good as nearly any EPS setup short of the S2000.

Last edited by Red Bread; 10-05-2012 at 10:10 AM..
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      10-05-2012, 10:13 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Bread View Post
Have you driven cars with both? We owned a 135i with the 6s for four years and drove the X3 35i and F30 335i and F30 328i and X1 28i with the 8s and just preferred the feel of the 6s to the 8s. Unless your goal is to save gas, which is noble, the 6s feels better in my experience. Note too that the F30 got lighter and more efficient than the E90, but slower. Changing gears all the time does not make for a quicker, more enjoyable car.
Agreed. I'm going on Monday while my N54 fuel problem frankenstein car is in for service again for the 3rd week in a row, to test drive an x35i X1. Would it be a benefit to test an F30 335i with the 8 speed? I feel the with the same engine, I could make somewhat of a comparison.

Like I said, I don't get all the poo-poo'ing about the 6 speed automatic. I have the sport package and I just use the paddles if I want to row through the power band. No issues here. I would think maybe a 7-speed would be a nice compromise, but I myself have been wondering about the "number of gears" race and 8 speeds seems like a shift happy dream turned into a nightmare.
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      10-05-2012, 10:39 AM   #5
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I have the 7 speed DCT in my 135i and still think it's 1 gear too many.
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      10-05-2012, 10:40 AM   #6
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Chrysler is supposed to be coming out with a 9s and Hyundai is apparently developing a 10s. Truckers have dozens of gears, but I don't see folks scrambling to get a nice 18 wheeler. The push towards a ton of gears is being done to take advantage of efficencies from large throttle openings and low revs, something both the N20 and N55 are good at. It's not done to make cars more fun. Even the 7s in the 991 is done to help work up Porsche's mileage numbers, not to make the cars faster or more enjoyable.

Drive the F30, there are tons of things that feel great about the F chassis cars, size being the one huge detractor for us, along with the EPS which just feels very underboosted, even in Sport + mode.
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      10-05-2012, 03:40 PM   #7
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Its not about the number of gears, its about the crispness and speed of the shifts that make the big drivability difference. No one can honestly drive the 6sp in the 35 and the 8sp in the 28 back to back and not notice how much smoother the 8sp is.
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      10-05-2012, 04:02 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rory breaker View Post
Its not about the number of gears, its about the crispness and speed of the shifts that make the big drivability difference. No one can honestly drive the 6sp in the 35 and the 8sp in the 28 back to back and not notice how much smoother the 8sp is.
I did drive both back to back and bought the one we preferred. The overall shift times are 20% quicker with the 8s, but because it has to shift more to arrive at any given speed, you give back any benefit.

They're both good transmissions, but the constant drivel about the 8s being better in every regard and making the cars feel different is just tiresome. I drove both, I've driven plenty of cars, BMW and other wise with the 8s, and it's a great transmission, but the ZF 6s, not to be confused with the old GM 6s in the E90 328i and E82 128i, is not as far removed as many folks would have people believe.
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      10-05-2012, 09:16 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pinemind View Post
All,

I don't think there have been any leaks or rumors for getting the 8 speed automatic transmission on the x1 x35i model.

Has anyone heard of rumblings for a MY2014 revision to include this option? I hate to say it but it is the one thing holding me back from switching from my 2009 335i xDrive to this car. I currently have the 6 speed auto and with the new 335i having the option of the 8 speed, I find it hard to believe they wouldn't extend that to the x1. Suffice to say, I'm not as "down" on the 6 speed automatic mated to the N55 like most people, but if it's coming down the pike in a year, I can definitely hold off for it.
It's seemmingly people are comparing 8sp vs. 6sp, which is not the question of the original thread. I also awaiting for more information about 8sp on X35i. I will order X1 X35i immediately once 8sp is available. I can wait for one more year, if it's won't happen I propably go with X1 s28i. I am guessing that they will update the transmission in next couple months once all 6sp transmissions are used up...
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      10-07-2012, 05:45 AM   #10
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I would like a taller cog in the 23d. when sitting on flat hwy's it would be nice to be doing 1700 rpm not 2250 rpm - 2800rpm (I do about 100miles or 160km per day of which 125 are highways)
agree that cogs for the sake of cogs is pointless
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      10-08-2012, 10:54 AM   #11
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8sp will probably have to wait until the X1 model rolls over. Apparently they'll give up the E90-based platform in favor of a FWD unit shared with the Mini. At that point, I would expect they will adopt the most current transmission technology, probably the ZF 8-speed.
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      10-08-2012, 10:59 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raleedy View Post
8sp will probably have to wait until the X1 model rolls over. Apparently they'll give up the E90-based platform in favor of a FWD unit shared with the Mini. At that point, I would expect they will adopt the most current transmission technology, probably the ZF 8-speed.
Well, I can testify that theirs is nothing wrong with the 6 speed thats in the 35i now. It is full of power and the MPG is not all that bad too...
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      10-08-2012, 12:32 PM   #13
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My guess is that the bigger engine + servotronic instead of hydraulic just doesn't leave enough room for the 8-speed in the current build.
But like some others, I'd rather have the 6-speed anyhow. I don't like how the 8-speed jerks when braking and stopping, and it's easier to engine brake with fewer gears. And, if Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel can do with less than 8 gears, so can I
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      10-09-2012, 11:01 PM   #14
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I love my 35i even if it is the older 6 speed. I have no complaints at all about it's power or the way it shifts. I dont drive a crazy amount of miles so the gas mileage was not a big factor. Before deciding on my purchase I did test drive (3) 8 speed 28i's at various times just to be sure I would not regret my decision later. I would suggest that you take your time to do enough test drives and get what is right for you.
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      10-11-2012, 10:37 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by formula M View Post
Simply not true^

BMW already sells that 8sp transmission in America. (certified)
BMW already sells the N55 + 8sp combination in America. (certified)

Then, BMW sells both in Europe.


The REASON there is no N55 + manual/8sp is a MARKETING decision...

The question by the OP wasn't why the 35i was INTRODUCED to the US with the 6sp, but if next year's model would switch to the 8sp.
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      10-11-2012, 01:12 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by formula M View Post
Simply not true^

BMW already sells that 8sp transmission in America. (certified)
BMW already sells the N55 + 8sp combination in America. (certified)

Then, BMW sells both in Europe.


The REASON there is no N55 + manual/8sp is a MARKETING decision. As it is much less logistics involved, when your fleecing an entire nation. BMW also increases their CAFE standards, by forcing people to buy the more certified fuel efficient car. (In actuality, the manual is the most efficient choice... but thats not "typical")
No, it most likely has to do neither with certification nor with marketing, but with design. The X1 is an older design -- at this point, at least numerically the oldest in BMW's current line-up (with the possible exception of the X5). The car pre-dates the 8-speed, which won't be retro-fitted to this model, especially since there will be a model replacement in the next couple of years or so. No 8-speeds on the E92-93, either.
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      10-11-2012, 01:58 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raleedy View Post
No, it most likely has to do neither with certification nor with marketing, but with design. The X1 is an older design -- at this point, at least numerically the oldest in BMW's current line-up (with the possible exception of the X5). The car pre-dates the 8-speed, which won't be retro-fitted to this model, especially since there will be a model replacement in the next couple of years or so. No 8-speeds on the E92-93, either.
The X1 28i has the 8 speed, only the 35i has the 6 speed. My point to the original poster was that, regardless of the reason the 35i was introduced, it would be unlikely they would retro-fit the 35i next year with the 8 speed because of expensive re-design including EPA re-cert, etc. That, most likely, would not happen until a switch to an F chassis.
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      10-11-2012, 04:42 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill B. View Post
The X1 28i has the 8 speed, only the 35i has the 6 speed. My point to the original poster was that, regardless of the reason the 35i was introduced, it would be unlikely they would retro-fit the 35i next year with the 8 speed because of expensive re-design including EPA re-cert, etc. That, most likely, would not happen until a switch to an F chassis.
Right. As far as I know, BMW has never paired the N20 engine -- at least the US version of it -- with any AT other than the zF 8-speed.
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      10-11-2012, 09:08 PM   #19
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I was under the impression that BMW was standardizing around the ZF Steptronic 8 speed transmission, which can accommodate various options, including an integral starter or the 55 (or more) HP ActiveHybrid electric motor (which replaces the torque converter).
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      10-12-2012, 05:15 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by formula M View Post
Again, that doesn't explain why it exists on European X1's..
We don't have the N55 in the X1 here.
The original 28i had the N53 engine here with the ZF 6 speed AT
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      10-12-2012, 10:13 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jabloomf1230 View Post
I was under the impression that BMW was standardizing around the ZF Steptronic 8 speed transmission, which can accommodate various options, including an integral starter or the 55 (or more) HP ActiveHybrid electric motor (which replaces the torque converter).
I'm sure they are. My guess is that when BMW finally decided to introduce the X1 to the US and they realized that since they weren't bringing the diesel over, they needed something else in addition to the N20 28i.

The 35i is a US only, mid-life, introduction that they probably cobbled together as quickly as they could by using an existing drivetrain design from the E91. Why should they spend much time on a new E84 drivetrain design, when the F chassis version will be introduced in a few years?
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