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True-Blue

Veteran
 Bristol/Bath
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I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I think I might actually prefer the E85 as an Auto :exitright:

It’s the 3.0si I’ve got and, sure, changes with the paddles could be a bit swifter.. but I’d be surprised if you could change gear much faster in a manual when compared to kick-down. And it’s great when pottering and not pressing on too

Maybe I’m getting old :tumbleweed:
 
I've had 3.0si manual (before my 35iS, which was DCT). Now I have a 3.0si Auto, yeah it's nice, smooth, changes are quick enough (okay nothing like the DCT).
TBH I wasn't impressed with the manual shift in the previous Si. It was a bit stiff and notch, nowhere near as good as the manual shift in my GR Yaris or my Focus RS, so with two manual cars for hooning, the Z4 being auto is for cruising :driving:
Plus the wife doesn't drive manual now, the Auto was the option to go for...... and it's rarer ;)
 
You're not likely to get an M then!

I'll stick with manuals as long as I can cope with 3 pedals. :driving:
 
9designs said:
I've had 3.0si manual (before my 35iS, which was DCT). Now I have a 3.0si Auto, yeah it's nice, smooth, changes are quick enough (okay nothing like the DCT).
TBH I wasn't impressed with the manual shift in the previous Si. It was a bit stiff and notch, nowhere near as good as the manual shift in my GR Yaris or my Focus RS, so with two manual cars for hooning, the Z4 being auto is for cruising :driving:
Plus the wife doesn't drive manual now, the Auto was the option to go for...... and it's rarer ;)
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Yes, I had your old 3.0Si for a while… I found the gear change the same as in all the other E85’s I’ve driven to be honest, no better or worse.

There’s no 1st to 2nd notchy-ness on the Auto :driving: 8)
 
I have often wondered how much work it would be to do a manual to auto conversion...this normally pops into my noggin when stuck in miles of stop- Start traffic which is happening more and more in Cornwall :cry:
 
I've had countless Bmw & Z4 in a variety of auto / manual / dct.

In Si guise I found the auto really well suited to the 262bhp straight 6 , in sport mode a bit too sharp but always felt spirited & "easy" to get up to silly speeds far quicker than you can in manual .
Bmw manual boxes in general I'm not a big fan of , they are a world away from a manual Porsche or VAG cars.

DCT : just a failed experiment in my eyes :
After 2 performance Bmws with it , both times been left underwhelmed & irked by them .
The ZF auto a far better all round option & the fact BMW have now dropped the DCT box from their high performance cars says it all.
 
mr wilks said:
I've had countless Bmw & Z4 in a variety of auto / manual / dct.
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Blimey. How many have you had? I can count to quite a lot and I'm not particularly bright. :lol: :lol:
 
Mr Tidy said:
I'll stick with manuals as long as I can cope with 3 pedals.
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If you want to ever sample a truly great manual gearbox, go and test drive a Honda FK8 Type R (did I mention I have one now? :oops: ). Compared to the BMW manual gearboxes, which are pretty good IMO, it is like it was handmade in Switzerland by a group of master watchmakers from precious metals. How they managed to mass-produce such a thing is a mystery. :D
 
Pondrew said:
If you want to ever sample a truly great manual gearbox, go and test drive a Honda FK8 Type R (did I mention I have one now? ). Compared to the BMW manual gearboxes, which are pretty good IMO, it is like it was handmade in Switzerland by a group of master watchmakers from precious metals. How they managed to mass-produce such a thing is a mystery.
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Shame they went to all that trouble then stuck it in a FWD scrabble-wagon really! :lol:

I had a Sierra with an MT75 that was great, but to be fair the ZF box in my MC is much better than the Getrags I had in my other 7 BMWs.
 
I couldn’t agree more. I loved my coupe, but the hardest part about it was the gearshift. My 3.0i is an auto which suits my (old man) driving style. Planting the foot in sport mode at the lights brings a smile to my face every time :D
 
Mr Tidy said:
Shame they went to all that trouble then stuck it in a FWD scrabble-wagon really!
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Seriously you would be hard pushed to know it's FWD. The lack of torque steer is phenomenal. Ford use their e-diff, but I've had one of them and they are shite. Torque steer is still a major issue. Honda use Japanese mystique and it works! :D
 
Pondrew said:
mr wilks said:
I've had countless Bmw & Z4 in a variety of auto / manual / dct.
Click to expand...
Blimey. How many have you had? I can count to quite a lot and I'm not particularly bright. :lol: :lol:
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If you want to be pedantic :roll: "countless " as in a figure i would need a piece of paper to go back through 35yrs of cars.
E30 325 sport was the beginning of my Bmw ownership right up to currently a F11 5 tourer , in between various Mercs , VWs , Audis & Porsche cars ive also owned in no particular order :oops: 1 x M4 , 16 x Z4s , 2 X3s , 5 x 3 series , 1 x 645, 2 x 5 series & a easily forgettable 1 x Z3
Totals up to 29 Bmws in 35yrs with 2 x DCT 11 manuals & 16 autos .
Manual boxes i have had in TTRS , Golf Gti & currently have a 2017 A5 coupe with a clutch that is a delight to drive .
Also had 2 V6 TTs + 1 Golf GTD that were DSG , much like the DCT they were pretty forgettable experiences too but a A6 Avant we had was multitronic , did the job masterfully :)
Whilst i can't recall any problematic manual Bmws they were never "effortless" like the one in 997 C4 , now that was a treat :driving:
 
In my experience BMWs and Mercedes are much better suited to the auto box than a manual, I’ve never been able to gel with a manual BMW except for the E46 Compact I once had. If your 3.0si is fitted with the ZF6 as it is in my E89 you should get the XHP flash tune it transforms the box.
 
Silverstar said:
In my experience BMWs and Mercedes are much better suited to the auto box than a manual, I’ve never been able to gel with a manual BMW except for the E46 Compact I once had. If your 3.0si is fitted with the ZF6 as it is in my E89 you should get the XHP flash tune it transforms the box.
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Interesting,

I’ve found the app on the AppStore, and that’s free… but the licence for one 6 speed vehicle is £146.21 (weird amount!) - says it’s vin locked to the vehicle.

But definitely worth it though?
 
mr wilks said:
but a A6 Avant we had was multitronic , did the job masterfully
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Funny you should mention that. I had an A6 with the multi-tronic. It was awful IMO. To the point of being almost dangerous if pulling out of a junction, as it would take an age to pick up the drive from standstill.
 
Pondrew said:
mr wilks said:
but a A6 Avant we had was multitronic , did the job masterfully
Click to expand...
Funny you should mention that. I had an A6 with the multi-tronic. It was awful IMO. To the point of being almost dangerous if pulling out of a junction, as it would take an age to pick up the drive from standstill.
Click to expand...
Absolutely, I test drove an A4 convertible with multitronic (fancy word for CVT!) it was weird to have the engine stick at peak torque and accelerate, worst driving experience of my life.
 
True-Blue said:
Silverstar said:
In my experience BMWs and Mercedes are much better suited to the auto box than a manual, I’ve never been able to gel with a manual BMW except for the E46 Compact I once had. If your 3.0si is fitted with the ZF6 as it is in my E89 you should get the XHP flash tune it transforms the box.
Click to expand...

Interesting,

I’ve found the app on the AppStore, and that’s free… but the licence for one 6 speed vehicle is £146.21 (weird amount!) - says it’s vin locked to the vehicle.

But definitely worth it though?
Click to expand...

The current price according to the XHP website is 169€ for the license plus the map pack 79€, the price you are seeing is euros coverted to £s. Every now and then XHP has a sale and the prices are significantly reduced. I bought it when they had a black friday sale and it cost me 187€ for both the license and the map pack, so you might want to keep and eye out for the next sale. Yes it's definitely worth it!

https://www.xhpflashtool.com
 
sars said:
Pondrew said:
mr wilks said:
but a A6 Avant we had was multitronic , did the job masterfully
Click to expand...
Funny you should mention that. I had an A6 with the multi-tronic. It was awful IMO. To the point of being almost dangerous if pulling out of a junction, as it would take an age to pick up the drive from standstill.
Click to expand...
Absolutely, I test drove an A4 convertible with multitronic (fancy word for CVT!) it was weird to have the engine stick at peak torque and accelerate, worst driving experience of my life.
Click to expand...

CVTs are the worst gearboxes you can have on any car.
 
Pondrew said:
mr wilks said:
but a A6 Avant we had was multitronic , did the job masterfully
Click to expand...
Funny you should mention that. I had an A6 with the multi-tronic. It was awful IMO. To the point of being almost dangerous if pulling out of a junction, as it would take an age to pick up the drive from standstill.
Click to expand...
.

Which A6 ?
I thought it worked very well with V6 mapped TDi quattro
 
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