Is an auto ok?
- Thread starter Kdawg1
- Start date
Attleborough, Norfolk
Scottish Borders
Scubaregs said:Pondrew said:That depends on how quick your wrists are! My left is very quick (I am left handed)Scubaregs said:
Electronics will always be faster. Now of course, you’re going to tell me you’re a cyborg. :lol:
Droning lecture mode on..
On the E89 there is the perfect illustration of both the benefit of the auto box and how the 8HP box bettered the 6HP box.
The 28i has the 8HP box and is faster than the manual in the dash to 60..
The 30i has the 6HP and is slower than the manual in the dash to 60.
As others said you can now adapt the 6HP to shift quicker (100ms vs 600ms).
They are not slush boxes as technically they lock up once underway..a slush box constantly endures torque converter slip.
So no shame on the 6HP box, especially with a low cost software tweak
Droning lecture mode off
North West Surrey
I grew up with manual gearboxes to the extent I've only had 4 Autos in 45 years, and they were definitely all sluggish slushboxes!
I only had those because finding manuals in those cars was pretty much impossible. The last was a 1994 Mercedes C280 with a 4 speed auto.
Trying a newer auto may well be a revelation, but Ms were all manuals anyway!
And I am left-handed. :lol:
I only had those because finding manuals in those cars was pretty much impossible. The last was a 1994 Mercedes C280 with a 4 speed auto.
Trying a newer auto may well be a revelation, but Ms were all manuals anyway!
And I am left-handed. :lol:
Mr Tidy said:
A Mercedes especially from that era with a manual box were even worse. The auto box was definitely better suited to the Mercedes hence why you found in almost impossible to find that car in a manual. In fact in the trade most refused to buy a manual Mercedes as they would be hard to shift. Mercedes auto boxes were not anywhere close to the performance of the switchable, steptronic and other iterations of auto boxes that BMW had.
Sorry, bit slow to reply as the wife kept me in bed. :roll:Ian J said:
Having grown up with manuals I guess there is an element of muscle memory, old dogs/new tricks etc, but I cannot for the life of me get round a corner in what I consider to be an effective manner in a standard auto.
In my manual E89: braking done early, select the right gear, constant throttle in and accelerate out.
With ye olde worlde auto box in wifey's 2.5i I never feel it's right. Get to the apex and the car says 'oh, you want this gear do you, ok, give me a sec..."
With the more modern autos (as in my new shape 1-series) I simply flappy paddle it down a gear and away we go.
The missus, on the other hand has driven autos for years and she seems much more at home with it. Brake early, then start driving before the bend so the box has changed down already.
So a lot of it comes down to driving styles, type of driving experience, ability to adapt (willingness to adapt!).
To answer the OPs initial question then, there is nothing inherently right or wrong about either a manual or auto box.
I'd dare to suggest that in the real world the slightly quicker 0-62mph with the modern auto only really makes itself felt at the bar.
OP, you will need to drive both types and see which suits you best I think, but in the knowledge that whichever you choose it is neither the right nor the wrong decision.
Thanks guys and gurls
Sounds advice - all be it very 50/50 lol….
Think I’m going to head down the auto route I’m bot planning of red lining sideways all the time so I’m sure an auto would suit a bit more of a cruising lifestyle.
Sure they’ll be more questions if the future (like how to swap an auto box for a manual)
Sounds advice - all be it very 50/50 lol….
Think I’m going to head down the auto route
I’m bot planning of red lining sideways all the time so I’m sure an auto would suit a bit more of a cruising lifestyle.Sure they’ll be more questions if the future (like how to swap an auto box for a manual)
Welcome to the forum. From what I have learnt reading many posts on this fine forum, the Auto box in the Z4 is a very good auto and makes for both fun and trouble free motoring. You say you are not a petrol head, so in my book it could be just what you need. Personally I drive my Z4 purely for entertainment and the interaction I get with it. The auto takes an important piece of that away in my book, so I prefer the manual box.
It's hard to simply say take a test drive in both, as you can't ever get intimate with the driving experience of any car on a short test drive and it's all about that feeling of making the right choice and being in the right gear, at precisely the split second you and the car need to be there.
So yes the Auto is OK. Is OK all you want from life though? :wink:
It's hard to simply say take a test drive in both, as you can't ever get intimate with the driving experience of any car on a short test drive and it's all about that feeling of making the right choice and being in the right gear, at precisely the split second you and the car need to be there.
So yes the Auto is OK.
Is OK all you want from life though? :wink:I think I can provide some value to this particular discussion. Settle in for story time 
ldman:
As a petrolhead, someone who has driven hard both on and off the track, I always scoffed at autos, I saw them as slower, lazier, less involved and ultimately inferior to a "true" manual car and every car I owned was a manual. I even turned down a drive of a Skyline because it was an auto.
Fast forward and I am looking for a new car, Mk2 TT V6 or a E86 3.0si, I decided that I wanted the maximum possible spec with all the optional extras and that I wouldnt shift on that. I find the TT first and go see the car, it has the DCT box and ive heard they are fantastic so I gave it a chance, I hated every moment. I found the car to be changing gear far too often and when using the paddles it would "revert" to auto after 30seconds or so. I took the car back and walked away confident that I was right about auto cars, they are fkin garbage.
After another couple of months of searching I find a car, the E86, its close, well within budget and its got that full spec everything I'm after! I couldnt believe my luck and as I looked through the pictures my heart sank... its an auto
For a week or so I was back and forth onto the advert but every time the sight of that auto selector put me off. Eventually I decided to go see the car and drive it, could I live with an auto box if I got everything else I wanted.
I go see the car and its perfect in every way but that transmission, I openly told the owner of the garage that I expected to hate the car and not buy it because of its box but that it was everything I wanted besides that. So we go out on a dreary damp day for the test drive, initially it was just your usual auto, quick enough but somewhat lazy in the changes. I ask the guy about the box and its settings and he dutifully explains and tells me about the "manual" mode... Manual mode? Whut?! So into "manual" mode it goes, sport button is pressed and immediately its a different car. It revs all the way up to the top and doesnt second guess my gear choice, the only thing it does is save me from stalling on the way down, the changes are quick, much quicker than I would manage on a standard manual box and the car just pulls and pulls. I was grinning from ear to ear, the car was fantastic! No unpredictability in corners, no annoying double down shifts when driving "normally" it was for all intents and purposes a "manual" car but you use paddles instead of a stick.
We get back to the garage, I give the guy a deposit and the next day go and collect the car. That was 6 years ago, I still have the car, its the car I have owned the longest by some margin (I usually get bored after a couple of years and change). Even after 64k miles and 6 years It still makes me grin every time I drive it and I have been away with the car multiple times each year on runs with the forum, I am sure there are plenty who could testify to the cars quickness.
Do I miss a manual? .... honestly yes & no, having that direct control over the engine would allow me to squeeze more out of the car for the times when its being driven properly but those times are maybe 1% of the time, for the other 99% of the time the auto is comfortable, easy in traffic, not tiring when on and off and on and off the clutch. Needless to say my next car I wont have any reservations about looking at an auto, they are completely different to what I imagined and are far less boring/lazy etc than I assumed.
Ultimately its a personal preference and as such the best advice has already been given, go see the car, drive the car and make up your own damn mind :wink:
ldman: As a petrolhead, someone who has driven hard both on and off the track, I always scoffed at autos, I saw them as slower, lazier, less involved and ultimately inferior to a "true" manual car and every car I owned was a manual. I even turned down a drive of a Skyline because it was an auto.
Fast forward and I am looking for a new car, Mk2 TT V6 or a E86 3.0si, I decided that I wanted the maximum possible spec with all the optional extras and that I wouldnt shift on that. I find the TT first and go see the car, it has the DCT box and ive heard they are fantastic so I gave it a chance, I hated every moment. I found the car to be changing gear far too often and when using the paddles it would "revert" to auto after 30seconds or so. I took the car back and walked away confident that I was right about auto cars, they are fkin garbage.
After another couple of months of searching I find a car, the E86, its close, well within budget and its got that full spec everything I'm after! I couldnt believe my luck and as I looked through the pictures my heart sank... its an auto
For a week or so I was back and forth onto the advert but every time the sight of that auto selector put me off. Eventually I decided to go see the car and drive it, could I live with an auto box if I got everything else I wanted.
I go see the car and its perfect in every way but that transmission, I openly told the owner of the garage that I expected to hate the car and not buy it because of its box but that it was everything I wanted besides that. So we go out on a dreary damp day for the test drive, initially it was just your usual auto, quick enough but somewhat lazy in the changes. I ask the guy about the box and its settings and he dutifully explains and tells me about the "manual" mode... Manual mode? Whut?! So into "manual" mode it goes, sport button is pressed and immediately its a different car. It revs all the way up to the top and doesnt second guess my gear choice, the only thing it does is save me from stalling on the way down, the changes are quick, much quicker than I would manage on a standard manual box and the car just pulls and pulls. I was grinning from ear to ear, the car was fantastic! No unpredictability in corners, no annoying double down shifts when driving "normally" it was for all intents and purposes a "manual" car but you use paddles instead of a stick.
We get back to the garage, I give the guy a deposit and the next day go and collect the car. That was 6 years ago, I still have the car, its the car I have owned the longest by some margin (I usually get bored after a couple of years and change). Even after 64k miles and 6 years It still makes me grin every time I drive it and I have been away with the car multiple times each year on runs with the forum, I am sure there are plenty who could testify to the cars quickness.
Do I miss a manual? .... honestly yes & no, having that direct control over the engine would allow me to squeeze more out of the car for the times when its being driven properly but those times are maybe 1% of the time, for the other 99% of the time the auto is comfortable, easy in traffic, not tiring when on and off and on and off the clutch. Needless to say my next car I wont have any reservations about looking at an auto, they are completely different to what I imagined and are far less boring/lazy etc than I assumed.
Ultimately its a personal preference and as such the best advice has already been given, go see the car, drive the car and make up your own damn mind
:wink:
Scotland 🏴
The first auto I had was back in 2005, after a day of getting use to it (and peeling the gfriend off the windscreen when I used my left foot on the brake) I never looked back and auto would now always be my preference. Maybe BMW think auto is the way forward also, all the G29 Z4s are auto. As others have mentioned go and drive both, and if you are in an auto and it has a sports button... make sure you press it
I never looked back and auto would now always be my preference. Maybe BMW think auto is the way forward also, all the G29 Z4s are auto. As others have mentioned go and drive both, and if you are in an auto and it has a sports button... make sure you press it 
unless it’s the 35is with the DCT autoposs said:Got rid of the auto (not a Z) for a manual Z for that reason, and even when the auto is in 'manual' mode' there's a delay in changing and that general feel of a slushbox sapping power. Also you don't get the compression braking you do in a manual. Autos are great for traffic/puttering around town, but this is a sportscar - so there's only one real optionKdawg1 said:
Zed Baron said:
Not sure all E85 / E86s had it but if you have sport button for the drive select mode combine that with putting the gearbox into sport as well and all hell break loose!
[ref]Nanu[/ref],
unless it’s the 35is with the DCT auto
+1, especially when you work out how to get all the settings right
The 8HP in the G29 is another step up imo
unless it’s the 35is with the DCT auto
+1, especially when you work out how to get all the settings right
The 8HP in the G29 is another step up imo
Zed Baron said:The first auto I had was back in 2005, after a day of getting use to it (and peeling the gfriend off the windscreen when I used my left foot on the brake)
press it
I remember my old man mate doing theft foot on the brake years ago when seatbelts were not mandatory - my old man slammed into the windscreen and me into the head rest - quite funny now but not then.
I have to agree an auto is they way forward, I wish I had an auto, its the only change I would make on my car but would want a DCT box - note slushmatic