[TheTwinz]

My shifts are slow mainly because of the notchiness. Is it bad to pull down hard to shift into 2nd? am I damaging anything cuz it feels like I am grinding something everytime I shift into 2nd, and by the time I get into second gear, my rpms would have already dropped below 1300.. then I get the jerky motion.

any advice?

[leftcoastman]

Two suggestions:

1) Don't shift so hard. Even when I'm actually racing and having my lap times recorded, I found that slamming the gear shifter didn't gain me any time. IF anything, it increased the risk of missed shifts and grinding, resulting in slower lap times.

2) Try out Royal Purple synchromax in your tranny. It is purple, so may cause warranty issues if BMW decides to get nasty with you, but it has smoothed out my shifting immensely.

[nicknaz]

I definitely agree with NOT pulling back on the shifter as fast or as hard as you can. I move my hand to the shift lever before pushing in the clutch so that right when the clutch pedal hits the floor i start moving the shift lever and then i move my feet quickly once I finish moving the lever.

I disagree with using an aftermarket gear oil. Just change the factory fill gear oil more often if you are having shift issues. It isn't worth it to play around with the gear oil since you have no way of knowing if the additives are sufficient for your application, and you may have warranty issues (for example, people found out the hard way that redline 75W90 HD gear oil did not have the right additives for the WRX/STi gearbox. it felt great right after the change but then the gearboxes would let go from insufficient lubrication)

[satakal]

if you're gonna drive slow, like me, try this... Shift 1-3-6. I'm usually in 6th at 35mph on normal roads. I get a special kind of joy from the faces in the rear view that are pissed at this turbo bmw crawling at a snails pace.

I noticed that driving slow and smooth was a challenge before I removed the clutch delay valve. (opinions vary)

[jopa489]

Shifting hard like that will eventually do a number on your syncros. Smoothness is absolutely key, but I agree the 1-2 shift in these cars is tricky. I'm still trying to perfect it, even under moderate acceleration.

[Z22Z]

Originally Posted by satakal

if you're gonna drive slow, like me, try this... Shift 1-3-6. I'm usually in 6th at 35mph on normal roads. I get a special kind of joy from the faces in the rear view that are pissed at this turbo bmw crawling at a snails pace.

I noticed that driving slow and smooth was a challenge before I removed the clutch delay valve. (opinions vary)

why would you do be doing 35 mph in sixth gear? i would understand a 1-3 skip but at 35 you should be in 3rd or 4th at the most.

[satakal]

Originally Posted by Z22Z

why would you do be doing 35 mph in sixth gear? i would understand a 1-3 skip but at 35 you should be in 3rd or 4th at the most.

cause I'm awesome. The signature didn't make that obvious?

Did you know: the car will suggest you down shift when setting the cruise to 30 mph in 6th?

[Ramos]

Don't mind Satakal, he has a special kind of humor
And trust me I have never seen him drive 35MPH anywhere

[Ramos]

Originally Posted by satakal

cause I'm awesome. The signature didn't make that obvious?

Did you know: the car will suggest you down shift when setting the cruise to 30 mph in 6th?

How does the car do that? Does it talk it you?

[satakal]

the car pops up this goof ball icon where you get your dynamic mpg info / miles per tank / onboard info. First 10 times I saw it I was thinking... "why does it want me to go into reverse?" Then, I realized it was an icon similar to the top of a DCT / SMG shifter with an arrow kinda indicating "down shift". Maybe the thought is, only a moron with a DCT would have the car in too high a gear with the cruise on. The engineers at BMW didn't factor in my awesomeness.

One of these days, I'll have to share with the internet "how not to make a 1-2 shift."

[jopa489]

At least it doesn't have an idiot light telling you to upshift at 2,500.

[Ramos]

Originally Posted by satakal

the car pops up this goof ball icon where you get your dynamic mpg info / miles per tank / onboard info. First 10 times I saw it I was thinking... "why does it want me to go into reverse?" Then, I realized it was an icon similar to the top of a DCT / SMG shifter with an arrow kinda indicating "down shift". Maybe the thought is, only a moron with a DCT would have the car in too high a gear with the cruise on. The engineers at BMW didn't factor in my awesomeness.

One of these days, I'll have to share with the internet "how not to make a 1-2 shift."

Ohh do tell

[BeAmW335i]

I noticed that same icon when I was cruising in 6th with the cruise control on. I used the cruise control button to slow down, and when the car reached around 35mph, the icon to downshift popped up. It was kinda cool

[nicknaz]

Is it really an icon to downshift? It looks like a speedometer with an arrow on the side (like the cruise control icon that's on the lever)

I was underwhelmed.

[BeAmW335i]

I think what you're talking about is the cruise control symbol. The one I'm talking about looks more like the diagram on the manual shift knob. It's not exactly the same, but it was similar.

[nicknaz]

must be a 335 only thing, or an idrive equipped car thing? i set cruise in 6th gear at 21mph and i got the cruise control icon

[satakal]

Originally Posted by Nick Nazareno

must be a 335 only thing, or an idrive equipped car thing? i set cruise in 6th gear at 21mph and i got the cruise control icon

step 2... point the car up hill such that the car behaves like it would like you to choose a lower gear. Its not so much speed dependent as load dependent

step 3... look at the center of the dash

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by satakal

step 2... point the car up hill such that the car behaves like it would like you to choose a lower gear. Its not so much speed dependent as load dependent

step 3... look at the center of the dash

oh man... gotcha. I'll take a pass on trying that and will take your word that the car will ask me to downshift

if they put in that logic i wish they took the time to put in a user adjustable upshift indicator with chime

[TheTwinz]

Originally Posted by Nick Nazareno

oh man... gotcha. I'll take a pass on trying that and will take your word that the car will ask me to downshift

if they put in that logic i wish they took the time to put in a user adjustable upshift indicator with chime

I think that the Lexus IS-F is notorious for their upshift chiming annoyances. Like the thing would be beeping at you every second until you upshift. I remember reading it in some magazines review that it was annoying.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by TheTwinz

I think that the Lexus IS-F is notorious for their upshift chiming annoyances. Like the thing would be beeping at you every second until you upshift. I remember reading it in some magazines review that it was annoying.

Perhaps those magazines are use to being able to bounce the engine off the fuel cutoff without any complaints from the car