[dL_EVO]

Hello everyone!

I purchased a '11 335D CPO about 3 weeks ago. I daily drive the 335D and I have an EVO IX as my weekend warrior. Overall, I like the car. It's definitely comfortable, it's quick enough for a daily drive and gets good gas mileage. I think it's a good compromise between sport and commuter car. I already ordered a DTUK CRD-T box and it should arrive tomorrow.

I've driven manual transmission cars for my entire life and this is my first automatic car. I do like the car, but I have one problem with it. The damn transmission keeps shifting for me even in "Sport" mode with "manual" shifting. I completely understand if the car shifts for me in DS, but when I put it in "manual" mode. I expect the car to let me shift. Is there anyway to tell the car to let the user shift instead of thinking it's smarter than me and doing it for me. I do enjoy an occasional car on/off ramp and canyon run. I want to try to take my 335D on a canyon run, but i'm scared that if the car attempts to shift up mid corner i'm going to be in some trouble.

Is there anything I can do to have full control of shifting? Is there anything I can buy to fix this issue?

I know I bought a vehicle equipped with a slush box automatic so I don't expect DSG type up/down shift speeds. But, is there any modifications we can do to improve crispness/speed of the shifts?

Thanks in advance!

[FormerRotor]

Congrats on the new ride and on the DTUK! (and, of course, welcome to the diesel club).

Some of our more seasoned vets will chime in here, but in the mean-time...When you floor it, there is a kick-down "button" that you can feel at the base of the throttle. Try flooring it without clicking the kick-down. Also, whenever you get the chance, take a look at the dyno graphs for our rides. It's going to be have very different optimal shift points relative to that evo. Most of the time you will be shifting well before the car would've shifted you in d or ds. I've never driven with the DTUK, but I would imagine you will rarely use first and most of the other gears will shift well at around 4k.

When I take my car out tomorrow, I'll try a couple things and tell you if I'm forgetting anything, but wrap back around to us & let us know how it works out.

[dL_EVO]

So, try driving the car without activating the kick-down and see if it shifts for me in manual mode?

I think I've already tried that, but I'll see if that works.

[dL_EVO]

Originally Posted by FormerRotor

Congrats on the new ride and on the DTUK! (and, of course, welcome to the diesel club).

Some of our more seasoned vets will chime in here, but in the mean-time...When you floor it, there is a kick-down "button" that you can feel at the base of the throttle. Try flooring it without clicking the kick-down. Also, whenever you get the chance, take a look at the dyno graphs for our rides. It's going to be have very different optimal shift points relative to that evo. Most of the time you will be shifting well before the car would've shifted you in d or ds. I've never driven with the DTUK, but I would imagine you will rarely use first and most of the other gears will shift well at around 4k.

When I take my car out tomorrow, I'll try a couple things and tell you if I'm forgetting anything, but wrap back around to us & let us know how it works out.

It's not just the optimal shift points for straight driving. I like to choose the optimal gear to match my speed going into a turn and after the apex I will up shift. I'm scared that the transmission will up shift for me mid corner (during the apex). If that happens i'm afraid the shift in weight will cause me to lose my line / lose control.

[CAPSGOD]

The stock transmission is pretty stout and is rated to 700 nm. However, you can get a valve body upgrade to speed up shifts.

http://www.importperformancetrans.co...-kit-1890.html

[FormerRotor]

Disregard my original suggestion as it will still auto shift at about 4700

Originally Posted by dL_EVO

It's not just the optimal shift points for straight driving. I like to choose the optimal gear to match my speed going into a turn and after the apex I will up shift. I'm scared that the transmission will up shift for me mid corner (during the apex). If that happens i'm afraid the shift in weight will cause me to lose my line / lose control.

Of course. You're certainly not going to be shifting mid-turn just to hit hat 4k point. :-)

Generally speaking, though--I don't know if I was the same for you--I came from a high-revver (mine being much lower torque than yours) and it certainly takes some driving style adjustment.

Originally Posted by CAPSGOD

The stock transmission is pretty stout and is rated to 700 nm. However, you can get a valve body upgrade to speed up shifts.

http://www.importperformancetrans.co...-kit-1890.html

Good to know.

[cssnms]

The car will up-shift itself at redline (or just a hair above) automatically even in manual mode. In otherwords, if you are in DS then shift to "manual" mode and floor it say in M2, as soon as the car hits the rev limit it will up-shift.

The car will automatically shift down to 1st when you come to a stop too, but usually stays in gear until just before then. That being said, I have never had an issue where my car just shifted by iteself when in manual mode (e.g. M1, M2, M3 etc) unless I hit redline. Otherwise I can shift it myself just before redline and and downshift before going into turns without issue, again so long as I don't hit redline when depressing the accelerator. That being said, it's not a gasser so there's no need to be driving it on the track at or near the redline. The sweet spot is between 2500 RPM and 3800 RPM.

[Jhayd11]

I think the controller is similar to Mini's. Definitely avoid the kick down button at the bottom of the throttle, that trumps all others. I also remember in my Mini... if you hold down the shifter when shifting it will hold the gear...

So try, pushing the throttle, shift and hold back the stick, wait until next shift, release and repull.

It is a lot of work and may not give you the 10 and 2 stance needed for spirited driving, but I would be interested if that works...

[kbsilver]

When coming from a manual transmisson, it's a hard feeling to break to allow the automatic to operate, well, automatically. Over time you will probably get use to it and like most of the rest of us, just drive the car without thinking about shifting. Remember being a diesel, shift points are different than a spark ignition engine.

For your canon runs hope your not turning off the DSC! All that torque can easily kick out the rear.

[Thud]

Originally Posted by dL_EVO

I want to try to take my 335D on a canyon run, but i'm scared that if the car attempts to shift up mid corner i'm going to be in some trouble.

Even in manual mode, it will still shift up when you hit the rev limiter. However, by the time it upshifts, you are already well into a very useless part of the RPM range. Given the power curve of the diesel you'll probably want to enter the turn a gear higher to begin with.

[minus13]

Originally Posted by kbsilver

For your canon runs hope your not turning off the DSC! All that torque can easily kick out the rear.

PFFFT! DSC is for pussies.





No, seriously, turning off DSC can be very dangerous. Use caution. In fact, start with DTC before disabling DSC altogether. You'll at least get a feel for the limits without as much risk. Now, if you get yourself a limited-slip differential, turning off DSC shouldn't be as big of a problem, but you'll still need to be aware that if she breaks loose, all you have is to catch it is you, the wheel, the throttle, the brake, the lump in your throat, and the ditch on the side of the road.

[GreekboyD]

^^^^and the log in your pants.

[anielsen71]

Hi Guys
The guy remapping my car has some connections to ZF who builds the transmission for BMW. The same box is used in offshore raceboats and is capable of at least 1000Nm. I also heard the rumor of 700Nm. But I trust the guy saying a 1000Nm.
I would not be afraid of the transmission in my car, but the differential could be an issue. Right now my car produces aprox 630-640Nm
And switching the DTC off have not been a problem for me until now....It just makes it a bit more fun driving.... ;-)

[cssnms]

Originally Posted by anielsen71

Hi Guys
The guy remapping my car has some connections to ZF who builds the transmission for BMW. The same box is used in offshore raceboats and is capable of at least 1000Nm. I also heard the rumor of 700Nm. But I trust the guy saying a 1000Nm.I would not be afraid of the transmission in my car, but the differential could be an issue. Right now my car produces aprox 630-640Nm
And switching the DTC off have not been a problem for me until now....It just makes it a bit more fun driving.... ;-)

I do not doubt that the 335d ZF transmission can handle more the manufacturer's max rated hp/torque numbers (btw that's not a "rumor"), but I am pretty certain there is a significant enough difference between ZF's marine line of tranmissions and that of their automobile transmissions not to put any stock in what your tuner is saying -- now that is a rumor.

[anielsen71]

Well, youre quite right about that.
Doing a little search on the net I found this:
http://appsprod01.zf.com/zf.productD...on_de_2006.pdf
In this PDF the different versions of the automatic transmission is described and in some BMW models the 6HP26 version is used, capable of aprox 600Nm and not 700Nm.
If more is needed a 6HP34 version of the trany is needed. This one can transfer up til 800Nm.
This is of course in the car line and not in the marine line.

[dL_EVO]

I installed my DTUK box today and I set it to Map 3 / +20%. This box has pretty much met my expectations. I would love a complete reflash that would change ignition, fuel, and boost. However, without the ability for us to reflash using the OBDII port prevented me from going this route. Potentially getting an ECU update from BMW and wiping out my tune and then having to remove my ECU to send back to the tuner doesn't sound very appealing. I come from the EVO scene where ECU flashing can be done through the OBDII port with free open source software. So, I want the most practical flexibility for all my vehicles now.

The DTUK provides impressive results for a piggyback. Boost feels like it comes on earlier in the powerband and the car doesn't feel like it falls flat after 3.5K. Gas mileage doesn't feel like it's effected, but i'm going to run this map for an entire tank before the verdict comes out on that.

I need more power, there has got to be something else we can do to these cars?!?! I've read that there are no exhaust options because of the UREA system?

Does anyone have a diagram of the exhaust system? Would our cars benefit from a muffler-less setup? I think the car needs a little more grunt (sound & power).

[dL_EVO]

I've been doing searches in the N57 forum and I noticed there are a lot of threads regarding people getting custom work done to their 335Ds, but they NEVER post a follow up. So, the topic just dies. The only person I can find that posted a follow up was with the AT Speed intake.

[JonDiesel@ColemanAutobody]

when driving a gas car (where power band is highest at high rpm) you should be high rpm at an apex. on the diesel, you should not be at a high rpm on an apex. you should be around 2000-3000 so that you are in optimal powerband then you can rocket out of the corner, and shift when you are straight again.
Oh and this is a Bmw, it's not going to suddenly lose control especially because of something the car decided to do. the power transition between gears is pretty smooth. just don't turn off that dsc

[FormerRotor]

Cssnms had one made, but I don't believe there was a before/after dyno. He noted slightly increased dB level (very slightly) and a perceived increase in flow. His other key note was tha even with the mufflers completely removed the was not a substantial increase in audible levels.

Between the cats, DPF, etc., in our car your primary flow restriction is not going to be the muffler. I have been curious, however, what a stock/no muffler/custom set-up dyno comparison would look like.

[WEEZAR]

Originally Posted by CAPSGOD

The stock transmission is pretty stout and is rated to 700 nm. However, you can get a valve body upgrade to speed up shifts.

http://www.importperformancetrans.co...-kit-1890.html

Deff good to know!!! So has anyone on here done this mod yet? If so whats the feedback on it? I might have to try it out..

[cssnms]

Originally Posted by FormerRotor

Cssnms had one made, but I don't believe there was a before/after dyno. He noted slightly increased dB level (very slightly) and a perceived increase in flow. His other key note was tha even with the mufflers completely removed the was not a substantial increase in audible levels.

Between the cats, DPF, etc., in our car your primary flow restriction is not going to be the muffler. I have been curious, however, what a stock/no muffler/custom set-up dyno comparison would look like.

He speaks the truth.

[dL_EVO]

^ Thanks for pics and info!