Tiptronic driving...questions for experts....
Discussion
Firstly....Dave, I'm not having a dig at your manual!!!!
...My wife is doing her advanced driving, the family car is an E39 540.
I tend to use it in auto, it isn't a sports car so has more than enough poke for me.
However, her driving instructor likes the car, and has her driving in tiptronic. She gets on well with it, and as far as I am concerned drives it a lot better than me in tiptronic (tried once, couldnt be arsed to do it without a clutch)
He stated to her that if used correctly (he is a bit of an anorak) the adaptive response makes it as controllable as a manual box, and in can provide quicker changes provided you use it correctly with optimum revs. My only experience is that it takes a while to change even when you prod it in the right direction.....My wife tends to do it just right.
Can the tiptronic really be used quickly and efficiently, so therefore optimising fuel /performance?
I know the porsche 996 tiptronic was quicker round the nurburgring than the manual, ok, slightly different scenario to driving the family bus, but if the porker can do it, can my BMW I wonder....
>>> Edited by silverback mike on Tuesday 22 February 16:35
...My wife is doing her advanced driving, the family car is an E39 540.
I tend to use it in auto, it isn't a sports car so has more than enough poke for me.
However, her driving instructor likes the car, and has her driving in tiptronic. She gets on well with it, and as far as I am concerned drives it a lot better than me in tiptronic (tried once, couldnt be arsed to do it without a clutch)
He stated to her that if used correctly (he is a bit of an anorak) the adaptive response makes it as controllable as a manual box, and in can provide quicker changes provided you use it correctly with optimum revs. My only experience is that it takes a while to change even when you prod it in the right direction.....My wife tends to do it just right.
Can the tiptronic really be used quickly and efficiently, so therefore optimising fuel /performance?
I know the porsche 996 tiptronic was quicker round the nurburgring than the manual, ok, slightly different scenario to driving the family bus, but if the porker can do it, can my BMW I wonder....
>>> Edited by silverback mike on Tuesday 22 February 16:35
silverback mike said:Steptronic
Firstly....Dave, I'm not having a dig at your manual!!!!
...My wife is doing her advanced driving, the family car is an E39 540.
I tend to use it in auto, it isn't a sports car so has more than enough poke for me.
However, her driving instructor likes the car, and has her driving in tiptronic. She gets on well with it, and as far as I am concerned drives it a lot better than me in tiptronic (tried once, couldnt be arsed to do it without a clutch)
He stated to her that if used correctly (he is a bit of an anorak) the adaptive response makes it as controllable as a manual box, and in can provide quicker changes provided you use it correctly with optimum revs. My only experience is that it takes a while to change even when you prod it in the right direction.....My wife tends to do it just right.
Can the tiptronic really be used quickly and efficiently, so therefore optimising fuel /performance?
I know the porsche 996 tiptronic was quicker round the nurburgring than the manual, ok, slightly different scenario to driving the family bus, but if the porker can do it, can my BMW I wonder....
>>> Edited by silverback mike on Tuesday 22 February16:35
Steptronic drivers should have noticed that in regular "auto" mode the transmission learns your driving style and selects one of its programs to suit. When my wife uses the car you can bet your life the next time I drive it the transmission will start off in a different program. You don't have to drive very far before the transmission defaults back into its preferred mode which is an "economy" style of driving. When any auto is used in manual mode there's no doubt that judicious use of the throttle pedal helps the changes; this applies in both my BMW and the Corvette. Since the steptronic in the BMW is no more than a shortcut way of telling the transmission what you want it to do it seems entirely logical that its shift speed will be sensitive to throttle use. With a bit of practice you can get it close to instantaneous (although it will never be quite as direct as a manual). The twist is that once you learn to drive the auto well there's rarely any need to use the manual mode at all!
I find the steptronic in my 540 way too slow and soft. I find when pressing on, you have to call the gear a full 500 rpm before the red line, because by time it gets round to changing gear its round to 6k anyway.
Its also worth noting that it wont change up a gear in manual mode if you have the throttle planted completely down which presses the kick down switch down at the same time. You must keep the throttle up about 1/2 " so the switch isn't pressed.
Now I might be spoilt by the two boxes I had in my dakar, which have both had shift kits in them and change very rapidly, right up to today where it's now got a full manual valve body in it (a-la drag race mode)- it shifts like a sequential box now.
I would like the box to shift as-is in auto-mode, but in sport mode or manual mode I would prefer it not to retard the ignition and shift much firmer and quicker.
I wonder if it can be reprogrammed?
Its also worth noting that it wont change up a gear in manual mode if you have the throttle planted completely down which presses the kick down switch down at the same time. You must keep the throttle up about 1/2 " so the switch isn't pressed.
Now I might be spoilt by the two boxes I had in my dakar, which have both had shift kits in them and change very rapidly, right up to today where it's now got a full manual valve body in it (a-la drag race mode)- it shifts like a sequential box now.
I would like the box to shift as-is in auto-mode, but in sport mode or manual mode I would prefer it not to retard the ignition and shift much firmer and quicker.
I wonder if it can be reprogrammed?
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