[tibook]

I would like to buy a 335 coupe in the summer of next year for MY '09. I have been hoping BMW would come out with a dual clutch tranny. It seems that for March '08 the M3 will have it. But will they bring it down the line to the 3 series for the following year? Or will they hold onto it a couple years?

[HarjotM]

it'll be like SMG , exclusive to ///M I think

[flipmde786]

Originally Posted by HarjotM

it'll be like SMG , exclusive to ///M I think

SMG wasn't exclusive to M in e46, as far as I can remember.

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by HarjotM

it'll be like SMG , exclusive to ///M I think

Non-M cars could get SMG, just with a few differences

[E90Fleet]

Im hearing the 5 Series may get it from march

So maybe 3 series will aswell, else maybe at the facelift in September 2008


Still trying to get info

[SekZi]

I know they have SMG for the e90's but you must custom order it. I don't know about the e92 they said they dont at the dealership. Does anyone have insider information on if/when they will have SMG as an option for the e92?

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by SekZi

I know they have SMG for the e90's but you must custom order it. I don't know about the e92 they said they dont at the dealership. Does anyone have insider information on if/when they will have SMG as an option for the e92?

There is no SMG available for the E90/91/92/93

A few early test E90 were seen with it and it was also seen on the parts system just after launch, but it was never available for ordering

[tibook]

Even the brochure for the "new" E90 had SMG as an option...I wonder why they pulled it.

I never paid enough attention to the time b/t SMG introduction on the M cars and SMG making it into the E46.

I am just getting tired of the Auto when I don't have to sit in traffic...a dual clutch transmission works like an auto when you need it to, and has the performance of a AMT type transmission like SMG...VW/Audi has had it for a while, and I love it. I have been waiting patiently for BMW to roll out this tranny, and would love to buy my next one with it.

[Cabinetman]

Originally Posted by tibook

Even the brochure for the "new" E90 had SMG as an option...I wonder why they pulled it.

I never paid enough attention to the time b/t SMG introduction on the M cars and SMG making it into the E46.

I am just getting tired of the Auto when I don't have to sit in traffic...a dual clutch transmission works like an auto when you need it to, and has the performance of a AMT type transmission like SMG...VW/Audi has had it for a while, and I love it. I have been waiting patiently for BMW to roll out this tranny, and would love to buy my next one with it.

Have you driven an E90 with the 6 speed steptronic? In manual mode the shifts are almost as fast as the VW/Audi dual clutch box.

Kevin

[flipmde786]

Originally Posted by Cabinetman

Have you driven an E90 with the 6 speed steptronic? In manual mode the shifts are almost as fast as the VW/Audi dual clutch box.

Kevin

That's in 335i only.

The 6AT's we (2006 325/330) have take their sweet time.

[De90man]

VW pulled coup d'état with their DSG tranny. While engineers were either trying (badly) to make off-the-shelf slushboxes act like manuals or a manuals behave like autos (ferrari)...VW said let's just put two transmissions in one unit so the next gear, down or up, is pre-laoded. Pure Genius.

BMW most likely pulled the SMG b/c it may've met their performance brief 8-10 years, but now, the game has moved on.

And too, read some of the nutter-all-out-performance guys threads here,..BMWs steptronic is making a lot of fans with their 100ms shifts, rev-matching blips, and easy lauching. At the very least, the step is a good stop-gap until the engineers come up with their own 'silver bullet'

Porsche is doing a DSG, but my guess, since Ferrari (F430/599), and to an extent Mercedes (7sp box) got their act together using a traditional non-DSG approach, BMW will do the same. And it will be the perfect b/c they can't afford to miss the mark again. Amen

[esquire]

Originally Posted by tibook

I would like to buy a 335 coupe in the summer of next year for MY '09. I have been hoping BMW would come out with a dual clutch tranny. It seems that for March '08 the M3 will have it. But will they bring it down the line to the 3 series for the following year? Or will they hold onto it a couple years?

to give you a short answer, all signs point to no for an 09 DCT 3er. we will probably continue to see the steptronic transmission in the regular 3er for serveral years if not the entire life of the e9x series.

as a matter of personal opinion and speculation though, i think bmw will reserve the DCT transmission only for their M models.... this might be a large part of the reason they named it the M-DCT

[E90330iS]

I have a feeling a DCT designed by BMW is going to be crazily good!

[fueledbymetal]

Originally Posted by Cabinetman

Have you driven an E90 with the 6 speed steptronic? In manual mode the shifts are almost as fast as the VW/Audi dual clutch box.

Kevin

Since BMW just releqased this system for 335i I would guess that they're NOT going to offer the DCT for the current generation of 3. They need to sell the new step for awhile to recover NRE.

[tibook]

Originally Posted by fueledbymetal

Since BMW just releqased this system for 335i I would guess that they're NOT going to offer the DCT for the current generation of 3. They need to sell the new step for awhile to recover NRE.

They can keep it around for the traditional auto person. The DCT can be offered to those who want a more spirited drive. I know the traditional person won't like how a dual clutch transmission shifts to neutral when you stop, and how it rolls a little before going in gear, that would be uneasy feeling to a lot of people (not us).

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by De90man

VW pulled coup d'état with their DSG tranny. While engineers were either trying (badly) to make off-the-shelf slushboxes act like manuals or a manuals behave like autos (ferrari)...VW said let's just put two transmissions in one unit so the next gear, down or up, is pre-laoded. Pure Genius.

It wasnt VW's design

Look it up on Wikipedia and you will see that type of gearbox was designed before the 2nd world war

[mesier1111]

Originally Posted by flipmde786

That's in 335i only.

The 6AT's we (2006 325/330) have take their sweet time.

Yeah, I am in a 325i loaner, and jesus, what a slush box. I forgot how sick the new ZF 6-speed auto is. They say the SMG shifts in 80 milliseconds and the ZF in 100. If it not for the new ZF transmission in the 335i, I would have gone with a used M3 SMG. I ski and play hockey way too hard to have my only car be a manual, one bad fall (as has happaned) and my knee is too sore for a clutch, or worse, too broken for a clutch. But I knew the M3 (as much as I loved her) would cost me a bundle out of warranty and in gas, plus with all the mileage I put on a car (20k a year) I knew that the 335i (if it had a tranny I liked) was the better option. So I spent all day driving my buddies M3 and a 335i with the ZF. To be honest, the SMG kicked my ass more, but actual shift speeds (even in S6 mode and sport button in on the M3) the difference was not really noticeable. Nice job ZF, had it not been for you, I would be in an M3 right now

[tibook]

Does the 335 ZF react like a manual does? Does it rev up and down with the engine? I remember reading somewhere that it tries to keep the TC locked as much as possible...I miss the response of a manual...I hate coming to stops and accelerating and I get jolted b/c the TC had stalled and has to lock again really quick...

But I'm sure no matter how well it acts like a manual, I have to think it still feels like an auto...prove me wrong?

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by De90man

VW pulled coup d'état with their DSG tranny. While engineers were either trying (badly) to make off-the-shelf slushboxes act like manuals or a manuals behave like autos (ferrari)...VW said let's just put two transmissions in one unit so the next gear, down or up, is pre-laoded. Pure Genius.

BMW most likely pulled the SMG b/c it may've met their performance brief 8-10 years, but now, the game has moved on.

And too, read some of the nutter-all-out-performance guys threads here,..BMWs steptronic is making a lot of fans with their 100ms shifts, rev-matching blips, and easy lauching. At the very least, the step is a good stop-gap until the engineers come up with their own 'silver bullet'

Porsche is doing a DSG, but my guess, since Ferrari (F430/599), and to an extent Mercedes (7sp box) got their act together using a traditional non-DSG approach, BMW will do the same. And it will be the perfect b/c they can't afford to miss the mark again. Amen

actually, VW didn't say anything. The DSG was developed by Borg-Warner and liscenced to VW.

The box is pure genius, though!

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by E90330iS

I have a feeling a DCT designed by BMW is going to be crazily good!

I believe that BMW has been working closely with ZF-Sachs to develop M-DCT and with Getrag to develop a similar system.

BMWs Forumula 1 car has a Seamless Shift gearbox currently and BMW has worked hard at developing this transmission into a reliable unit (they seem to have succeeded give their performance and level of reliability this year in F1). I wonder if this isn't what they are bringing to the table to ZF-Sachs and Getrag to develop their road-car systems?

[bmw0perat0r]

The 335i/xi steptronic is unlike any automatic transmission i've driven before. Manual transmissions in their traditional form seem to be fading as they develop these high performance units. I drove manual trans for nearly 10 years straight and now with my 335xi steptronic...my left leg is thanking me, and my right foot is rejoicing.

[SekZi]

Is ZF a new technology BMW uses, or is it an upgrade that is used to make bmw's shift faster with the steptronic transmission??