[335iMike]

Could somebody please explain kickdown? Does it function differently between DS and regular auto? I've done a search, but there does not seem to be any particular post that describes it fully. Thanks!

[FirstClass]

It's faster if you're in DS because it has to shift through less gears to get to the lowest applicable one. Though I suppose that doesn't matter for a 335 gearbox since it can skip gears. Alas, the 328 doesn't get such treatment.

[LOLrance]

Kickdown = shift to lowest optimal gear for acceleration. Highly doubt their is a difference in D or DS or M for that matter. As long as you push it to kickdown..it will...kick down.

[E90330iS]

Originally Posted by l4wr3nc3

Kickdown = shift to lowest optimal gear for acceleration. Highly doubt their is a difference in D or DS or M for that matter. As long as you push it to kickdown..it will...kick down.

Yup!

[funkahdafi]

Originally Posted by l4wr3nc3

Kickdown = shift to lowest optimal gear for acceleration. Highly doubt their is a difference in D or DS or M for that matter. As long as you push it to kickdown..it will...kick down.

Not exactly. What he ment was that before you do the kickdown, you will most probably be in a higher gear when using D mode than when using DS mode (because DS shift later and keeps you in lower gears for a longer time). So the auto has to shift down through more gears in D mode before it gets to the desired level - except for the 335, the auto can NOT skip gears - it has to shift through them sequentially.

So yes, you will get a faster kickdown in DS in a lot of occasions!