[ben1364]

ZenDriver summed it up, "Movements in the cockpit should be slow, elegant and deliberate. This is the key to driving very fast, very safe and very smooth."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is taught at most if not all racing schools. Come to think of it, race courses are where fast driving/shifting belong. If you need to drop two or more gears to merge with traffic on a public roadway, there's not enough room to merge. You have no idea what the guy you are trying to beat might do.

[noflash]

Originally Posted by ben1364

ZenDriver summed it up, "Movements in the cockpit should be slow, elegant and deliberate. This is the key to driving very fast, very safe and very smooth."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is taught at most if not all racing schools. Come to think of it, race courses are where fast driving/shifting belong. If you need to drop two or more gears to merge with traffic on a public roadway, there's not enough room to merge. You have no idea what the guy you are trying to beat might do.

So...
Racing schools teach slow shifting,
fast driving/shifting should only be on a racetrack,
& don't downshift more than one gear at a time.

WHATever. I have this sport sedan and not a Camry in order to drive fast, safely. I am sure as hell not going to "slow shift". If I wanted to do that, I would've gotten an automatic. As for how many gears I down or upshift at a time, it will be done as the situation calls for.

Please forgive me, but you appear to not be in the KNOW on the joys of a manual transmission bimmer (sans the $-shift, of course).

[ben1364]

Flash wrote in part, "Please forgive me, but you appear to not be in the KNOW on the joys of a manual transmission bimmer (sans the $-shift, of course)."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Yes, you are correct. I know nothing. Have fun and be careful while playing in traffic. :-)

Originally Posted by LEDZEP

Can anyone say "Paris Hilton"? She's as classy as any trailor park crack whore.

That's hot. Heh heh, heh heh. That's hot.

[Hula-Hula]

Originally Posted by maq

It seems some of you guys would find this helpful.

http://www.shortshifter.com/techniques2.htm

Do as it says and you will never misshift.

Thank you so sosososoosososoosososoooooooooooooo MUCH for sharing that.. fucking awesome man!!! :rocks: Im gonna go out and practise now.. hehe

[noflash]

Originally Posted by ben1364

Flash wrote in part, "Please forgive me, but you appear to not be in the KNOW on the joys of a manual transmission bimmer (sans the $-shift, of course)."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Yes, you are correct. I know nothing. Have fun and be careful while playing in traffic. :-)

You know stuff. But your limitations are too much for me. I am not a menace in traffic, but I am not afraid to shift to fourth at higher speeds. I think this is our main disagreement, is it not?

I'm not certain, but I think you can easily hit 90 mph in 4th. And if I feel I need to, what's the problem?

Am I alone here?

Does anyone else shift to 4th on the interstate????

[ben1364]

Flash wrote in part [about me], "...your limitations are too much for me. I am not a menace in traffic, but I am not afraid to shift to fourth at higher speeds. I think this is our main disagreement, is it not?

I'm not certain, but I think you can easily hit 90 mph in 4th. And if I feel I need to, what's the problem?"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I think this thread was initiated by someone who missed a down-shift and asked for guidance. I don't really care if Flash drives 90 mph on the highway in traffic as long as I am not on the same piece of roadway! I like to drive fast and occasionally do so on the open road, though I don't poke myself into small spaces except on race tracks where I have reasonable confidence in the ability of the drivers near me.

Now I'm gonna go drive my E-36 M3 or my Subbie XT (both with short shifters while reminiscing about the 2002s, E-21, E-30s and BMW motorcycles I have owned. Amazingly I was able to shift them with reasonable success over the past 30+ years, given how little I know. <BBG>

[noflash]

Originally Posted by ben1364

Flash wrote in part [about me], "...your limitations are too much for me. I am not a menace in traffic, but I am not afraid to shift to fourth at higher speeds. I think this is our main disagreement, is it not?

I'm not certain, but I think you can easily hit 90 mph in 4th. And if I feel I need to, what's the problem?"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I think this thread was initiated by someone who missed a down-shift and asked for guidance. I don't really care if Flash drives 90 mph on the highway in traffic as long as I am not on the same piece of roadway! I like to drive fast and occasionally do so on the open road, though I don't poke myself into small spaces except on race tracks where I have reasonable confidence in the ability of the drivers near me.

Now I'm gonna go drive my E-36 M3 or my Subbie XT (both with short shifters while reminiscing about the 2002s, E-21, E-30s and BMW motorcycles I have owned. Amazingly I was able to shift them with reasonable success over the past 30+ years, given how little I know. <BBG>

Gerdangit,
My alias is NOflash.
I started this thread.
I don't travel at 90mph on the interstate -- I meant if I want to down shift from 6th to 4th, what's the problem?
I never said I was driving dangerously in traffic.

I was trying to clear things up with you, but you keep responding with hostile inaccuracies. I don't even know what you are writing about anymore.

[ben1364]

I feel totally inadequate now that I have learned that I can't write or shift gears either. I must go practice shifting gears and study my A,B,Cs. I fear that I might drop a vowel if I get in a hurry! :-)

[noflash]

Originally Posted by ben1364

I feel totally inadequate now that I have learned that I can't write or shift gears either. I must go practice shifting gears and study my A,B,Cs. I fear that I might drop a vowel if I get in a hurry! :-)

Okay this is getting funny.

Oh, well my attempt to have a decent conversation with you must be held back by my lack of defensive and sarcastic responses -- I better brush up on my sarcasm. OHHHHH you are soooooo great and I must practice on having better sarcasm lest I not be understood.

ben1364 wrote in part "...in a hurry" Well, if you are going to be in a hurry all the time then I certainly won't be driving on the roads with all your hurrying!

You are right and I must not know anything about driving an automatic <even though I invented them while driving my Flintstone car>...

okay back to normal (slightly) me:
I now admit that I have played part in ruining my own thread. This thread turned weird and I did not know how to handle it. I now must go to my internet counseling. Wish me luck!!

(must learn to not respond!!)

[ben1364]

Sounds like a good plan.
Cheers

[2006bmw]

Thanks very much all, you've got me scared sh**less for when I finally get my E90, even though I've been driving a stick for 20 years. I'm going to be sitting in my car muttering "Move like a ballerina! Move like a ballerina!" and my wife's going to be looking at me funny.

[CorporalCarrot]

Coming from Europe I find this thread almost hilarious. On the many Euro & UK motoring sites I visit (not just BMW ones), I don't think I have ever come across a thread like it. I don't know if thats just because most people up here grow up with manual shifts (and maybe choose auto later on for luxury) or something else.

All that stuff above about BMW's having finely tuned boxes and transmission mounts flexing during hard use/cornering is all very well, but at the end of the day, there is no reason to miss a shift so badly. I physically find it hard to believe that a BMW's box could flex so badly as to mistake 1st for 3rd gear, even on hard track use. Physically pulling the gearstick all the way from 6th across the box to 2nd just shows bad driver skills and nothing more.

To others talking about gear shifting techniques taught in racing schools, don't confuse EFFICIENT gear shifting with SLOW gear shifting. The most efficient and lightning quick gear shift may seem slow to the casual observer, but thats because economy of effort is generally the fastest way to complete the manoever. You dont have to ram the gears home to shift gear. It may make you feel like Magnum (remember the hilariously emphasised gear shift in his ferrari during the opening credits) but its going to lead to mistakes (just as powersliding looks impressive but is not the fastest way around a corner).

Finally to 2006BMW, don't panic in the slightest. Just remember the gear box is centred between 3rd/4th and you'll be fine. If you are not used to manuals and want to downshift say from 5th/6th, depress the clutch and shift the stick into neutral where it will automatically centre there. Then its a simple up/down motion to get the relevant gear. After a while you will be able to do this in one fluid, seamless motion. Don't ever yank the stick across the box and you'll never have problems.

C

[ward]

Originally Posted by noflash

You know stuff. But your limitations are too much for me. I am not a menace in traffic, but I am not afraid to shift to fourth at higher speeds. I think this is our main disagreement, is it not?

I'm not certain, but I think you can easily hit 90 mph in 4th. And if I feel I need to, what's the problem?

Am I alone here?

Does anyone else shift to 4th on the interstate????

I think you may be able to hit 90 in 3rd

I shift to 4th for passing all the time, if you're passing you can't dawdle

4th is good for at least 110

[zimbofk]

Originally Posted by CorporalCarrot

To others talking about gear shifting techniques taught in racing schools, don't confuse EFFICIENT gear shifting with SLOW gear shifting. The most efficient and lightning quick gear shift may seem slow to the casual observer, but thats because economy of effort is generally the fastest way to complete the manoever. You dont have to ram the gears home to shift gear. It may make you feel like Magnum (remember the hilariously emphasised gear shift in his ferrari during the opening credits) but its going to lead to mistakes (just as powersliding looks impressive but is not the fastest way around a corner).

C

I second that. Back in the day, I remember sitting in the passenger seat of some of my friends cars when they were “racing”. The brute force they used to shift was astonishing – like they were trying to push an elephant or something. And they thought they were quick. But my other buddy with the Z3 shifted so smoothly and effortlessly – and his shifts were lightning quick.

[noflash]

Originally Posted by CorporalCarrot

Physically pulling the gearstick all the way from 6th across the box to 2nd just shows bad driver skills and nothing more.
C

Jeez!

Can someone make a mistake without having BAD driving skills??? You've never shifted to an unintended gear?

[CorporalCarrot]

I won't say I've never shifted to an unintended gear, but within reason. My first car for example was a Peugot 205 many moons ago and its gearbox was so tight at the point the stick met the box it was relatively easy to do. I also had a dodgy syncromesh for 2nd which didn't help. My Alfa 156 also had problems with 2nd gear selection (a known issue with those cars) which would lead you to take 4th (or often in upshifts you would go directly from 1st to third for example).

There are also missed upshifts which are quite forgivable, because for most people although they don't realise it, upshifting is generally a quite unconscious decision. When you have been driving a manual for long enough, you aren't really thinking about making gear selections.........you just go 1st, 2nd, 3rd and thats its. Its quite possible to be a bit casual about it. For example it wouldnt be unusual for someone in going from 2nd straight to fifth for example.

Downshifting is a different matter. For most drivers, downshifts are a more conscious decision than upshifts, especially in the cited example where you (quite legitimately IMO) want more power for lane changes or overtaking. But I can honestly say in downshifting, (in 15+ years of driving) I have NEVER managed to go from one extremity to the other such as all the way across the gate from 6th or 5th to 2nd or 1st. This is a LOT of travel. This means you are wrestling the gear shift, rather than smoothly caressing the gears into place. Modern cars are not like the supercars of old where the clutch is heavy and you need Arnold Schwarzenegger like arms to change gear.

As Zimbofk says......smooth and effortless is the way to go.

Sorry if I caused offence....that was not my intention.

C

[noflash]

Originally Posted by CorporalCarrot

Sorry if I caused offence....that was not my intention.

C

No worries. I will say that in my 16 years I HAD never done that and was suprised when I almost did. I was coming from a 5-speed e46 and always thought those money-shifters were crazy, so I hear where you are coming from.

[ZenDriver]

WHATever. I have this sport sedan and not a Camry in order to drive fast, safely. I am sure as hell not going to "slow shift". If I wanted to do that, I would've gotten an automatic. As for how many gears I down or upshift at a time, it will be done as the situation calls for.

1- Being advanced simply means you are able to do the basics perfectly, every time.

2- Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

These two rules apply to any adrenalne injected activity, from fighting to paramedic work to driving a car fast in any circumstances. The slower and more deliberate your movements are, the faster/better you will be in whatever endevor you undertake.

The number one mistake people make when driving fast is that their mind gets behind the vehicle- they are reacting to what is going on instead of making the vehicle react to what they want it to do. By slowing your movements down, the effect is that it forces you to be thinking a couple of moves ahed, you plan, you plot you act.

Moving slow in the cockpit also keeps you from screwing the pooch with something like a missed shift. I never said you should shift slow; I can outshift you easily and do so without ever looking haggared.

Go google Boyd's OODA loop.

[noflash]

Originally Posted by ZenDriver

I can outshift you easily and do so without ever looking haggared.

I challenge you to a Shift-Off!!!!

Why do I attract all this aggressive shite?

[ben1364]

Flash wrote, "Why do I attract all this aggressive xxxxx?
__________________________________________________ _
The answer might be found in your posts. <g>

[noflash]

Originally Posted by ben1364

Flash wrote, "Why do I attract all this aggressive xxxxx?
__________________________________________________ _
The answer might be found in your posts. <g>

Oh, come on. I only said you might not be in the "know".

Crap, it's back on!