BMW 1 Series Coupe Forum / 1 Series Convertible Forum (1M / tii / 135i / 128i / Coupe / Cabrio / Hatchback) (BMW E82 E88 128i 130i 135i)
 





 

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      02-07-2014, 01:29 PM   #23
Artsee
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Surprising to see all this support for the Steptronic. I see how it serves a certain function--less input/effort from the driver (great for cummuting) and straight line acceleration.

Personally, I despise the Steptronic transmission. I have driven a 330i and an X1 with a Steptronic and I had issues with the following:

1. Even in sport mode, the transmission felt laggy and shifts were SLOW. It seemed like there was a second delay between hitting the paddle and when the shift would happen.

2. I hate that it will NOT HOLD GEARS!! Several times I was mid corner through a turn and the thing would shift, creating a really sketchy experience.

3. I am biased and I love to use a clutch, heel toe, and physically shift the car myself. There is something very gratifying about driving a manual that no automatic can replace. I like to feel as connected as possible to a car and I attribute that heavily to a stick.

4. As folks have already mentioned here, the Steptronic has overheating issues on the track. No go for me.

Quote:
In my experience, the DCT's weakness is changing from slowing down to speeding up at low speeds (like when that red light goes green just as you were about to stop). I've found it sometimes gets caught dropping to 1st right as you want to accelerate, causing a bit of an abrupt change in velocity. If you're in manual mode, this occurs less often. In a true manual, I'd coast to the light with the clutch in and leave it in 2nd.
I experienced this with the Steptronic as well.


So there you have it. This is my sincere opinion and ultimately, I can't really make a purely objective argument for my preference. I understand that the Steptronic's characteristics can be "sharpened up" quite a bit with software tuning...

Last edited by Artsee; 02-07-2014 at 01:37 PM..
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      02-07-2014, 02:29 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Artsee View Post
Surprising to see all this support for the Steptronic. I see how it serves a certain function--less input/effort from the driver (great for cummuting) and straight line acceleration.

Personally, I despise the Steptronic transmission. I have driven a 330i and an X1 with a Steptronic and I had issues with the following:

1. Even in sport mode, the transmission felt laggy and shifts were SLOW. It seemed like there was a second delay between hitting the paddle and when the shift would happen.

2. I hate that it will NOT HOLD GEARS!! Several times I was mid corner through a turn and the thing would shift, creating a really sketchy experience.

3. I am biased and I love to use a clutch, heel toe, and physically shift the car myself. There is something very gratifying about driving a manual that no automatic can replace. I like to feel as connected as possible to a car and I attribute that heavily to a stick.

4. As folks have already mentioned here, the Steptronic has overheating issues on the track. No go for me.



I experienced this with the Steptronic as well.


So there you have it. This is my sincere opinion and ultimately, I can't really make a purely objective argument for my preference. I understand that the Steptronic's characteristics can be "sharpened up" quite a bit with software tuning...
All of this, plus a significantly shorter service life and resale value.
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      02-07-2014, 06:24 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by viciousgook View Post
I'll just assume the flash isn't available for a 125i/128i
^^that is correct. Sorry. The Alpina flash is for the 6AT ZF trans. The 125i/128i uses a 5AT from GM - I believe.
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      02-08-2014, 09:19 AM   #26
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why hate??? because they are to fast on the strip
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      02-08-2014, 08:54 PM   #27
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I did the alpina flash and m3 paddles, now this tranny works great with the power adders.
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      02-10-2014, 08:33 AM   #28
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Wife is going to hate me.


"Babe, I did this flash to the car, and now I need a new steering wheel and paddles."

Good thing she loves me.
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      02-10-2014, 12:45 PM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by uwood View Post
Wife is going to hate me.


"Babe, I did this flash to the car, and now I need a new steering wheel and paddles."

Good thing she loves me.
You don't need a new steering wheel, just new paddles for the steering wheel.
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      02-10-2014, 02:55 PM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1Pirate View Post
You don't need a new steering wheel, just new paddles for the steering wheel.
I dont have any paddles now, and no cut outs.
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      02-10-2014, 03:16 PM   #31
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If my wife could, she'd rip out the DCT in her 135i and replace it with a Steptronic.
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      02-10-2014, 03:24 PM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by uwood View Post
I dont have any paddles now, and no cut outs.
It was my understanding that all 2009 135i automatics came with paddle shifters. However, I just did some research and apparently 2009 135i's that don't have the Sport/M Sport package don't have paddle shifters. I don't know that I have ever seen a non Sport/M Sport 135i.
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      02-11-2014, 10:57 AM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1Pirate View Post
It was my understanding that all 2009 135i automatics came with paddle shifters. However, I just did some research and apparently 2009 135i's that don't have the Sport/M Sport package don't have paddle shifters. I don't know that I have ever seen a non Sport/M Sport 135i.
I haz special car.
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      03-26-2015, 10:33 PM   #34
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So who tracks their steptronic!?? I've been thinking about giving it a shot
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      04-15-2015, 04:11 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kguyott7 View Post
So who tracks their steptronic!?? I've been thinking about giving it a shot
I did with Alpina flash. the shifting will be a bit slower when the tranny is hot. but it did a great job as a auto box.

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      04-15-2015, 10:00 PM   #36
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Have had zero issues with the alpina tune. Best auto box I've ever tracked, ever. Car is fairly intelligent on up and down shifting, and once you learn to work the downshift detent, you can always make sure you're in the right gear
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      04-15-2015, 10:35 PM   #37
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You definitely need to address cooling if you want to track the steptronic seriously. That said for a slushbox it performs great, especially with the Alpina flash.

One down side is you can no longer use the "miss-shifted" excuse when you lose a race.
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      04-16-2015, 01:57 AM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Artsee View Post
Surprising to see all this support for the Steptronic. I see how it serves a certain function--less input/effort from the driver (great for cummuting) and straight line acceleration.

Personally, I despise the Steptronic transmission. I have driven a 330i and an X1 with a Steptronic and I had issues with the following:

1. Even in sport mode, the transmission felt laggy and shifts were SLOW. It seemed like there was a second delay between hitting the paddle and when the shift would happen.

2. I hate that it will NOT HOLD GEARS!! Several times I was mid corner through a turn and the thing would shift, creating a really sketchy experience.

3. I am biased and I love to use a clutch, heel toe, and physically shift the car myself. There is something very gratifying about driving a manual that no automatic can replace. I like to feel as connected as possible to a car and I attribute that heavily to a stick.

4. As folks have already mentioned here, the Steptronic has overheating issues on the track. No go for me.



I experienced this with the Steptronic as well.


So there you have it. This is my sincere opinion and ultimately, I can't really make a purely objective argument for my preference. I understand that the Steptronic's characteristics can be "sharpened up" quite a bit with software tuning...
That isn't the same transmission as the one on N54 cars. That step is a GM unit, the same one that the CTS used. Its universally hated for being slow and crap.

The N54 step is the ZF HP6-21. As far as automatics go its easily one of the best ever made.
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