Steptronic rev limit

[BadOneThreeFive]

Does anyone know how to raise the shift point on the spetronic transmission? Even when you are in the sport mode the car will shift on its own when its gets to a certain point. Does anyone know how to get rid of that so the car will be completely manual?

[BSM 335I]

Originally Posted by Robertbenson30

Does anyone know how to raise the shift point on the spetronic transmission? Even when you are in the sport mode the car will shift on its own when its gets to a certain point. Does anyone know how to get rid of that so the car will be completely manual?

Hold down the shift up sequence on either the paddle or the shifter itself.

Example:

Starting in 1st gear at WOT (wide open throttle)
Once you are at the top of 2nd and about to shift into 3rd be sure to tap and hold the paddle or shifter so that when 3rd gear hits redline it will bounce off the revlimiter only being able to shift once you release the paddle or shifter. Be careful though, just like a true manual it will over rev if you don't let it shift in time.

Hope that helps.

[xxx_mina]

WAIT WAIIT WAIT WAIT..... so can i keep the car in first till it catches traction by doing this????

Mina

[BrokenVert]

You could just put it into manual mode

[135forthewin]

Originally Posted by BSM 335I

Hold down the shift up sequence on either the paddle or the shifter itself.

Example:

Starting in 1st gear at WOT (wide open throttle)
Once you are at the top of 2nd and about to shift into 3rd be sure to tap and hold the paddle or shifter so that when 3rd gear hits redline it will bounce off the revlimiter only being able to shift once you release the paddle or shifter. Be careful though, just like a true manual it will over rev if you don't let it shift in time.

Hope that helps.

Wait a second...can anyone confirm? I'd love to be able to hold 1st gear, for, um, fun in the rain...

[Judge]

Do you mean manual mode? Sport mode is no different than standard automatic except it takes a little longer to upshift. In manual mode it should only shift on its own when you hit redline.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by Robertbenson30

Does anyone know how to raise the shift point on the spetronic transmission? Even when you are in the sport mode the car will shift on its own when its gets to a certain point. Does anyone know how to get rid of that so the car will be completely manual?

I have a 328xi step loaner right now, and in DS mode, the trans holds gear up to nearly red line.

In your 135i, why would you want it to hold til red line anyway, the power falls off well before red line. Shifting before that puts you back into the power band. Bouncing off the rev limiter for a gear change is just slowing you down overall.

[BadOneThreeFive]

Hold down the shift up sequence on either the paddle or the shifter itself.

Example:

Starting in 1st gear at WOT (wide open throttle)
Once you are at the top of 2nd and about to shift into 3rd be sure to tap and hold the paddle or shifter so that when 3rd gear hits redline it will bounce off the revlimiter only being able to shift once you release the paddle or shifter. Be careful though, just like a true manual it will over rev if you don't let it shift in time.

[BadOneThreeFive]

Originally Posted by BSM 335I

Hold down the shift up sequence on either the paddle or the shifter itself.

Example:

Starting in 1st gear at WOT (wide open throttle)
Once you are at the top of 2nd and about to shift into 3rd be sure to tap and hold the paddle or shifter so that when 3rd gear hits redline it will bounce off the revlimiter only being able to shift once you release the paddle or shifter. Be careful though, just like a true manual it will over rev if you don't let it shift in time.

Hope that helps.

Very bad idea. I just tried that and ill tell you all that it is not good to let the rpms hold at the redline. I held the shifter when I shifted to 2nd and let it redline and after that I lost all my power and it felt like I was only running on a few cylinders. Luckly I shut off my car set the JB3 back to stock and it ran fine after that. I do NOT suggest holding the shifter and letting it tac out at all.

[Irishace]

Shifting past 6300 rpm is a good way to completely drop out of the power band.

[BSM 335I]

Originally Posted by Robertbenson30

Very bad idea. I just tried that and ill tell you all that it is not good to let the rpms hold at the redline. I held the shifter when I shifted to 2nd and let it redline and after that I lost all my power and it felt like I was only running on a few cylinders. Luckly I shut off my car set the JB3 back to stock and it ran fine after that. I do NOT suggest holding the shifter and letting it tac out at all.

Hey you asked and I answered. No one ever said it was safe.

[Freakazoid]

just a fyi, simply shifting over to manual mode does NOT prevent auto shift.

If you're in 'regular' manual mode (not the way mentioned above of holding it down), it will still autoshift at redline

[ridsama]

Originally Posted by Freakazoid

just a fyi, simply shifting over to manual mode does NOT prevent auto shift.

If you're in 'regular' manual mode (not the way mentioned above of holding it down), it will still autoshift at redline

sounds about right

[BSM 335I]

Originally Posted by Freakazoid

just a fyi, simply shifting over to manual mode does NOT prevent auto shift.

If you're in 'regular' manual mode (not the way mentioned above of holding it down), it will still autoshift at redline

I believe your referring to DS mode which in that case yes the car will shift right at redline where it's meant to any revs past that is just pointless without bigger turbos and some internals. Keep in mind though that DS isn't manual at all but considered just sport mode for more aggresive throttle response and gear changes as well as holding the selected gear longer. This car can and will do about everything you could do in ther manual except of couse not being able to dump the clutch but then again we can get a nastier launch by brake boosting off the line.

D Mode = regular drive/relax mode
DS Mode = sport mode with more aggresive shifts made by the car itself.
M Mode = full manual mode. The car will not shift out of gear unless it is instructed to do so or if there power band in that particular gear has exceeded.

[Yogijet]

BSM 335i - The Manual Mode in the Steptronic auto in the 135i is not fully manual. It will autoshift at redline so you can't do just about everything you could do in a three-pedal manual. I didn't fully understand though, what you mean when you say, "The car will not shift out of gear unless it is instructed to do so or if there power band in that particular gear has exceeded."

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by Yogijet

BSM 335i - The Manual Mode in the Steptronic auto in the 135i is not fully manual. It will autoshift at redline so you can't do just about everything you could do in a three-pedal manual. I didn't fully understand though, what you mean when you say, "The car will not shift out of gear unless it is instructed to do so or if there power band in that particular gear has exceeded."

It's simple. There are only three things that can happen when driving the step in manual mode.

1.) you tell the car the shift.

2.) you reach redline and the car upshifts automatically.

3.) you slow down and the revs drop below 1000rpm. The car then automatically downshifts to prevent an engine stall.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by BSM 335I

I believe your referring to DS mode which in that case yes the car will shift right at redline where it's meant to any revs past that is just pointless without bigger turbos and some internals. Keep in mind though that DS isn't manual at all but considered just sport mode for more aggresive throttle response and gear changes as well as holding the selected gear longer. This car can and will do about everything you could do in ther manual except of couse not being able to dump the clutch but then again we can get a nastier launch by brake boosting off the line.

D Mode = regular drive/relax mode
DS Mode = sport mode with more aggresive shifts made by the car itself.
M Mode = full manual mode. The car will not shift out of gear unless it is instructed to do so or if there power band in that particular gear has exceeded.

You can't do an aggressive launch like you can in a manual.
You can brake boost all day, but you're not going to get those revs nearly as high as you can in a manual.
Have you been in a manual 135i with a hard launch?
I've done it in an automatic and it's simply not as strong, let alone "nastier"/stronger.

Another aspect of the auto that I don't like is that it wants to start in 2nd.
If you want 1st you have to select it, but then, isn't it supposed to be an "automatic"? In D mode it's fine for everyday driving, but if you want it to be less sluggish you have to select DS. But, doing that takes 6th gear out, as you have to select 6th. Correct me if I'm wrong here.
They need to simply program DS to automatically use all 6 gears, but do it as aggressively as it does with 5 gears. I don't understand why it won't select 6th in DS, you have to do it yourself.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by BSM 335I

Once you are at the top of 2nd and about to shift into 3rd be sure to tap and hold the paddle or shifter so that when 3rd gear hits redline it will bounce off the revlimiter only being able to shift once you release the paddle or shifter. Be careful though, just like a true manual it will over rev if you don't let it shift in time.

Hope that helps.

With the manual trans the ECU will NOT allow the engine to over rev.
If you go to redline and a bit beyond, you will hit the rev limiter.
The limiter will not allow the engine to go beyond that into an over rev condition. You don't want to drive continuously bouncing off the limiter, but it won't hurt the engine either. The limiter is set quite a few rpm before the true mechanical rev limit.

The only way to over rev the engine, where the limiter can't help you, is in a mechanical over rev situation. This can happen, for example, if you are in 3rd accelerating hard and you are at or near red line, and you go to select 4th, but you select 2nd instead. If you don't catch it by pushing the clutch pedal back in, once you let the pedal out and fully engage the clutch, engine speed will zing past red line and will go past it and past the true mechanical limit. The rev limiter can not help that dummy move.
It's sometimes referred to as a "money shift", as it will cost big money to fix the broken whirrly bits.

With the automatic trans you are safe as the ECU will not allow the trans to make a shift that will result in engine speed going past red line.

Someone said that they did go past red line. Unless there is something faulty in your system, you probably just hit the rev limiter.

[BSM 335I]

Originally Posted by Yogijet

BSM 335i - The Manual Mode in the Steptronic auto in the 135i is not fully manual. It will autoshift at redline so you can't do just about everything you could do in a three-pedal manual. I didn't fully understand though, what you mean when you say, "The car will not shift out of gear unless it is instructed to do so or if there power band in that particular gear has exceeded."

Yes it will shift for you at redline (it would be stupid not to considering your in an auto). The question was whether or not the 135i equipped with step can hold the gear and prevent it from shifting, the answer is yes to that. There's no point in holding it though as the ecu shifts at the best possible point.

Originally Posted by RPM90

You can't do an aggressive launch like you can in a manual.
You can brake boost all day, but you're not going to get those revs nearly as high as you can in a manual.
Have you been in a manual 135i with a hard launch?
I've done it in an automatic and it's simply not as strong, let alone "nastier"/stronger.

Another aspect of the auto that I don't like is that it wants to start in 2nd.
If you want 1st you have to select it, but then, isn't it supposed to be an "automatic"? In D mode it's fine for everyday driving, but if you want it to be less sluggish you have to select DS. But, doing that takes 6th gear out, as you have to select 6th. Correct me if I'm wrong here.
They need to simply program DS to automatically use all 6 gears, but do it as aggressively as it does with 5 gears. I don't understand why it won't select 6th in DS, you have to do it yourself.

Have you been in a manual 135i with a hard launch? Yes I have launched my friend's 135i with a jb3 and I've owned a 335i 6mt 3 years prior and loved it as well. This is my first auto keep in mind. I've launched the crap out of that car and it was great. Even though I can't drop a clutch in the step I will tell you that it would be nearly impossible to out-launch a 1.4 60' in a manual. To be honest brake boosting from a roll would.

As for it not shifting into 1st at a light I am ok with as well. You wouldn't put your car in 1st while rolling to a stop with a 6mt now would you? If so, then I would fear of the stress on the transmission as well as pity the next fool who buys it. As for DS mode only using 5 out the 6 gears is made intentially for sporting events. 6th gear is overdrive so it wouldn't be needed in sport driving conditions. So in the end bmw made sense when only using 5 gears and opted manual mode to have full control of all 6 gears.

Originally Posted by RPM90

With the manual trans the ECU will NOT allow the engine to over rev.
If you go to redline and a bit beyond, you will hit the rev limiter.
The limiter will not allow the engine to go beyond that into an over rev condition. You don't want to drive continuously bouncing off the limiter, but it won't hurt the engine either. The limiter is set quite a few rpm before the true mechanical rev limit.

The only way to over rev the engine, where the limiter can't help you, is in a mechanical over rev situation. This can happen, for example, if you are in 3rd accelerating hard and you are at or near red line, and you go to select 4th, but you select 2nd instead. If you don't catch it by pushing the clutch pedal back in, once you let the pedal out and fully engage the clutch, engine speed will zing past red line and will go past it and past the true mechanical limit. The rev limiter can not help that dummy move.
It's sometimes referred to as a "money shift", as it will cost big money to fix the broken whirrly bits.

With the automatic trans you are safe as the ECU will not allow the trans to make a shift that will result in engine speed going past red line.

Someone said that they did go past red line. Unless there is something faulty in your system, you probably just hit the rev limiter.

I'm sorry if I used the wrong terminology. I meant it would sit at redline and would not shift if you held the knob in the upshift position. I was referring to the old day's when I had my type r lol.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by BSM 335I

As for it not shifting into 1st at a light I am ok with as well. You wouldn't put your car in 1st while rolling to a stop with a 6mt now would you? If so, then I would fear of the stress on the transmission as well as pity the next fool who buys it. As for DS mode only using 5 out the 6 gears is made intentially for sporting events. 6th gear is overdrive so it wouldn't be needed in sport driving conditions. So in the end bmw made sense when only using 5 gears and opted manual mode to have full control of all 6 gears.

There is no reason to engage 1st in a manual when rolling to a stop, but do I shift into 1st when coming to a complete stop? You bet I do. Why wouldn't you? It's the gear you are going to start from once you get moving again.
At a stop light or stop sign, you should always be in gear. You shouldn't be in neutral with traffic moving around you. So, yes I do shift into 1st when coming to a stop. I don't engage 1st as I have the clutch disengaged when stopped, but I'm ready to move when I need to, and I start in 1st, not in 2nd.

But, let's be clear here what is being discussed. I'm not talking about the auto trans not shifting into 1st when coming to a stop. I'm talking about the trans not shifting into 1st gear once the car has stopped. If you don't select 1st, then you start in 2nd. I hate that. So if I want to start in the proper gear, then I have to select it, even though I'm in an "automatic" trans.

As for your argument that BMW made the right decision in the DS mode, I completely disagree.
It makes no sense to leave 6th out, because the other automatic shift mode, D, sucks. You either have the slug like take off and too early shfts of D mode, or you have to be in DS mode to get a much better start and stronger accel. But, in DS mode you have to select 6th, manually.
You get nothing in between unless you go manual, which defeats the purpose of "automatic" trans for daily sporty performance.

DS is for sporting events?
Why would you go to the track and not use full manual mode, where you decide exactly what gear you want.
DS on the track? Maybe for those who either can't be bothered with selecting the right gear, or don't know what the right gear would be.

BMW's automatic programming decisions leaves you with; sluggish grandma take offs in daily D mode, or chose better performance and response with DS, but you'll have to select 6th yourself.
If the auto programming choices were to make sense, they would tune D for best MPG, as it is now, DS would simply be a more aggressive program allowing greater engine revs before shifts AND include 6th gear. Why? Because, as an enthusiast driver I can't stand the D mode. I prefer the programming in DS for my daily driving, and that's why it needs to have 6th gear selected automatically.

The true sporting event program is called the "manual mode". DS as a "sporting event" mode makes no sense.
Simply put, BMW got it wrong on this one.
They could easily have had a 3rd automatic mode with D as the best MPG mode, DS for proper daily driving including 6th for MPG and highway speeds, and DS+ for those who go to a sporting or track event and can't be bothered with actually selecting their own gear.

I really hope BMW got it right with the DCT, as that will be my next trans choice, IF they got it right. If not, then the tried and true manual trans will be my choice again. With a manual you decide if you want to drive for MPG, performance, track events, or any mix in between any of those.

[FJUNO78]

Originally Posted by Irishace

Shifting past 6300 rpm is a good way to completely drop out of the power band.

+1

look at any baseline dyno, and then ask yourself why would you want to even go to redline?

torque comes on fast in these cars and stays steady and drops off just as fast as it come on.

[IZAGLO]

Originally Posted by FJUNO78

+1

look at any baseline dyno, and then ask yourself why would you want to even go to redline?

torque comes on fast in these cars and stays steady and drops off just as fast as it come on.

+10000.....makes no sense to shift at redline...the car will hit redline with no issues, but there is no REAL reason to go there as the turbo's run out of breath at 6300, and probably the throttle is closing as well...Shift at 6-6300 for best esults and better longevity for your car and certainly the turbo's