Stick or auto tranny?

[Year1of1]

seeing as how i live in the metro ny area and i'm constantly in traffic i'll never drive stick. Its to much of a hassle for me and quite honestly would rather have automatic. When i'm driving in manhattan during the afternoon all i can think about is how glad i am its automatic.... its not to say stick sucks, i loved driving my mustang in stick when i went to my beach house or cabin... but congestion these days is getting worse and an auto is the way to go for me.

also since i'm not a racing nut i see no reason to dwell on the topic

[AwesomeBMW]

Originally Posted by Twisted

I've got to ask, why does BMW always quote auto transmission as a slower 0-100 (0-62) sprint time as opposed to a manual transmission?

first of all, the auto weighs more -- 3384 vs 3373 (from bmw's website)
Its gear ratios are also slightly different -- 3.46:1 vs 3.08 (manual) (also from bmw's website)
Its weight bias is slightly different as well due to the auto box upfront.

with all these little things combined, the auto is about .1 sec slower (acording to bmw). big enough gap to consider gettingin a manual? that's for everyone to decide on their own

[aloha03gs]

i am aware there is a lot more driver involvement with stick...but with the traffic here in hawaii...its a different story lol

maybe i am bias after driving a smg e46 m3 but i really love paddle shifters!

[colonel1961]

Manual.

[Mpulse]

Something else occurred to me today since I'm still not sure if I'm going to order an auto or a stick. My M3 is my track car but my 135i will be track ready whether it goes or not. But for everyday driving I think my gas mileage would be a lot better with a stick because the auto would be too easy to drive enthusiastically. With the paddle shifter and the really cool software, I think it would just be too hard not to.

And the stick cost less and would be more reliable in the long run.

[Rearro]

Originally Posted by carnut

Auto tranny with paddles for me, thank you very much! :tongue:

:w00t:

I love the stick Shifts. But My wife will be driving the 135i when it's my turn to watch the baby so I had to go with an Auto with paddles, and besides, Had I gotten a stick..... I would have had to put the baby in the 135i......and that was not even an option. Can you imagine lil cheerios all over the floor and spilled milk all over the Coral Red leather!.

Automatic...... That was the only option!

[AwesomeBMW]

Originally Posted by Rearro

Can you imagine lil cheerios all over the floor and spilled milk all over the Coral Red leather!.

I can picture it, as in my mom's car when my brother was a little kid.heartbreaking for sure.

and to quote atr_hugo from a previous thread (because I don't know german myslef) "Automobilen sind nicht fur trinkin, nur fahren!!"

[Deutsch]

I need an auto for the amount of driving I do and also because I'm long in the torso (6'5" here) and don't need to be shifting my legs around every time the car in front of me brakes when I'm stuck on the 405. Driving a stick would be nice but for me it's neither wise nor beneficial.

[aesthetect]

availability of a true manual is one of the most appealing factors the 1er has going for it IMO. too much of the market in this sector just doesnt even offer a true manual in the US.. lexus IS, R32, etc. sad. i wanna row through the gears, rev match, heel toe.. driving isnt driving without that.

[Deutsch]

^ Truth is, out of the general driving population few opt to drive a stick-shift. And because of that automakers are reacting to consumer trends which are shifting away from traditional clutch operated manuals to full on automated transmissions. At the same time there are those that want more control of their car but with the added convinence of an automatic (hence DSG and so on). I personally believe that the manual transmission will one day sink into oblivion, how soon? Not anytime soon but soon enough. Dual clutch "trannies" have marked the beginning of the end for the manual transmission.

[rainman128]

gotta love them paddles

[aesthetect]

Originally Posted by Deutsch

^ Truth is, out of the general driving population few opt to drive a stick-shift. And because of that automakers are reacting to consumer trends which are shifting away from traditional clutch operated manuals to full on automated transmissions. At the same time there are those that want more control of their car but with the added convinence of an automatic (hence DSG and so on). I personally believe that the manual transmission will one day sink into oblivion, how soon? Not anytime soon but soon enough. Dual clutch "trannies" have marked the beginning of the end for the manual transmission.

agreed, 100%. with increasing demand on vehicle efficiency and the resulting hybrid/electric powertrains and the like, putting the human in the control loop (choosing the gear) creates unnecessary complication and in the end limits the vehicle cpu's capabilities. but i'm holding out for as long as possible. i want to choose which gear im in. an automatic with an internal combustion engine annoys me, a CVT is a much more logical answer from an engineering standpoint, one that warrants more R&D than its getting IMO. the day i wont mind having to settle for an "automatic" will be the day they bring an all-electric, efficient, performance car to the market. although i guess there's already the tesla..

[asv]

I really dont get the traffic comments. I live in a metro area, with a decent amount of traffic. You get use to it.. Getting a car like the 135i with an auto transmission is absolutely useless, it totally kills the driving experience.

There is no point in getting a performance car with auto transmission. Your much better off just getting the lower spec model.

[Deutsch]

Originally Posted by asv

I really dont get the traffic comments. I live in a metro area, with a decent amount of traffic. You get use to it.. Getting a car like the 135i with an auto transmission is absolutely useless, it totally kills the driving experience.

There is no point in getting a performance car with auto transmission. Your much better off just getting the lower spec model.

Try driving in a city like L.A. where most of highway and by-way is infested with traffic. True enough, some people can do it, but that's not everyone. So it's not a wonder you "don't get the traffic comments".

[Imola.ZHP]

^ move somewhere else...

As for your comment above about manual's becoming obsolete, I hope I've passed before that day gets here...

I dont think I'm buying a 1er anymore, but the 3er I buy will definatly be a manual...

[sndprssr]

This is going to be the wife's car and I'll probably drive it once a year, so we're going auto. Both of us have driven multiple MTs but seeing as she drives at least an hour each way to work in stop (and I do mean STOP) and go traffic, why bother with the headache? This is kind of one of those "who cares" kind of questions since it really is just each person's own opinion. I personally don't need a MT, I have a motorcycle for that.

Originally Posted by e34m5

It does however use a double clutch mechanism. Hence the D in it's name.

The "D" stands for Direkt (as in DirektSchaltGetriebe) man, not double or dual. Sorry, just being a little OCD...

[Deutsch]

Originally Posted by imola.zhp

^ move somewhere else...

HeLL NO. L.A. is my city; birthed, live, and beyond...

[MZWIE]

Originally Posted by sndprssr

This is going to be the wife's car and I'll probably drive it once a year, so we're going auto. Both of us have driven multiple MTs but seeing as she drives at least an hour each way to work in stop (and I do mean STOP) and go traffic, why bother with the headache? This is kind of one of those "who cares" kind of questions since it really is just each person's own opinion. I personally don't need a MT, I have a motorcycle for that.


The "D" stands for Direkt (as in DirektSchaltGetriebe) man, not double or dual. Sorry, just being a little OCD...

Wrong. The original name was "Double". It was changed later.

[imported_Maurice]

I'm getting the auto. I am not going to be taking my car to track days, just to work and on the occasional road trip. I will not be pushing the car's handling to its limits, but I do appreciate high-speed passing ability. For me, the fact that the manual is rated to accelerate to 60 mph 1/10 of a second quicker is insignificant. I will be able to consistantly access a higher percentage of the car's potential with an auto than I would with a manual. Maybe in the future I will get a more sporting car in which to practice my roadcraft. For now, I have a motorcycle for that.

[PaulUK]

Originally Posted by colonel1961

Manual.

Auto.

[sndprssr]

Originally Posted by e34m5

Wrong. The original name was "Double". It was changed later.

That's amazing seeing as how the term DSG refers to the word DirektSchaltGetriebe which means Direct Shift Transmission. If it was double/dual then the term would have to be DKG since a clutch is Kupplung. The gearbox does not double shift so it's not DoppelShaltGetriebe. Did I miss something, do you speak more German than I do? Can you give proof that it was changed, I have found no sites that mention the name ever being changed in the trans' short lifetime. I know someone who works for Audi as a tech and he said it has never been called anything else. Where do you get your info.?

[sebaflex]

even though 335's seem to be faster with the auto tranny.... im gonna get manual, its just that much fun.