Bruce

I'm such an old bat..



So BMW's manual's were/are better than everyone elses? Actually I would agree that BMW does make the best manual transmissions, but coming from a BMW fan that sounds a little biased..

Lol

vabboud

there are a lot of takes to that idea people
ffrom an engineering point of view we have to look at it from 2 angles, if you take it by ockham's razor, then SMG, or automatcs are redundant because they perform the same job of a manual for more cost and complexity, but driver's ease, and requirements outweigh the bets of our old friend ockham
at the same time, the ultimate goal fo engineering is to be able to mass produce the amenities ot enhance our life, so by starting with SMG on an F1 car and moving it to exclusive ferraries, and then trickling it down to M and the rest of the crop, you are fulfilling an engineering goal, especially since you are melding the ease of an automatic with the sportiness of a manual, and in the process loosing only 10% comfort comapred to an auto and gaining 10% performance compared to a manual, which in engineering terms is excellent

holding the samme line of thought, you would be putting me and many others out of job if you would stick to a manual alone. and from an engineering eprspective, to be able to automate a full clutch, and to control a gearbox totally via computer, or manually via shifters, and at the same tme beign able to extract more performance form the negine, well it's just beautiful and would put a tear in my eye

now from a driver's perspective, it boils down to preference and requirements
if you are looking for an ultra econobox, you might not want to pay for teh added complexity of an auto let alone a sequential, but fi you are shelling big bucks, it i always nice to have the option for what you want/need in sofar the difference between both is clear

let me give you an example, i drive a 1995 mazda 323f, it's a great car by what it does. economic, little if any gremlins, costs close to nil, reliable, and since it can't speed it's safe in the hands of someone like me
but at the same time, it's bad at corners, it needs a very involving drive to be able to be driven correctly, each bend needs a specific speed and approach, it sucks when driven upwards.
now the charcater, and the needs in involvement are great, compare this to a manual, some people will find fun in exploring its limits, and being able to draw every last bhp from the engine, and outrunning more powerful cars. some peole will enjoy having to break and shake, and press the pedal at the last millisecond before getting whacked in the wall. but at the same time some people like me, when they are returning home after 10 hours of study, work, and machining, don't feel like having to drive at the limits, nor do they when they wake up at 6 am to go to college or work.

thus although this car is great for me in many ways, i will need to change it into something less hurtful and more relaxed around next year. which is the SMG.

thus if you fancy playin with your dic... sorry erm stick, and see in it some added involvement, and fun factor then the manual is still the way to go
if you want to be fully relaxed and just press the gas pedal and go on, get yourself an auto, and f you want a sporty drive, but don't fancy ahving to fiddle with a stick, if you're looking for performance but don't fancy missing a gear and burning a clutch or engine, then SMG, ZSG and their likes are your take.

when the dual clutch or SMG or shitbox if it will be called as such will be totally perfected and mass produced at acceptable costs then manuals will start to be phased out in favor of this, so will auto's since it combines both attributes

until the CVT eventually replaces the standard autobox as the "refined box" par excellence

much like conventional manuals phased out those old boxes on the Ford T (forgot their name)

Imhotep Evil

Well I hope they'll quite mass production, cause I wouldn't want to become common.

Great post BTW.

donau

I am hoping to have about 700Nm and that is one of the reasons I bought this Gemini Transmissions (owned by Ricardo) 6spd sequential:



It arrived today from Dubai and has been described as indestructible. The gearbox has seen a few LeMans races as well, including one in the number 64 car of Roock racing in 1998. Naturally the transmission has been "refreshed".