I want some of what BMW is smoking

...it must be some pretty good stuff...

 

Talk about a missed gearchange, that is crazy.

 

I would love to see Maserati and ferrari give us the shift lever along with paddles on F1. That was the main reason I did not get Cambio on mine. Never used the paddles on M3, Felt so much more natural using lever

 

You can't miss a shift with the SMG; it's sequential.

 

Forgive me i am a Brit afterall

 

Same as a London bus !

 

This is exactly why it's sequential only. They designed their gearbox to change extremely quickly and this is the configuration they came up with, and they know a human can't possibly shift like that, only a computer.

 

German logic!
LOL!

/Peter

 

We've come a long way from that two speed automatic tranny in that '65 Impala I used to drive, eh?

 

Wasn't that two speed a powerglide? That's a race transmission i think?

 

Once you get used to the paddles, you'll never use the shift lever. I thought I didn't want to use them, but once I started with them, it became very easy to use them, and I wouldn't want to shift with the gearshift again.

Art

 

I had an Alfa w/ paddles. It was krap.

 

At least it seems Ferrari and Maserati have a better setup with their paddles. The way the paddles were on my M3 it was very easy to lose track of which was which.

 

I was talking to Phil Hill one day and he was looking at the 6 speed CTS-V i was driving. Phil sees the shifter and the sixth gear and says "Six speeds, that is too many, i don't even want to shift one anymore..."

 

Is the placement the same (ie right up, left down?)

 

Yes, But as you turn wheel they go along with it and on a sharp turn you will have them on opposite sides

 

Ah, I can see how that will get annoying very quickly.

 

I think it was a "turbo hydromatic" drive and low, that was it.

It was a long time ago, in a land far far away for this thing. My memory is a little fuzzy about the early 70's, but I do remember it being a two speed in a white Chevrolet Impala convertible about a '66 or '67 maybe. Three round tail lights on each side.

 

we use paddles up here in the frozen north and they work good.

 

The two speed auto was the Powerglide. The Turbo-Hydramatic was a three speed at first, and later had even more gears.

 

Powerglide was converted for racing quite often.

"Slip and slide with Powerglide"

 

There's a BMW press release on the next M5 that states why the gears are situated like that. The lowest gears are located nearest to the strongest part of the transmission housing or something like that. Since they aren't offering a full manual (just SMG), they can do that.

Michael.

 

The powerglide was truly junk. No performance, and it slipped all of the time.

Art

 

First, if you always know which hand is your left, how can you get confused about which paddle to use when the wheel is turned?

Second, how often do you find yourself shifting while the wheel is turned so that your arms are almost crossed? I hope your answer is not frequently.

Third, why is it that F1 cars have paddles that move w/the wheel and you rarely see any of the drivers get confused about which paddle to use?

Greg A

 

Becuase more than a half turn on the wheel and the paddles are now flip flopped.

You'd be amazed. Making a slow speed either right or left hand turn causes the wheel to be a half turn around, and makes the flippers upside down. IT really is a pain in the neck. And it's not that your arms are crossed, it's that the paddles are now at an awkward angle, or worse, upside down, making the left hand the upshift and the right the downshift.

But F cars are what, less than a half turn wheel lock to wheel lock? So, they don't experience the turned over wheel issue.