BMW M5...say goodbye to shifting

[Nypsy]

So the M5 "Drivers Machine" will not offer a manual transmission. Not that I have the money to buy one but it seems to me that being able to skillfully shift is one of the most enjoyable and satisfying aspects of driving a performance machine.

What is ironic is that this decision was economically forced on BMW by the drivers who buy the "Drivers Machine".

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/21/next-bmw-m5-to-drop-manual-transmission-option/

[KgB]

So the M5 "Drivers Machine" will not offer a manual transmission. Not that I have the money to buy one but it seems to me that being able to skillfully shift is one of the most enjoyable and satisfying aspects of driving a performance machine.

What is ironic is that this decision was economically forced on BMW by the drivers who buy the "Drivers Machine".

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/21/next-bmw-m5-to-drop-manual-transmission-option/

BMW's  SMG transmission has a clutch, there is just no clutch pedal.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

So the M5 "Drivers Machine" will not offer a manual transmission. Not that I have the money to buy one but it seems to me that being able to skillfully shift is one of the most enjoyable and satisfying aspects of driving a performance machine.

What is ironic is that this decision was economically forced on BMW by the drivers who buy the "Drivers Machine".

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/21/next-bmw-m5-to-drop-manual-transmission-option/

Double clutch is getting to be a standard in all high performance cars ever since they adopted it to Formula 1. It's much faster than manual shift.

[Wiley]

 So... Can we expect to see a rash of disgruntled m5 owners posting demands to go back to the old way of doing it because they can't go up hills like they used to?



Wiley.

[icepac]

Hasn't SMG been around since the 1999.....on a Fiat 156.

I remember working on the sequential manual transmission in a toyota mr2 spyder in 2004.

[RTHolmes]

E39 was the last M5 with a manual box in europe. always thought it strange that BMW have carried on offering manual boxes for the M5 only in the US, home of the slush box

[Volron]

Well most of the current generation can't drive as is, what makes you think they can handle an MT?  Really blows as I've always been a fan of the M5.

[SFRT - Frenchy]

Hasn't SMG been around since the 1999.....on a Fiat 156.

I remember working on the sequential manual transmission in a toyota mr2 spyder in 2004.

Off course it depends what you consider a SMG, as there's a much difference between the 40s Chrysler SMG and today SMGs as a 40s Ford flathead V8 and their new 5.0

I had one of those with a semi-auto. Needed to use the clutch to engage first, others upshift/downshifts you just select the gear without clutching.


Citroen had their own SMG introduced in 1954 ... Go Pepe Lepieu.

[RTHolmes]

borrowed my gfs 2CV way back, never driven one before. took me 30mins to work out wth was going on with the gear lever. I felt like one of those lab chimps pressing buttons at random watching lights go on and off, but no food being dispensed ...


another 2CV quirk: I discovered that if you reverse at high speed for more than a couple of hundred yards, the gearbox disassembles itself. there a bolt in there somewhere which relies on the box turning in fwd gears to stay tight. its on the end of a shaft and after a while in reverse it winds itself off the shaft, followed by all the cogs lol.

[SFRT - Frenchy]

  maybe you were missing a part, so type of 'stoper'. Did you ever tried to lay the car on it's side while turning? As much as the dam thing would lean in a 'high speed' round about, she never did.

[RTHolmes]

hilarious amounts of pitch and roll, no power, grip or brakes to speak of, but a surprisingly fun challenge to hustle along a country lane

[edog1977]

Double clutch is getting to be a standard in all high performance cars ever since they adopted it to Formula 1. It's much faster than manual shift.

I'm pretty sure Formula 1 cars only have one clutch. It's my understanding the clutch is only used at the start of the race and when leaving the pits.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I'm pretty sure Formula 1 cars only have one clutch. It's my understanding the clutch is only used at the start of the race and when leaving the pits.

Then you'd be wrong. And right. The F1 gearbox uses a single clutch but two axles connected to different gears at once. It resembles the dual clutch operation but due to rules, has to be differently made. http://www.f1network.net/main/s491/st128891.htm

[edog1977]

Then you'd be wrong. And right. The F1 gearbox uses a single clutch but two axles connected to different gears at once. It resembles the dual clutch operation but due to rules, has to be differently made. http://www.f1network.net/main/s491/st128891.htm

That article states that the SSG (Seamless Shift Gearbox) used in F1 bears NO resemblance to systems like Audi's DSG.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

That article states that the SSG (Seamless Shift Gearbox) used in F1 bears NO resemblance to systems like Audi's DSG.

Technically no but operationally yes. The cluth is used in every shift.