Racing... Manual Or Sport Mode?(325i)

[Zeratul]

Is it me or is Sport mode faster then manual. Cause i did some testing and i found that sport mode accelerates faster then when i use manual. Isnt manual supposed to be faster? or am i doing something wrong? maybe im doing some bad shifting. Any tips anyone?

 

[MyHarley]

the car can shift faster in sport mode than you can shift in manual mode......[???1]

 

[BMWgrl]

In my opinion I think manual kicks ass but it could be cuz I have some after market add-ons, but even before I added them I feel I still got better take off with it in manual. Manual is suppose to let you shift your gears out more(higher RPM) which in turn does let you go faster. I don't think your doing anything wrong. It's OK ,remember yes your car is your baby but when something brakes it's always fixable!

 

[MrElussive]

It's not your imagination...some auto transmissions with the manual shift feature are faster to 60mph (and the 1/4 mile) when you let the transmission do the shifting. Mercedes' Tiptronic transmissions are like this. Why? I have no idea...I guess it's because when you let the transmission do the shifting, it knows exactly when to shift and does the shift more instantly, rather than waiting for you to give it the command to "upshift" and then it does it, creating a little delay in there. Plus, the transmission can probably manage the engine power better than you can. If you want to use the manual shift mode when you are racing (somebody or nobody), just make sure you take it to redline and shift immediately.

 

[dzervit]

Elussive is right - there is such a big delay from the time I tell the car to shift form the time it ACTUALLY shifts it's very difficult to optomize the shift points. Sport mode rocks, even those it doesn't have the right gear all the time. I haven't found a manual mode in a manumatic worth using yet.

 

[Zeratul]

ye you guys are right... there is somekind of delay when i shift gears, BMW should make the shifting more faster.... anyways now i guess ill have to use sport mode when i race. BTW... i raced an Acura 3.2TL and lost . raced a few times actually(manual,and Drive,Not sport) i have a 325i 2001 and he had a acura 3.2TL 1999... I heard i wasnt supposed to lose and i did something wrong. One of the reasons he won tho is becuase he held brake and was reving his engine to like 3( which i didnt do) maybe that's why he won? anyway thanks for your help guys

 

[salvo]

Manual Mode should ONLY be used when you need a quick burst of acceleration...thus, downshift and punch it. Otherwise Sport Mode...quicker...smoother...and easier. You cant drive it like a TRUE manual...its pointless becasue you DO NOT have neutral!

 

[MrElussive]

Don't rev and brake...it will give you the best launch, but it is very bad for the car.

 

[codex57]

Yup, sport mode is for fastest acceleration.

I use manual mode mainly when I want the car to hold a gear or when I want to make sure the car downshifts instead of mashing the pedal and hoping it does what I want when I want.