silly question

[andreyiv]

In mine, you stay in Auto mode and move the lever down to 3, thats when it locks out the overdrive gear and holds other gears longer, try that.

Umm, not on mine, if I put it in 2nd in manual mode, it will start in 2nd and the engine will bounce of redline without anything shifting. Well, as far as I know at least, it happened to me by mistake so I don't want to risk it again.

Also, not only will you loose acceleration because the auto takes a while to shift but also because of the torque converter. Basically the manual mode is only usefull for mountains, when you are stuck maybe, in traffic if you don't want it to shift into second every few seconds, accelerating for a highway entrance, engine braking and drifting. Did I miss anything? Grrr, I want a manual in mine so bad.

 

[Average Jae]

Grrr, I want a manual in mine so bad.

i was saying that for years, at least i did something about it sure being stuck in traffic sucks, but it's no where near as bad as LA around here, so no biggie really.

 

[codex57]

sport mode???

what gear is that?


i dont have stepronic...just auto

Your automatic transmission is called "Steptronic" by BMW b/c it allows you to change gears on it. Different manufacturers have different names. For example, Porsche calls their's "Tiptronic," etc.

To get to Sport mode, just put it in "D" Then, pull the lever to the left. It should slide over and the little indicator on your dash should say "S D" (or maybe it's reverse, can't remember at the moment).

 

[tool fan]

Very good guys....very comprhensive thread. I learned a bunch just reading what y'all wrote.

 

[pacismakaveli]

Your automatic transmission is called "Steptronic" by BMW b/c it allows you to change gears on it. Different manufacturers have different names. For example, Porsche calls their's "Tiptronic," etc.

To get to Sport mode, just put it in "D" Then, pull the lever to the left. It should slide over and the little indicator on your dash should say "S D" (or maybe it's reverse, can't remember at the moment).

I dont have that....all i have is P R N D 4 3 2. Nothing that slides over lol...just up and down. My question is...that if i am going to race should i stay at D, or shift down to 4 before i go?

 

[codex57]

Yours doesn't do that? Odd. You may wanna check what the E36 people have to say. my guess is to just leave it in D. Dropping to 4 isn't gonna do anything other than limit you to 4th gear. If you race, that's not gonna help any.

Is there a button you push to change into Sport mode? Hmm, this is odd. I thought all E46 cars had the current Steptronic. I ran a quicky internet search and all the 2000 323i cars with autos had the current Steptronic.

 

[Ben]

just leave it in D and nail it. man i love older cars, not so much crazy bs to get all worked up about.