[M2withACC]

Originally Posted by c1pher

I’m not sure which transmission to get. I’ve always got manuals, but driving in the city and having something like adaptive cruise control is helpful and less fatiguing for me. I do like to shift and don’t hate paddle shifters. I’m spoiled by PDKs when I do have to drive autos. However, I owned a 2020 Cayenne Turbo Coupe for a year with their sport auto, which is also a torque converter. It was pretty quick on upshifts but reminded you that it’s an auto on the downshifts. I suspect it’s similar behavior in the M2 auto. While I’m not buying for fuel economy, the 1/2 series has always had dinky fuel tanks. The auto with eight speeds might be a little less hungry. One thing I do like about my 911 manual is that seventh gear gives me 28-29mpg if I’m just cruising.

I am glad I picked the auto G87 over the 6speed. I wanted the ACC and the extra two gears on when I cruise on the freeway. The downshifts are slower than the dual clutches.

[trey100]

Originally Posted by kyrix1st

I disagree. I've mentioned this several times, but a skilled MT driver will shift as quick as the auto; it takes more time for the engine to rev up and down vs. the actual shift times, which means there's plenty of time for both auto and MT to engage the next gear. Auto can be perceived fast because the ZF8 has extremely short first 3 gears.

And just because the MT has longer gearing initially does not mean the car is accelerating slower. In fact, you are staying in the optimum powerband longer because each gearshift, other than DCTs which add inertia, will result in deceleration. In principle, less shifts are better.
Not the perfect example because of the traffic, but the in-gear acceleration for MT vs. DCT is identical as shown below.

Gearshifts are fairly instant for skilled MT drivers, unlike the ZF8 which struggle to downshift in certain lateral G situations. It's really annoying when you are threshold braking and the car wouldn't give you multiple downshifts instantly. I'd rather shift one less gear with MT.

I’m an MT guy but can’t agree on longer gearing being better because of the reason you state. The shorter gearing allows more torque multiplication which is a big bump especially on these big flat torque curve vehicles where being at any one specific rpm isn’t as big of a benefit. At some point even with shorter gearing there will be plotted points where the manual will be putting more power down but the overall area under the curve in terms of power to the wheels goes in favor of shorter gearing and more gears. It’s just not feasible to do in a manual because it wouldn’t be fun to have the first 3 gears being short when you are shifting yourself.

The one area where I wish BMW would improve is making 6th gear longer in the manual. On my F80 it has the engine buzzing at pretty ordinary speeds and with the power the car has it really isn’t necessary to keep it on boil.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by 10"

might as well drive an 80s Buick.

its a gussied up torque converter automatic that’s done to save money and because regular drivers were too dumb to figure out dual clutch transmissions.

Manual or bust—

I love manuals, I learned to drive on a manual, I drove manuals for over 25 years. Statements like these are simply gatekeeping something that is more precious to them then it should be.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Ravenseal

I've had the ZF on multiple cars, and I've owned the M-DCT as well. Agree that while the ZF is great and really smooth, it lacks the responsiveness of the DCT. When I test drove the M2 HEA car, I noticed they added a shift aggressiveness setting to the transmission that gives it a "fake" upshift kick like the DCTs have. The responsiveness on downshifts is still pretty lackluster. If I had a choice between a DCT and a 6MT for the G87, I think I would have chosen the DCT. The lack thereof made it a lot easier to go with the 6MT, which is in the spirit of this car, I suppose. The real downside of the 6MT for backroad warriors like myself is going to be the gearing. Going to spend a lot of time on 2nd gear hitting twisties, since I'm assuming 2nd is going to top out around 70-80mph. At least with the 8ZF, you can bounce through 2,3,4 on back roads - which is a fun feeling to be able to slap gears once the power band flattens out.

It's a conundrum. I'd love a G87 manual for backroads, but on track, I prefer a DCT and M-ZF8 over a manual. In traffic I prefer the ZF8 and DCT over a manual.

[kyrix1st]

Originally Posted by dominoM

Just because a pro driver can manually shift as fast as an auto doesn't mean I can. Most of us are good but not that good. I think that is kind of the point in getting what works best for you.

If you are referring to that particular video...that's average Joe (myself) driving with average Toms (others). My point is, art of fast manual shifting is definitely achievable and should be pursued, especially with these cars! Auto never teaches you that.

[dominoM]

Originally Posted by kyrix1st

If you are referring to that particular video...that's average Joe (myself) driving with average Toms (others). My point is, art of fast manual shifting is definitely achievable and should be pursued, especially with these cars! Auto never teaches you that.

Fair enough.

[Reesnat]

For me it’s the Auto. Why? 8 gears means the gearing is much tighter and 100% better matched to extract the maximum performance of this engine.

On track and in general traffic, the auto is going to be much better, I doubt anyone can dispute that.

On a back road, Sunday morning drive, sure the manual would be fun. But to me that fun will be offset against the long gears and the fact that I won’t be able to extract the full potential of the engine.

Not to mention , if you intend to tune it, the auto is the much better choice.

And no, just because you drive a stick doesn’t make you more of an enthusiast so let’s not fall for the hyperbole.

Evaluate the choice based on what’s important for you.

[wj100]

The DCTs in my previous E90 and F82 were my favorite parts about those cars. I've since had a ZF8 in an Alfa Giulia QV and now a Supra and, while it's certainly a good box, I would give up around town smoothness for the tactile feel of the DCT 100 times out of 100...I still dream about those up shifts...

Looking forward to my incoming G87. But, I'd be looking forward to it more if equipped with a DCT.

[RockCrusher]

Originally Posted by wj100

The DCTs in my previous E90 and F82 were my favorite parts about those cars. I've since had a ZF8 in an Alfa Giulia QV and now a Supra and, while it's certainly a good box, I would give up around town smoothness for the tactile feel of the DCT 100 times out of 100...I still dream about those up shifts...

Looking forward to my incoming G87. But, I'd be looking forward to it more if equipped with a DCT.

My 1st real exposure to a DCT was with my 2023 MINI S. It came with a 7-speed dual clutch automatic. Turned out to be a great transmission at least for the 7K miles I put on the car. I only bought it to drive until I could find a JCW with a 6-speed. But if I had had room for a 3rd car I would have kept the S.