Trying to decide between 6speed or M-DCT

[auburn587]

Hey everyone well right now i drive a pretty sweet 335i coupe..but after months of thinking i've decided to sell my 335 and buy a new m3 coupe. I have looked around on the internet because im not a huge options guy i think i could settle with buying one off the internet and i will be happy but that is where the problem is. all of the m3's i can find are 6 speed and i really am impressed with the new double clutch transmission. i would like to have it but i dont want to have to wait until september or so to find one and i was wondering what yall think i should do?

[ihyln]

If you can wait till about June/July dealers should have DCT optioned cars on the lot to test drive. Otherwise, order one like the rest of us

[oneginee]

The dual clutch transmission dates back to 1939 invented by a french guy. The mechanical parts are strickingly the same today. I am little impressed by the DCT. I need a connection with the car that only a MT can give. The M3 6MT ultra precise transmission with ventilated clutch is perfect for me. I need the rowing part of changing gears to have the fun. Think for a second how you are going to miss that extra control from the MT when launching the car. In fact I would be willing to pay more for the MT if it was more expensive than the DCT. But it's not of course
DCT sucks for me.



I am biased like everyone but you may want to read the review from this thread :

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136995

[gorun]

DCT all the way, you will never look back. I took delivery yesterday and woke up early today...

[malter2.0]

if it doesn't have 3 pedals leave it to women.

[GregW / Oregon]

Drove Pete's Mountain road south of here tonight. First spritied drive since 1,200 service. The 6-speed was faultless. Lots of fun! My iwfe is a very good passenger. Only saw her grab the door handle a couple times, like doing 45 on a posted 10 mph corner (with absolutely no drama).

[montreal red]

i am going to be ordering an m3 when my lease is done in a couple of months and i am going for a manual ... i drive a step now ... but i drove my neighbours e46 m3 manual before and i love how you can rev the engine, do wheel spins and basically be a bad boy in a true manual car. plus, on the highway when i was driving the e46 m3, someone tried to "race" us so with a manual i could drop the 2 gears down right away instead of sequentially shifting.

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by montreal jet black

i am going to be ordering an m3 when my lease is done in a couple of months and i am going for a manual ... i drive a step now ... but i drove my neighbours e46 m3 manual before and i love how you can rev the engine, do wheel spins and basically be a bad boy in a true manual car. plus, on the highway when i was driving the e46 m3, someone tried to "race" us so with a manual i could drop the 2 gears down right away instead of sequentially shifting.

You are more in control. See a hot babe and put in the clutch for an instantaneous throttle blip! DCT is fine, I'm sure, but for $2.7k less I think I'd still take the manual, though I didn't have the choice when my order went in.

[gorun]

Originally Posted by montreal jet black

i am going to be ordering an m3 when my lease is done in a couple of months and i am going for a manual ... i drive a step now ... but i drove my neighbours e46 m3 manual before and i love how you can rev the engine, do wheel spins and basically be a bad boy in a true manual car. plus, on the highway when i was driving the e46 m3, someone tried to "race" us so with a manual i could drop the 2 gears down right away instead of sequentially shifting.

DCT would drop 4 gears before you've been able to say manual

[Davinhci]

6MT is the way to go

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by gorun

DCT would drop 4 gears before you've been able to say manual

If you need to drop 4 gears at once, that's poor planning and not good driving! Seriously, No one is questioning the superiority of DCT for ease and speed in most situations. That's the objective part. The subjective part is the feeling that the extra involvement of a manual give you. It's hard to describe. For most younger drivers it may be fruitless to try. For oldies, like me, it just feels better.

They're both good, just different strokes.

[MVF4Rrider]

If you really want control of the dynamics of driving, you'll want DCT. Having your left foot operate potentially two pedals and your right hand operate a stickshift (only) is just a less effective way of performing the same tasks. DCT gives you the ability to short shift in corners without upsetting car balance while hard on the throttle, downshift while hard braking, and it makes the car faster and gets better fuel economy comparatively. It's also a thousand times more fun than a manual, and it keeps your hands on the wheel and eyes and brain on the road. You'll be a better performance driver with DCT. But if you need your left foot to have something to do to equate to "driving" then my all means get the stick. I've got a 135i on the way with a 6MT and that's the only drepressing aspect of that purchase. But slushboxes are not for me either, so I was forced to spec the car with the stick but really wish it had a DCT gearbox. My M3 on order will have DCT. I wouldn't be buying the M3 if it didn't.

[!Xoible]

Originally Posted by malter2.0

if it doesn't have 3 pedals leave it to women.

u earn my vote

[gorun]

Originally Posted by MVF4Rrider

If you really want control of the dynamics of driving, you'll want DCT. Having your left foot operate potentially two pedals and your right hand operate a stickshift (only) is just a less effective way of performing the same tasks. DCT gives you the ability to short shift in corners without upsetting car balance while hard on the throttle, downshift while hard braking, and it makes the car faster and gets better fuel economy comparatively. It's also a thousand times more fun than a manual, and it keeps your hands on the wheel and eyes and brain on the road. You'll be a better performance driver with DCT. But if you need your left foot to have something to do to equate to "driving" then my all means get the stick. I've got a 135i on the way with a 6MT and that's the only drepressing aspect of that purchase. But slushboxes are not for me either, so I was forced to spec the car with the stick but really wish it had a DCT gearbox. My M3 on order will have DCT. I wouldn't be buying the M3 if it didn't.

and you earn mine

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by MVF4Rrider

It's also a thousand times more fun than a manual, ....

Only if you can't drive a manual well, IMO. Or, if you like the XBox/PlayStation version. Heat shields up!

[!Xoible]

how the heck is anything more fun than manual?? someone explain this to me!

[Davinhci]

Originally Posted by ///Mantis

how the heck is anything more fun than manual?? someone explain this to me!

nothing is more fun than a manual, and it comes standard. you have to pay extra for less fun with the DCT thing.

[oneginee]

Originally Posted by gorun

DCT would drop 4 gears before you've been able to say manual

actually... not so, the DCT gearbox need to wait for the throttle blip to match gearbox speed with engine speed. Change down a gear therefore takes 600ms. Changing down a few gears could be more complicated. The most complicated is from 6th to 2nd (both are controlled by the same clutch while the distance between the two gears is the longest). It needs to change to 5th (controlled by another clutch) temporarily before 2nd is selected. This takes 900ms. I think I can say "manual" under a sec.

like Greg said if you need to drop 4 gears at once that's poor driving. The DCT fully automatic mode is certainly a good option for those who need assistance shifting.

[gorun]

I love the fact that yanks discovered the manual gearbox two years ago and now you are all over it. Its my favorite! Oneginee, have you driven DCT or are you theorizing? Do you reckon you will be able to out shift it with a stick? Get real.

[oneginee]

Originally Posted by gorun

I love the fact that yanks discovered the manual gearbox two years ago and now you are all over it. Its my favorite! Oneginee, have you driven DCT or are you theorizing? Do you reckon you will be able to out shift it with a stick? Get real.

I haven't driven DCT only the manual and no I don't think I will be able to out shift the DCT. How fast the DCT shifts is not that important to me and if both trannies were priced the same I would still choose 6 MT all the way. Who's talking reality here not making a fabulated story (says manual in less than a sec )

[malter2.0]

Originally Posted by MVF4Rrider

If you really want control of the dynamics of driving, you'll want DCT. Having your left foot operate potentially two pedals and your right hand operate a stickshift (only) is just a less effective way of performing the same tasks. DCT gives you the ability to short shift in corners without upsetting car balance while hard on the throttle, downshift while hard braking, and it makes the car faster and gets better fuel economy comparatively. It's also a thousand times more fun than a manual, and it keeps your hands on the wheel and eyes and brain on the road. You'll be a better performance driver with DCT. But if you need your left foot to have something to do to equate to "driving" then my all means get the stick. I've got a 135i on the way with a 6MT and that's the only drepressing aspect of that purchase. But slushboxes are not for me either, so I was forced to spec the car with the stick but really wish it had a DCT gearbox. My M3 on order will have DCT. I wouldn't be buying the M3 if it didn't.

..on a more serious note..

Whether it is more fun than manual is beyond subjective.

I don't know how can you draw a conclusion that it will make you a better performance driver? That's like saying a person using a calculator to solve a math problem is a better mathematician than a person who is doing it by hand.
Or should I say going from calculus to algebra is a lot easier than vice versa?

If anything, a driver who is used to heel-toe while still focusing on car control will make an easier transition to single task-ness of DCT driving. By comparison, a driver used to DCT will be completely overwhelmed going back into the manual car.

DCT is great transmission and undoubtedly quicker shifting than manual, but there is much to be said what's proper for a car like M3.

[swamp2]

Originally Posted by gorun

I love the fact that yanks discovered the manual gearbox two years ago and now you are all over it. Its my favorite! Oneginee, have you driven DCT or are you theorizing? Do you reckon you will be able to out shift it with a stick? Get real.

+1. You have no idea how long various shifts will in take in the car. At least if you are going to speculate back it up.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, PLEASE, ALL.

1. DROP THE INSULTS TO FOLKS WHO PREFER THE OTHER TRANSMISSION. IT LITERALLY STARTS WARS AND WE HAVE BEEN DOWN THAT PATH.
2. READ THE MULTITUDE OF THREADS AND HUNDREDS OF POSTS ON THIS TOPIC BEFORE POSTING HERE. IT HAS ALL BEEN SAID.

/post

(and yes that was in all CAPS)