CD Article: 2009 BMW 335d

[Demosthenes X]

vdk is right - the Euro M5 didn't get the manual.  The NA version didn't either at, first, but they added it for 2006.  And I suspect that's also the reason they had to leave out launch control and (according to Wikipedia) limit the revs with the manual...  that transmission was designed for the previous-gen M5, and was never intended to be used with the V10 in the newer one.  They only offered it because US customers demanded a proper manual...

[vdk]

Is it the M6 in Euroland that has launch control?  I remember reading a road test of either the M5 or M6 prior to the release in the US in which they said the stick has launch control yet they weren't sure if the launch control with manual would make it to the US....

nope.. no manual in the m6 either..




with 425 lb-ft on tap the tranny would need some heavy-duty clutch that would be a complete pain in the ass in stop and go traffic..

[rrocket]

with 425 lb-ft on tap the tranny would need some heavy-duty clutch that would be a complete pain in the ass in stop and go traffic..

Bah!!  BS!!  I drove a Supra with 750 HP with almost as much TQ and it was fine.  Mind you the clutch alone was $3500...but still.  It can be done.  It was an RPS Double Carbon clutch.

Go here and read the specs on their Double Carbons and Triple carbon clutches.

http://www.turboclutch.com/

[vdk]

doesn't the Carrera GT have a carbon clutch? $5k out the window if you miss a few shifts..

It can definitely be done but it's probably too much hassle for nothing. The 335d won't be a huge seller in Europe definitely, and even less so here.. so what's the point?

[rrocket]

It's really no big deal.  Vipers have that kind of torque......so if DCX can do it...anyone can....

GMs Z06 also....

[Just Bob]

Multiple reviews of the M3 (the top 3 Series) called the manual transmission "rubbery". 

Would you want a rubbery manual or a good auto??  Especially in the low rev diesel...which you'd be short shifting because of low RPM redline.

Manual every time.

[rrocket]

I'll take a good auto over a bad/rubbery manual.  Nothing worse than shifting a car with a stick that feel like a chicken leg...

[Just Bob]

I'll take a good auto over a bad/rubbery manual.  Nothing worse than shifting a car with a stick that feel like a chicken leg...

I know the M3 got some flak, but I doubt very much it feels like a chicken leg.

Personally I just get no driving satisfaction out of driving an auto, I don't feel fully in control.

[rrocket]

^^^^It depends on the auto I guess.

[vdk]

I'll take a good auto over a bad/rubbery manual.  Nothing worse than shifting a car with a stick that feel like a chicken leg...

  fried chicken...  ?

oh i just realized... you can get this baby chipped.. 

[rrocket]

Man...wait till Vishnu gets their hands on this.  They will ruin the tranny for sure!!   Chipped diesel?  600 TQ for a joke I bet...

[vdk]

 yup that's what i was thinking.. it'll rip the tranny to lil pieces.. 

[soj]

Slush box aside and doubts as to whether the AdBlue system will work @ -40, I have to wonder what BMW was smoking when they decided to drop a "premium" $50K diesel into the Canadian market.  No doubt the product pipeline is a long one and when the trigger was pulled on this one, spending money you didn't have still made sense.  In these times, however, I'd argue this car is going nowhere fast.  The 320d at under $30K would have been the vehicle for the times.  Even then, the new Golf TDI (when it comes) would still likely outsell it 30 : 1.

[Schmengie]

You've got to admire the engineering in this car, but urea-injection??  Go figure - a car that runs on HORSE ! 

[Honda Owner]

Hey, horse-pee is very useful stuff. Ever smoke? It is used to cure tobacco.

[Wolfe]

Hey, horse-pee is very useful stuff. Ever smoke? It is used to cure tobacco.

Well, in that case the cure is worse than the disease.

[lostcomma]

It's disappointing that this isnt offered in a manual. I understand why they only offer it in an auto box. It probably as much about marketing costs as much as torque. But buying a bmw with a auto is like winning all the ice cream you could eat in a lifetime but you can only get maple walnut. Bmw boxes are legendary in their smoothness.
As far as out of warranty work. Well after talking to a few mechanics you find out that the demographic of purchasers are more Image conscious than car savvy (gearheads). They dont spend money on maintenance so often the used market is fraught cars that are being disposed of because the mechanical issues are become too costly to repair.

[rrocket]

Bmw boxes are legendary in their smoothness.

I've heard the M3 box called "rubbery" more than once!!   


But beyond that...would it truly be like your regular BMW drive having to shift gears at 4,500 RPM??  Cause that's about where you'd be shifting....

[ovr50]

It's disappointing that this isnt offered in a manual. I understand why they only offer it in an auto box. It probably as much about marketing costs as much as torque. But buying a bmw with a auto is like winning all the ice cream you could eat in a lifetime but you can only get maple walnut. Bmw boxes are legendary in their smoothness.
As far as out of warranty work. Well after talking to a few mechanics you find out that the demographic of purchasers are more Image conscious than car savvy (gearheads). They dont spend money on maintenance so often the used market is fraught cars that are being disposed of because the mechanical issues are become too costly to repair.

After 11 BMWs with manny tranny, I have a Steptronic in my 535xi and I love it. It is a perfect mate for the TT N54 engine and I suspect a better match than the manual with that turboed engine. If I want it aggessive, I just dump it into DS (drive sport) and it holds the revs and snaps the shifts off so you really feel (and hear) them. Nothing at all wrong with the auto in this car.

And there are still some keeners left, not all BMW owners today are image conscious..!!