[noflash]

I don't think this has happened here yet, but it was a favorite at e46fanatics.

If you are not familiar with the term "money-shift":
Driving @ 80 mph, accidentally shifting into 2nd rather than 4th, over-revving the engine and throwing a rod == multi-thousand dollar fix, not covered under warranty.

I am pretty sure this hasn't happened to any e90post folks yet, but I almost did it the other night.

I always thought those e46fanatics that did it were nuts, but I think with six gears instead of five it might be easier to get mixed up.

I DID shift from 6th to 2nd on the interstate at 75mph or so, and started to let the clutch out, when I immediately started to feel that "lurch" that you get when you have downshifted too far. Thank god I immediately put the clutch back in and corrected to 4th. The revs didn't get close to redline on the tack, but I was a few inches away from letting the clutch all the way out.

I said, "Damn" <nervously>.

I just wanted to warn, especially since I had not heard the topic mentioned here yet.

[ben1364]

Just curious. Why did you feel the need to shift from 6th to 4th geat at 75 mph?

[Bimmerista]

Good warning.

I almost pulled a 5-4 instead of 6 - you really have to throw the shifter to the right (LHD) to get to six, otherwise the center spot leads to 4 and 3 and hell.

It is my first manual 6 speed, so I attributed my almost mistake to being a 6 speed rookie.

[petesamprs]

I thought our cars have a rev limiter installed to prevent this? And is 2nd gear hard to select when you're going too fast for it...like trying to get into first gear when you're going over 10mph?

[noflash]

Originally Posted by ben1364

Just curious. Why did you feel the need to shift from 6th to 4th geat at 75 mph?

It was a big interstate merger and I needed to get over three lanes of traffice quickly.

I see you have an automatic. With the manual downshifting: from 6th to 5th is a casual way to pass someone; from 6th to 4th gives you all the power you need to pass quickly. I suppose you could do this yourself in 'M' mode, but your automatic won't let you downshift if you will be over-reving.

There is no such protection with the manual (as far as I know, there isn't with the e46).

[obLu]

I thought our cars have a rev limiter installed to prevent this?

Clutch is a mechanical linkage between the tires and the crankshaft. Can't do anything to limit that except disengage the clutch.

[noflash]

Originally Posted by petesamprs

I thought our cars have a rev limiter installed to prevent this? And is 2nd gear hard to select when you're going too fast for it...like trying to get into first gear when you're going over 10mph?

The rev-limited prevents you from accelerating past redline. If you downshift yourself, no fuel-cutoff can save you from spinning the engine to 8000 rpms (as I understand it).

Yes, 2nd will be harder to shift into at high speed, but not hard enough!

[maq]

Originally Posted by Bimmerista

Good warning.

I almost pulled a 5-4 instead of 6 - you really have to throw the shifter to the right (LHD) to get to six, otherwise the center spot leads to 4 and 3 and hell.

It is my first manual 6 speed, so I attributed my almost mistake to being a 6 speed rookie.

Backhand the shifter knob and push away when you shift 4-5, 5-6 and 6-5.

As for 6-4, the technique is to let go of the shifter as soon as you get it out of 6th, it will center itself and you just pull it down. Do not pull the shifter toward you.

[lux.sh]

It'd be great if the gear box has ability to calculate the speed/RPM, and lock up certain lower gears that might damage the engine if mis-shifted. Say you redline 3rd, you obviously don't have to shift into 2nd or 1st, so 2nd and 1st locks up. I bet its not a difficult thing for car manufacturers to make something like that. I know the feature might intervene when you are @ track/autocross, so maybe a button to push(to activate/deactivate the lock-up feature) would be great.

If there is already system like this, ignore my comment.

[Bimmerista]

Originally Posted by maq

Backhand the shifter knob and push away when you shift 4-5, 5-6 and 6-5.

As for 6-4, the technique is to let go of the shifter as soon as you get it out of 6th, it will center itself and you just pull it down. Do not pull the shifter toward you.

Thanks

That is in fact what happened (accidentally) when I wanted to do 5-6, it slipped a little out of my hand and went to center and then I amlost put it in 4th.

I find the shifter slippery, by the way.

[lux.sh]

Originally Posted by maq

Do not pull the shifter toward you.

This is very true and I think its one of the main keypoint to avoid mis-shift.

When I first learned manual, I had habit of grabbing right side of the shift knob which under fast/hard shifting, it might cause you to pull the shifter towards you. I did 4-2 shift once when I first learned how to shift around(after redlining 3rd). 8000rpm to 12000 something RPM sounded awesome though, like a motorcycle. Car ran fine at the moment, but bent valves weren't pretty after I took the engine apart.

Learned my lesson the hard way.

[maq]

It seems some of you guys would find this helpful.

http://www.shortshifter.com/techniques2.htm

Do as it says and you will never misshift.

[lux.sh]

^ exact same article I read awhile ago AFTER I mis-shifted.

[Atty]

Originally Posted by maq

It seems some of you guys would find this helpful.

http://www.shortshifter.com/techniques2.htm

Do as it says and you will never misshift.

Interesting, thanks. This is my third stick shift and the gears are spaced closer together than ever before. Plus, you can't really hear the engine revs so sometime it does feel like a crapshoot.

[Xens]

Pffftt ~~~ money shift is overrated and overhyped!



















I was just talking out of my ass.

[zdognaylor]

I pulled a 3rd redline to 2nd shift in my prelude. Bent all eight exhaust valves which caused valve to drop in the number two cylinder. Cracked my piston, scarred my cylinder walls and cracked the cylinder head itself. Needless to say I had to get a new engine. Sucks but I won't miss a shift ever again.

[timzerofive]

How hard were you shifting that you can force the gear into 2nd from 6th. Do you know how hard it is to shift into first or 2nd when you're in 6th or 5th, or even 4th at that. I mean unless you're just outright using brute force to get the gear in, there shouldn't be a problem with "money shift". Mis-shift happens, rarely, but it happens. Mostly, instead of going from 5th to 6th, u get into 4th, or vice versa. Sometimes it occurs when you are going into 3rd from 4th and goes into 5th instead (again, vice versa). But usually when I feel that it takes more then the usual force to engage the gear, OR when you hear the grinding sound while trying to force the gear in, you back down. If you ignore both signs and force the gear in AND drop the clutch, then there might be a lot of other things you should be worried about also.

[noflash]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

It'd be great if the gear box has ability to calculate the speed/RPM, and lock up certain lower gears that might damage the engine if mis-shifted. Say you redline 3rd, you obviously don't have to shift into 2nd or 1st, so 2nd and 1st locks up. I bet its not a difficult thing for car manufacturers to make something like that. I know the feature might intervene when you are @ track/autocross, so maybe a button to push(to activate/deactivate the lock-up feature) would be great.

If there is already system like this, ignore my comment.

SMG!!

I just did the math and I have been driving a stick for 16 years. I feel old!! Although this is my 1st 6-speed, I have never done this before (knock on wood to kill jinx).

While I think I have excellent shifting skills, it's only been two months with 6 forward gears, so I will cut myself some slack.

Lastly, I KNOW it should've been hard to get it into 2nd at 75mph. It wasn't, I swear. Maybe the humidity, 2nd gear was at the right cog, my massive right arm muscle -- I don't know, it just went in and I didn't realize until I started to feel the car lurch.

Thank goodness I didn't my car...where's the hew: smiley?

[ward]

Originally Posted by timzerofive

How hard were you shifting that you can force the gear into 2nd from 6th. Do you know how hard it is to shift into first or 2nd when you're in 6th or 5th, or even 4th at that. I mean unless you're just outright using brute force to get the gear in, there shouldn't be a problem with "money shift".

there's no device to stop you from putting the car into second from sixth, if you have the clutch pushed in it's actually pretty easy to put it in whatever gear you want to at whatever speed you want to (except reverse, that has a lockout)

[ZenDriver]

Ahh, the Moneyshift...

The moneyshift started back in the E36 days. In fact, the first E36 in the country delivered to a civilian (a Dakar Yellow one to the SF Bay Area) was moneyshifted within the first week after delivery. BMW NA and BMW AG both flipped out at first until they found out it was driver error. Within the first 3 months, the number of blown E36 M3 motors at dealerships was astounding, and BMW flipped out because everyone who missed a shift and blew a motor would walk into the dealer and claim to never have done it. This prompted BMW to, in the midst of the shift to OBD II and from Bosch to Simmens electronics, install a telltale in the DME that flagged an "Over Rev Event" and logged measured RPMs.

I moneyshifted my '95 M3 on South Bound 280 @ the Sand Hill road exit sweeper (if you live in the peninsula area near San Francisco, you know this exit). I went to grab 3rd from 4th and I nailed first instead, popped the clutch out and Ka-fuckin-Boom. Years later, the oil/coolant slick from where I pulled over was still visible on my favorite cloverleaf.

The moneyshift is caused by driver error. Much the same way that people who have a negligent discharge with a firearm might blame other factors, a driver who stuffs the gear selector in the wrong slot and lets the clutch out has nobody to blame but himself. Just like with firearms, there ARE contributing factors- BMW uses relatively soft transmission mounts that will cause the shift fork to rotate slightly in the shift console and make you think you are in a different gear then you really are. In the end though, it is the responsibility of the driver to know what gear he/she is in. I've driven on lots of race tracks through plenty of sweepers since I made the moneyshift and I haven't had a problem figuring out which gear is which since.

Anyone who makes a moneyshift on a straight road in a car that shifts like a BMW is just a moron.

[spitfire6000]

this is why i drive a god damn 6 speed steptronic on my 325.

And how do u get road head if youre trying to drive manual?

Although i wont deny that manual trannies are fun (i drove a 528i stick in france for a few weeks) IMO manual is only for true sports cars that you drive around alone on tracks or on very long winding deserted twisties. An e90 and similar cars are just compact luxury sedans with a large dose of sporty injected into them. I would never get stick for a car like this....but an m3/m5/m6 is a different story.

I live in jersey and the traffic around here makes pretty much everyone opt for auto trannies...even on sports cars (which the 330 is definately NOT).

Only advice i can give is dont mess up like that next time

[db17k]

the money shift? sounds like some stunt in a porno