6MT - DOs and DON'Ts

[TwinTurboed]

So starting from my first car I always had a Manual and I am pretty decent now at rowing gears . Throughout these years I have heard several things from various people about the DOs and DON'Ts of driving a stick, some made sense, and some sounded idiotic.

Now, I want to hear from fellow 1addicts about the 1 series specific manual DOs and DON'Ts.

P.S. I am not talking about maintenance, just the proper way of driving a 1 series 6 MT or any MT for that matter.

[Stig4.0]

DO drive it like you stole it!
DON'T forget to remove the CDV!

[3002 tii]

Don't ride the clutch on a hill. Use the brake or parking brake. Plus BMW hill assist makes it even easier for n00bs (not calling you one).

Don't downshift to first unless you're coming to a complete stop.

Don't start in 2nd gear.

Don't coast in neutral to save gas.

Don't have to double clutch in these cars.

Don't engine brake more than you need to, brakes are replaceable and cheaper than motors.

Do rev match.

Do heel/toe.

[luvthestck]

Don't coast in neutral to save gas.Why??

Just wondering

[TwinTurboed]

That's the question I had. Say you are going 45, put the stick in neutral to coast and you have to accelerate so you go to 4th or 5th gear from neutral while doing 45. Why should you not do that? How does it affect the tranny and clutch?

[tuco44]

Originally Posted by luvthestck

Don't coast in neutral to save gas.Why??

Just wondering

My take on coasting in neutral is that you have less control over your car if you need to do something quickly (eg. change lanes). That is why I don't do it. Also, the gas saving is very small.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by luvthestck

Don't coast in neutral to save gas.Why??

Just wondering

Couple reasons, but for one it's actually illegal to coast in neutral downhill in some states. Two it's dangerous in that if you need to do any evasive maneuvering, your car won't be able to react quickly enough. Three, in terms of mpg you don't save anymore...

Coasting in neutral is no different than sitting at a light, you're still consuming gas. But if you leave the car in gear (and take the foot off the accelerator), the ecu will detect the engine rpm's are higer than idle so it will stop sending fuel. The difference in mpg should be negligible so all things being equal or nearly equal, why put yourself in a potential dangerous scenario?

[MightyMouseTech]

So.......basically.......drive it like any other manual tranny. LOL!

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by tuco44

My take on coasting in neutral is that you have less control over your car if you need to do something quickly (eg. change lanes). That is why I don't do it. Also, the gas saving is very small.

You are using MORE fuel by coasting in Neutral. Coast in gear and the injectors are completely off, coast in neutral is the same as sitting idle.

[ASPEC135i]

Coasting down a hill in neutral does NOT save gas. Leaving it in the perfect gear for rolling speed saves more gas. Why? The car already has momentum travelling down the hill, which in turn turns and runs the engine on momentum. If you were in neutral, the computer would actually slowly sip feed the engine gas to keep it running.

This is proven when you have instantaneous gas milege on display.

[Kouper]

Can someone who has done it elaborate on how much you really notice by drilling out/replacing the CDV in a 1er? I'm considering doing this, as I feel like the shifts aren't always as crisp as they could be -- is that the CDV I'm noticing?

I'd like to get a better sense of exactly how much difference I will notice. Any insight appreciated!

[P90Puma]

Originally Posted by 3002 Tii

Don't engine brake more than you need to, brakes are replaceable and cheaper than motors.

Engine braking is no load on the motor and you save gas...

[Johnny_M]

Originally Posted by Kouper

Can someone who has done it elaborate on how much you really notice by drilling out/replacing the CDV in a 1er? I'm considering doing this, as I feel like the shifts aren't always as crisp as they could be -- is that the CDV I'm noticing?

I'd like to get a better sense of exactly how much difference I will notice. Any insight appreciated!

A quick search resulted in these past threads:
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209440
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303131
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=473094
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=658076

I would not drill it, just buy a properly modified one from places like BMS for $20 - http://www.burgertuning.com/bmscdv.html - or delete it all together

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by P90Puma

Engine breaking is no load on the motor and you save gas...

Yeah, assuming you are properly warmed up I see no issue with engine braking. Also sounds good.

[TwinTurboed]

After coasting in neutral, wouldn't going into a high gear like 4th or 5th affect the transmission in a bad way? Also, how true is it that resting your hand on the shifter eventually damages the syncros?

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by P90Puma

Engine breaking is no load on the motor and you save gas...

Apparently your reading and spelling both suck. Breaking engines is never good

I didn't say don't do it, I said no more than you need to as in don't over do it by trying to shave off more speed than necessary or choosing too low of a gear. And +1 on the comment regarding warm motor if it wasn't obvious.

[JimD]

Having driven several manual transmission vehicles well over 100K miles, I am pretty sure engine braking is OK. If you downshift to high rpm unnecessarily it might be different. But the proper way to slow down with a manual is not to shift to neutral or ride the clutch. The proper way is to have the car in gear and let the engine help you slow down. The reason is is proper is partially the same reason not to coast in neutral. You need the ability to manuver if the situation changes.

I don't see the point of the CDV elimination. BMW put it there to reduce shock on the drivetrain. I can shift smoothly with it in place. So I leave it alone. If it bothers you, then by all means remove it but I am sure it is fully possible to shift quickly and smoothly with it in place.

I will add to the rules that your shift points should pretty much mimic an automatic transmission. If you are going along slowly with traffic, 2500 rpm or so is a decent point to shift to the next gear. If you are trying to move out as fast as possible, 6000 rpm may be very reasonable. Different degrees of acceleration would be inbetween. My wife was told by some know-nothing to shift at a constant rpm regardless of the circumstances. This is totally wrong.

Jim

[ejm3]

As a young'un I was always taught never to coast and that the car should always be in gear when it's in motion.

Not sure why but I think its good practice.

[rking117]

Originally Posted by tuco44

My take on coasting in neutral is that you have less control over your car if you need to do something quickly (eg. change lanes). That is why I don't do it. Also, the gas saving is very small.

I wouldnt say this really. I am very in tune with speed versus appropriate gear so even though I am coasting esentially in neutral it is faster for me to get the right gear and slam some rubber down if i need to get out of the way of someone. Otherwise you are downshifting and engine braking to accomodate.

I also dont think there is any harm in engine braking either. I wouldnt brake from 7K RPMs or anythng but a quick run up to 4K and then down to 2.3 or 3k is ok. There isnt really any addtional wear to speak of here. Keep in mind that most of your wear comes when you first crank your vehicle before the lubricants are crculating good. That is why is important to have the right kind of oil and also keeping it fresh as well as dotn get on a vehicle right after crankiing it. Besides if you are going to rev match then I certainly dont think of this any different.

(And if you do it right you dont need the clutch pressed in)

The best thing to do though to master engine and trans syncronization is to take a drivng class that explains how to as well as shows you how to do it and why it is done. By doing so you will become one with your vehicle when you sit behind the wheel

[bp-plickner]

Originally Posted by luvthestck

Don't coast in neutral to save gas.Why??

Just wondering

Transmissions usually keep the rear bearing lubracated by the motion of the gears. If you are coasting and the transmission is not turning the rear bearing is running without proper lubracation. If you do it enough you could lunch your tranny. Neil Young mentions in his autobiography how he ruined the tranny in his Hudson up in Ontario by tring to save gas by coasting.

[631twentyeighteye]

I heel-toe revmatch even when I'm daily driving. I engine brake almost always (usually 3k or less rpm) but not exclusively. I never go to 1st unless I come to a stop or traffic comes to a crawl(>5mph) and then speeds up again. I haven't had any clutch or tranny problems in 25k of my driving, with 50k on the car.

[631twentyeighteye]

I heel-toe revmatch even when I'm daily driving. I engine brake almost always (usually 3k or less rpm) but not exclusively. I never go to 1st unless I come to a stop or traffic comes to a crawl(>5mph) and then speeds up again. I haven't had any clutch or tranny problems in 25k of my driving, with 50k on the car.