# Steering wheel w/ paddle shifters



## pauliewa (Jun 15, 2011)

So my m sport D somehow didn't come with the SW that has paddle shifters. Do you think this can be added by the dealer? Unfortunately I'm guessing if so it'd cost a bit more than the $100 when building the car initially...


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## SennaVProst (Apr 9, 2011)

Mine also did not come with paddle shifters ('11 M-Sport 4/1/11 manufacturing date) even though the dealer ordered them.


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## Pasa-d (May 7, 2011)

Shouldn't it be the dealer's responsibility to deliver the car you ordered? If they have to add the paddles, that's their problem.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

Pasa-d said:


> Shouldn't it be the dealer's responsibility to deliver the car you ordered? If they have to add the paddles, that's their problem.


I agree 100% with this although wonder how the counter argument is of you still bought it after looking it over.

Sent from my iPad Nano


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## 01Byte (Jun 22, 2003)

When you ordered the package, did you select the paddle option?


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## pauliewa (Jun 15, 2011)

Is it that BMW didn't fulfill the paddle shifter request or the dealer screwed up? As for mine, I think all NA dealers are selecting the ones they want from BMW in a draft of sorts right?


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## raq1025 (May 12, 2011)

For some unfathomable reason BMW does not offer paddles on the Diesel. Yes, I know it's available on the www.bmwusa.com "Build your Own" website. I had this argument with the Dealer when mine arrived. They showed me that in their ordering system it didn't allow them to build it with them. They tried to tell me that the transmission couldn't handle it. lol, I guess the switches in the shifter are HEAVY DUTY. :rofl:
They also showed me that they had refunded my $100. I came very close to walking away. It was bad enough I had to drive an automatic, but no paddles! lol
I figure I can always spend a fortune retrofitting the steering wheel off a 335i if I really have to have 'em.


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## BMW Power (Jul 25, 2007)

I have them on my m sport 335d


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## gasspasser (Nov 6, 2010)

I also have the paddle shifters on my m sport 335d and love them! If my order showed up with no paddle shifters I wouldn't have accepted the vehicle (just my opinion).


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## pauliewa (Jun 15, 2011)

I didn't order it specifically. I found an m sport without navigation (took.me forever) and pounced. I got a great deal (45,200) and pounced. What do y'all think it'd cost me to add it? If possible at all.

So jealous.


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## aljlin (Feb 11, 2011)

raq1025 said:


> For some unfathomable reason BMW does not offer paddles on the Diesel. Yes, I know it's available on the www.bmwusa.com "Build your Own" website. I had this argument with the Dealer when mine arrived. They showed me that in their ordering system it didn't allow them to build it with them. They tried to tell me that the transmission couldn't handle it. lol, I guess the switches in the shifter are HEAVY DUTY. :rofl:
> They also showed me that they had refunded my $100. I came very close to walking away. It was bad enough I had to drive an automatic, but no paddles! lol
> I figure I can always spend a fortune retrofitting the steering wheel off a 335i if I really have to have 'em.


My 2011 M-Sport has paddle shifters, and my friend's 2010 sport package has it. When they first configured my order, my CA did not include it and it wasn't completely intuitive to add it when he tried (I was on the phone as he was making the change), but after a few minutes he got the paddles added to the car, and sure enough the paddles are there on my car... Though I haven't used the paddle shifters all that much on the car lol.


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## raq1025 (May 12, 2011)

Holy crap! I'm pissed! lol, my dealer screwed me. Too late to do anything about it now.


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## sukutash (Nov 26, 2010)

*Sport steering wheel w/ shifters*

I've got a Sport package steering wheel with the paddle shifters for sale if anyone is interested. If your car did not come with the sport steering wheel, you will need to purchase the sport airbag and steering controls to complete the package. My items are in mint condition and were removed from my car with less than 2000 miles on the odo. Please contact me with any further inquires.


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## johntube (Sep 28, 2010)

When I purchased my D in Aug 2010, BMW said I HAD to purchase the paddle shifters for the extra $100, this was not an option. I wanted them anyway, great for downshifting and driving agressively ever so often...........


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## Jim E. (Apr 23, 2002)

pauliewa said:


> So my m sport D somehow didn't come with the SW that has paddle shifters. Do you think this can be added by the dealer? Unfortunately I'm guessing if so it'd cost a bit more than the $100 when building the car initially...


Don't be too upset because this is one of those options you will rarely use on the street.

If you planned to track your car then I'd say this is a serious problem because you most definitely need them if you want to get around quickly.


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## steveo90290 (Jun 24, 2008)

Bummer There is something to be said about bumping down to 3rd and barking the tires doing 35 up hill, dusting a squad of VW r32s. Pure fun


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## railroader (Apr 12, 2010)

I have the paddles on my 2010 d. I find that I do use them fairly often in normal street driving; mostly 
for "downshifting" as one might do with a manual transmission. Say, when coming off a high speed freeway
run into a snaking off ramp-- they work well for scrubbing off some speed with the engine before feeding 
in brake. The car seems to learn my driving style and now "allows" me to stay in the manual mode longer
when paddle-shifting, when early on it would quickly default to the "D" mode.

One little factoid I have learned that might be helpful for some of the owners who were expecting paddles--

Do you have the heated steering wheel option? My Center has told me that the heated steering wheel circuitry
and design do not allow the fitment of paddle shifters. But personally, I'd much rather have paddle shifters than 
a heated wheel, since I live in the hotter climes.

I have been using a 128i loaner this weekend while my d is in for a few minor tweaks-- and the little BMW's 
paddle shifters are the "one side up, other side down" type-- while on my car, either paddle can shift Up or Down.
Small thing, but significant nevertheless. And-- the d's paddles fall right to the finger span while on the 128i, I 
need to "reach in" to activate them. Sorry for long winded post-- thought it might be interesting for some.


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## autoJeff (Oct 1, 2009)

My 2009 with ZSP has paddles and heated wheel. 

I think the different paddle style is a change for 2011 model year.

There is a DIY that one can do to change behavior so that pulling the left paddle performs a down shift. I think I saw it on e90post back in 2009.


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## EYE4SPEED (Apr 19, 2010)

I would rather have the heated wheel, but I too have the paddles on my M-sport.


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## Addicted2Torque (Mar 3, 2010)

Interesting to hear, when I was ordering my car, I wanted the M-Sport (which was newly available then) but thought I could skip the paddle shifters since it was indicated as an additional $100 within the M-sport description. When I reviewed the order with my CA I noticed it was on there and he went into the computer and tried several times to remove it but couldn't-so it was assumed that while BMW showed it as an additional line item, it wasn't optional when ordering the M-Sport. Perhps they changed this at some point.

The funny thing is that while past cars that I had driven had me thinking that they were a waste, but like railroader above commented, I find that they work very well with the tranny to be useful in routine (if spirited) driving on the street. For those of you who don't have them however, I also find that putting the shifter into DS and bumping it forward or back like a WRC driver is another enjoyable way to control it!


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## GB (Apr 3, 2002)

Addicted2Torque said:


> ...For those of you who don't have them however, I also find that putting the shifter into DS and bumping it forward or back like a WRC driver is another enjoyable way to control it!


+ 1. And on a track I find the shift lever is a more intuitive and less error-prone shifting mechanism then the wheel paddles. Of course that's probably because I'm not accustomed to using paddle shifters but I don't think there's a compelling reason to have them other then personal preference.

Graham


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## pauliewa (Jun 15, 2011)

sukutash said:


> I've got a Sport package steering wheel with the paddle shifters for sale if anyone is interested. If your car did not come with the sport steering wheel, you will need to purchase the sport airbag and steering controls to complete the package. My items are in mint condition and were removed from my car with less than 2000 miles on the odo. Please contact me with any further inquires.


Kinda interested although my dealership claims that they were ordered for my car, yet BMW didn't outfit the car with them..I didn't order the car and was lucky enough to find the m.sport package on a non fully loaded d in Alpine white...

Do the guys here who have paddle shifters: do you notice the shifting to be any quicker with paddles as opposed to flicking the shifter + or -? It is it the same..

Sent from my ADR6400L using Bimmer App


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## autoJeff (Oct 1, 2009)

The transmission should shift with the same quickness whether paddles are used or the center gear selector lever is used. 


One can flick a paddle while the selector is in DS. This should be equivalent to flicking the selector to shift, except that you don't remove your hand from the wheel. After owning only manual transmission vehicles my entire life up until now, I have come to appreciate not removing my hands from the wheel when using the paddles. It's one benefit that helps offset the lack of a third peddle. 

Having paddles enables a behavior that is not possible without the paddles. I'll explain, after giving some background defining "adaptation".

A while back someone posted a link to a few-page PDF giving details on the ZF transmission. IIRC, it explains that there is a pair of shifting algorithms while in D mode. The choice of algorithm influences the RPM at which the transmission up shifts and down shifts, and how long the transmission holds a gear before shifting. Adaptation selects between the algorithms based on driving style. There is another pair of algorithms for DS mode, independently chosen based on driving style while in DS mode.

One can flick a paddle while the selector is in drive (D). The transmission will shift up or down and will remain in a temporary manual (M#) mode for a while. How long seems to be influenced by how aggressively the car is driven. Eventually the car decides that the burst of spirited driving is completed and automatically returns to drive (D), at which point a high gear (low RPM) is automatically reselected. This feature can be convenient during normal street driving.

If the driving style has been aggressive then shifting adaptation will be using an algorithm that holds a lower gear through turns. There is often no need to override the automatically selected gear if one wishes to maximize economy, or even push it a little, through turns. 

If DS is selected then the car often down shifts to an even lower gear (higher RPM) while braking prior to turn in. In fact, the car does great on a track, road course, when left in DS with no manual shifting. At the track, DS adapted for aggressive driving works better than I had anticipated. 

However, if driving style has been gentle, maximizing fuel economy, and in D, then shifting adaptation will be using an algorithm that holds a higher gear through turns. The diesel engine has so much torque at low RPM that one can lay into the gas peddle a bit and the car "just goes" without even downshifting. This works well in practice during normal street driving. It's actually one of the traits that makes the car feel so great as a daily driver. 

However, there are times when one wishes to rocket out of the turn with max acceleration. If in D and adapted for max economy, then a down shift will be incurred as throttle is greatly increased from apex to track out. This is one situation where the paddles are great. Approaching turn in, simply push the left paddle to force a down shift. The car will remain in the lower gear through the turn. Even through connected S curves as long as the straight between them is not too long. Now there is no down shift as throttle is heavily applied while exiting the turn. Eventually acceleration ends as a new cruising speed is reached. A short while later the transmission automatically returns to D and selects a high gear.

During this entire sequence the right hand is never removed from the wheel. In contrast to shifting with the gear selector, the car is able to automatically return to D. If the down shift was performed with the gear selector then it would end up in the left DS/M position, which means that M would be selected at the end of the sequence. To get back into D one would have to remove the right hand from the wheel and move the selector back to the right to reengage D.

The same principle applies when forcing a one-time up shift via paddle. I'll sometimes do this while in D (or DS) because the transmission delays the shift longer than I desire. That can happen when the engine and transmission are cold. It can also happen after a bout of spirited driving where adaptation is holding a higher gear and waits for a while before switching back to the more economy-focused algorithm.

In summary, I've convinced myself that the wonderful behavior of this automatic transmission, combined with having paddles and with how they are integrated into the system, helps to offset the lack of a traditional manual transmission. How much of this is truly dependent on the paddles I can't say. Maybe they are not really required.

I can say that I've driven a few non-BMW, lower performance, cars with automatic transmissions and paddles where I decided the paddles are not as useful as in my 335d. The implementation was not the same. Not as good. Or maybe its that I was less involved so I didn't really care. 

OP, do you require paddles? Only you can decide. Not everyone does. I hope that my words help you to make an informed and rational decision. Please do let us know what you decide. If you have them added I'd be interested in learning what is involved and how long it takes the mechanic to add them.


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## pauliewa (Jun 15, 2011)

Thank you for that write up, very helpful. Since it sounds like the shifting speed is identical between paddle shifters and standard shifting, I am inclined to leave the car as is. I too have had stick in all my cars before the d, so in that regard I want the closest thing to that. On the fence for now...

Sent from my ADR6400L using Bimmer App


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## Moxie (Jul 26, 2010)

I put the M3 wheel & paddles on our sport packaged 2010. Rarely use the paddles but the thicker wheel is nice. Just put the shifter to sport mode. Don't think this low revving engine is set up for the down shifts. Now the M3 is a different story completely


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## pauliewa (Jun 15, 2011)

I'm starting to think BMW agrees with you and that is why mine was ordered as an m sport with paddle shifters yet didn't come with them. You are right tho, it's not like you can rip through gears up to 7k rpm.


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## 3ismagic# (Mar 17, 2011)

sukutash said:


> you will need to purchase the *sport airbag*


:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Does it leave a ///M logo imprinted on your forehead? :rofl::rofl::rofl:


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## A8540TDI (Jan 2, 2011)

When I ordered my 2011 d, it was a $100 extra for the paddles and they were delivered as ordered with heated wheel too. With the M Sport package, the paddles were offered but heated wheel was not available. I chose the regular sport pkg. being afraid the low front spoiler would be easily damaged when "front in" parking.


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## pauliewa (Jun 15, 2011)

This is a bit strange though right? BMW fulfills some paddle shift orders, but not all.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

Jim E. said:


> Don't be too upset because this is one of those options you will rarely use on the street.
> 
> If you planned to track your car then I'd say this is a serious problem because you most definitely need them if you want to get around quickly.


I use my paddle shifters all the time in my daily commute. Mainly for downshifting. I love the handiness of them being right at my finger tips. If I only had tip-tronic on the shifter I doubt I would use that feature nearly as much. I like to keep two hands on the wheel most of the time.

I live in a flat area, if I were indeed in a mountainous area I would certainly like to have the stick shift but with the low range rpm on the D the auto with tiptronic and paddles works just fine!


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

How to triptronis on shifters differ from the +/- setup that the BMW has?


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## Fun MiLes (Jun 8, 2011)

I have a 335d in ED that I will pick up next Saturday in Munich. I am surprised nobody here has even mentioned that on the BMW site, when you go to build my own, under option, if you let the mouse hover over the paddle shifter option, a box appears with a text in black and one below it in grey. The text in grey says: 


> This option is automatically added if the vehicle is equipped with both the Sport Package and an automatic transmission


I discovered this because I specifically told my dealer I wanted the paddle shifter and he told me that the car would come with it because I have the Sport Package. I was dubious until I found that little text in the box.

Now when I open "Track My BMW" it does have listed:



> Sport Package
> Shadowline exterior trim
> Sport seats
> Sports leather steering wheel
> ...


Let me tell you I will be pissed if on Saturday I cannot play with paddles! :rofl:

I will print out that screen just in case...


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

Snipe656 said:


> How to triptronis on shifters differ from the +/- setup that the BMW has?


Is this addressed to me Snipe?

With the paddles you can keep both hands on the wheel, at the shifter you have to take your hand of the wheel and tap the shifter lever up or down.

But then you must know that?


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

Flyingman said:


> Is this addressed to me Snipe?
> 
> With the paddles you can keep both hands on the wheel, at the shifter you have to take your hand of the wheel and tap the shifter lever up or down.
> 
> But then you must know that?


Yes it was addressed to you but reading back I see that I misunderstood what you originally said.


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## Fun MiLes (Jun 8, 2011)

I picked my car up in Munich and am pissed off! The paddle shifters were not installed.
Worse, the delivery specialist saw that it does say "Sports leather steering wheel with paddle shifters" and that the web site says that it should automatically be selected when a car with automatic gets a sport package, he said to contact my dealer ASAP. I did and the answer was that the paddle shift cannot be added after the car was built. Is that correct or misinformed?


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## 3ismagic# (Mar 17, 2011)

That sucks!
Are they listed on your purchase order? From what the delivery specialist said it sounds like it. If so, then you paid for them and you should raise a stink to get them. Either the CA, BMWNA, or the factory screwed up. The PO can help determine which it was. Unfortunately, if they were not on the PO and you OKd it then it might be hard to get it corrected.

I came across this thread when I was thinking of making the switch to the d and made sure that the paddles were listed on my PO. If I pick up my car on the 26th and they are not there I will be uber-pissed. Hopefully this can get fixed for you. Try to enjoy the rest of your ED in the mean time. Give us an update when you know more.


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## Iahcon (Jul 8, 2011)

pauliewa said:


> You are right tho, it's not like you can rip through gears up to 7k rpm.


I'm having the same thoughts as this. I certainly have given my share of transmission workouts on gas engines, but how does this work for a diesel? Where are the optimum shift points when driving aggressively? Is it the same as for a gasoline powered motor? Do you simply follow the torque and HP graphs similarly? It's gotta be different I'm sure. I've been searching for info on the net with little results. Any pointers out there?


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## 2004M3JMF (Oct 12, 2011)

@autojeff

I agree w u it has taken me awhile to get used to paddle shifting with my M3 but in conjunction with gear shifting manually I've accustomed myself with both when the opportunities arise.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

It's the same goal regardless of engine so don't see why you would not apply the same overall solutions.


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## floydarogers (Oct 11, 2010)

Iahcon said:


> I'm having the same thoughts as this. I certainly have given my share of transmission workouts on gas engines, but how does this work for a diesel? Where are the optimum shift points when driving aggressively? Is it the same as for a gasoline powered motor? Do you simply follow the torque and HP graphs similarly? It's gotta be different I'm sure. I've been searching for info on the net with little results. Any pointers out there?


Shift points in the diesel are around 4500 rpm. The final drive ratio is quite a bit lower, so the shifting takes place at mph only a bit lower than 328i/335i; however there is a shift to 3rd for the 0-60 sprint which is the main cause of that metric being slower than the 335i.


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## pilot1981 (Mar 29, 2014)

Hi,
if someone start from steering wheel without paddle I done this video:

https://youtu.be/nmGO67MsmQM


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## BB_cuda (Nov 8, 2011)

Yozh over on e90post dot com has written a thread to install a steering wheel with paddles. He says that you need an extra 4 conductor cable (or was it 6?) added in to connect the paddles electrically. I have m-sport and it was definately an extra $100 add on beyond the pricey m-sport package. The paddles can definately be added on.


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