# Steptronic foolproof?



## Waverz (Aug 11, 2002)

Stpuid me!  i forgot I was in second gear (in steptronic) and i was going on the highway and started to see the rpm climb, and stupid me again didn't realize something was wrong, and when i saw the rpm going just a bit above 6000 i let go of the gas (i know i should've eased off earlier  ) Is going above 6000 bad? I was in the red zone for about a second... but I read somewhere that steptronic was foolproof and before it does any damage it would shift up automatically?


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## KP (Apr 16, 2002)

Your redline should be 6500. You can't redline steptronics unless you're in neutral and rev it up beyond the redline. Even if your car was a manual, if you hit redline, it will just bounce off once you hit redline. You could do some damage in a manual car if you downshifted to a lower gear at a speed that's out of that gear's ratio. You don't need to worry about going to 6000. That's what it's made for. I redline my car everyday.


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## Bavarian (Jun 15, 2002)

Waverz said:


> Stpuid me!  i forgot I was in second gear (in steptronic) and i was going on the highway and started to see the rpm climb, and stupid me again didn't realize something was wrong, and when i saw the rpm going just a bit above 6000 i let go of the gas (i know i should've eased off earlier  ) Is going above 6000 bad? I was in the red zone for about a second... but I read somewhere that steptronic was foolproof and before it does any damage it would shift up automatically?


No damage done - I do that all the time on 1st gear. Steptronic doesn't allow you to make errors like overrevving the engine or underrevving it.


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## LeucX3 (Dec 26, 2001)

KP said:


> Your redline should be 6500. You can't redline steptronics unless you're in neutral and rev it up beyond the redline.


You sure can. I've redlined more than a few times when i am in Sport D mode.


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## Mysticblue325i (Oct 31, 2003)

Leuc330Ci said:


> You sure can. I've redlined more than a few times when i am in Sport D mode.


What are you talking about? The step automatically shifts for you if you forget.

Do you mean that when you finese the gas pedal just right you can get it a tick in the red before it auto shifts? -Thats the only way mine ever got in the red.

Maybe 330's are different or I could be missing something, I guess.

Paul


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## alee (Dec 19, 2001)

Leuc330Ci said:


> You sure can. I've redlined more than a few times when i am in Sport D mode.


The shift point on the steptronic is a hard coded value in the transmission software. So yes, you will "redline" with the stock software, but you will not bounce off the rev-limiter if you keep pushing it. The car will just shift.

If you get the Shark Injector, even though the rev-limiter/redline has been raised by 500 rpms, you will find that your car will still shift at 6500. So technically, the steptronic is not designed to shift at redline. It is designed to shift at 6500, regardless of the redline.

FWIW, this is something that they don't advertise with regards to the Shark.


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## Johnny_Hotcakes (Oct 4, 2003)

When I picked up my car, the dealer said that if you do go into manual mode with your car, that it will not automatically shift for you. He told me don't go into manual mode if you don't know how to shift. I've been in manual mode a couple of times put never tested if it would shift by itself, I usually shift myself.


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## Sicily1918 (Dec 12, 2003)

Worst thing that should happen is that you'll bounce around at about 6500rpm until you shift... although it _is_ supposed to shift for you.


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## Bavarian (Jun 15, 2002)

Johnny_Hotcakes said:


> When I picked up my car, the dealer said that if you do go into manual mode with your car, that it will not automatically shift for you. He told me don't go into manual mode if you don't know how to shift. I've been in manual mode a couple of times put never tested if it would shift by itself, I usually shift myself.


It DOES shift for you in manual mode. You can floor it on 1st, and it WILL shift to 2nd. Also, interestingly, if you're on 2nd, and going below 30km/h, if you press the gas pedal past the resistance point, it WILL shift down to 1st (just like it would in Drive mode).

Manual simply allows you to play around the RPMs, but it will still upshift for you, and it will also do the kickdown.


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## CWolfey (Apr 1, 2003)

Yep, almost every time I use Manual when I get to a light and it automatically downshifts to 1st or 2nd I forget to shift and it does it for me, I also hope no damage is done.


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## Bavarian (Jun 15, 2002)

There is no damage done when it downshifts for you, either. It will not allow the engine to "under-rev". Mine downshifts from 3rd to 2nd when I stop all the time. In fact, I have left the downshifting for the most part to the car!


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## CWolfey (Apr 1, 2003)

I mean I will be driving in Manual, stop at a light forget that I had been shifting manually and then forget to upshift from 2nd to 3rd when I take off again . I just cant get used to it for some reason, and I Drive a real manual often for work, I guess because I dont have to shift myself back into 1st I dont realize after cruising in 5th for a while that I am in Manual Mode.... so I hope making the tranny shift by almost redlining is not bad for engine/tranny


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## OrientBlau (Mar 21, 2004)

*1st or 2nd Gear to Start Driving in M-Mode?*

Hello Fellow Bimmer Enthusiasts.

I just joined this forum, and I am truly amazed in the
abundance that this forum has to offer.
I have a quick question regarding driving in the Manual Mode,
which is not covered in the manual.

I just purchased my 330i last Wednesday, and I am reluctant
to use the M-Mode more frequently than I should.
I noticed that after pushing the shift lever to the left, the 
transmission goes into Sport-mode. Then, pushing up
goes into 1st, and down goes into 2nd. I am not sure
which gear I should start in, for after coming to a stop
from 5th gear, the car automatically shifts to 2nd gear?
Does this mean that 2nd gear is the gear to start driving in?

Please advise.

Thank you.

Jon


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## alee (Dec 19, 2001)

OrientBlau said:


> Then, pushing up goes into 1st, and down goes into 2nd. I am not sure which gear I should start in, for after coming to a stop from 5th gear, the car automatically shifts to 2nd gear? Does this mean that 2nd gear is the gear to start driving in?


From a dead stop, either 1st gear or 2nd gear... the car won't let you start from a stop in 3rd gear... it will default to M2.

If you're in manual mode, the car defaults to M2 if you come to a dead stop. However, you can select M1 for more aggressive acceleration (same as you would in any car).

If you're in SD mode, the car will select 1st or 2nd gear depending on how much you depress the pedal. The transmission is adaptive as well... you will find if you drive aggressively, the car will hold gears longer before upshifting and downshift with less effort from the gas pedal. Drive it gingerly, and you'll find the shifts happen earlier on upshifts, and the car will not downshift without a generous application of gas.

However, you override ALL transmission logic if you plant your gas pedal all the way to the floor past the "kick-down" point (you will feel a little click in the pedal when you hit it). The car will downshift to the lowest gear possible (1st from a stop or rolling stop, 2nd or 3rd gear at speed) and will shift at 6500 rpms at every shift.

In short, the transmission is very smart... don't be afraid to experiment with it. It won't let you overrev and you can't screw up a shift.


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## Nick325xiT 5spd (Dec 24, 2001)

1-2-3-4-5

It puts itself in second because that's the highest gear it can comfortably start in. Just because it does something automatically, doesn't mean that's better. Or even good.


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## OrientBlau (Mar 21, 2004)

*Got it!*

Thank you for you helpful info and your prompt response.

Jon


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## OrientBlau (Mar 21, 2004)

*Is it bad to start in 2nd?*

For normal driving in M-mode, is it harmful for the engine
to start in 2nd? Because in a true manual car, I wouldn't
start driving in 2nd, but 1st. Does the same hold true
for this E46?

Thanks again.


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## alee (Dec 19, 2001)

OrientBlau said:


> For normal driving in M-mode, is it harmful for the engine to start in 2nd?


Nope. The car pulls quite strong in 2nd so you're not bogging the engine.


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## Nick325xiT 5spd (Dec 24, 2001)

One could make an argument that you're putting extra stress on the torque converter. OTOH, that's really not going to be your problem unless you plan on keeping the car for stupid amounts of time.


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## Bavarian (Jun 15, 2002)

alee said:


> Nope. The car pulls quite strong in 2nd so you're not bogging the engine.


The car pulls VERY strong on 2nd (especially the 330). In fact, unless the road is wet, I often prefer to launch the car in 2nd because under the initial acceleration from start, the wheels usually won't spin (unlike in 1st).


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