OK since there's an abundance of new members who cannot be bothered to read their manuals or search the forum properly I decided to put together another one of my famous photo-guides to settings up Launch Control. I have even gone to the effort of creating a downloadable PDF for you to save and print.
Launch Control Instructions
Large Version (3MB - high quality photos)
Launch Control Instructions
Small Version (250k - low quality photos)
-----------------
[WARNING - the car keeps a count of the number of times you have performed Launch Control and this information is accessible by the dealer, so if you suddenly need a new clutch after a 2000 miles and your LC count is on 50 there may be warranty problems]
If you are in D1 you need to push the gear lever to the right to switch from Automatic “D” mode to manual “S” mode.
![Image]()
You should now be in S mode and the display should be showing a large number 1. Press the gear select button
![Image]()
to select S5 as shown in the image below:
![Image]()
You now need to switch from 400bhp mode to 500bhp mode by pressing the Power Button
![Image]()
The power button light should now be illuminated.
![Image]()
Next you need to disable traction control (DSC) by pressing the DSC button.
![Image]()
You will be presented with a warning on the dash to indicate that the DSC is now switched OFF.
![Image]()
Once you have disabled DSC you will notice that a 6th gear change speed settings now appears on the dash as a selectable option.
![Image]()
Press the up side of the gear selection button to switch from S5 to the newly available S6.
![Image]()
Your dash should now look like this, with a warning for DSC off (the small exclamation mark “!”) and you should be in 1st gear in S6 (count the little volume bars...1..2..3..4..5..6!!)
Make sure you are in S6 otherwise Launch Control will not work.
![Image]()
That’s pretty much all you need to do at this stage.
Personally I like to put the Electronic Dampening Control on hardest setting but some people debate whether its better to have EDC set to comfort to allow the car’s weight to shift towards the rear hence giving more down force over the back wheels which will be fighting for grip.
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
OK you need to find yourself a clear stretch of tarmac.
DO NOT DO THIS ON PUBLIC ROADS!!!
When you are ready bring the car to a complete stop.
Grab the gear level firmly with one hand and the steering wheel with the other.
![Image]()
With your foot on the brake, press and hold the gear lever forwards.
![Image]()
![Image]()
That has now engaged launch control.....
Whilst keeping the gear lever pressed forwards, take your foot off the brake and press the accelerator (gas) pedal to the floor.
If you done everything correctly your revs should start to rise but you shouldn’t move anywhere. If the car engages the clutch and begins moving forwards you’ve gone wrong somewhere.
NOTE:
You must press the pedal down all the way! You can see in the two lower images alongside, if you think you’ve pressed the pedal all the way down you should feel a “click”. If you’ve not felt the “click” press a little harder until you feel it.
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
If you have a USA spec’d M5 I’m afraid you have a “crippled” version of launch control and the revs will only rise to and should sit on 1500rpm.
![Image]()
For the rest of the world, the revs will rise to 4000 and sit there waiting....
![Image]()
READY TO LAUNCH..!!!
RELEASE THE GEAR LEVER!!!
...we have lift off!
USA - you need to change gear manually at the redline [some have suggested pushing the gear lever to the right immediately after launching to switch to D mode to make the car change for you but other's report back it will over-ride this and switch you back to S mode]
UK & others - keep your foot planted, launch control will take care of perfect shifts for you at the redline.
NOTE for non-USA models:
The revs for launch control default to 4000rpm, if you want to higher or lower the launch rpm (wet tarmac, experiments, etc) you can press forwards or backwards on the cruise control level and the rpm will rise of fall by a few hundred each time.
![Image]()
Form memory I think you can choose between 3000rpm and 5000rpm.
That is all you need to know about Launch Control on the BMW M5 and BMW M6 with SMG.
The Easier Way
Now for those who think all that all seems to complicated or time consuming, keep reading. If you want to access Launch Control in a hurry then you can preset all the settings above to your magical M-button on the steering wheel, here’s what you need to do:
On the iDrive home page press the controller down to select the information sections “i”.
![Image]()
Along the top you will see a section called MDrive. If this option is not available it might be because you need the ignition in stage II or alternatively the engine on.
Select MDrive and then click.
![Image]()
Now move the iDrive controller to select the DSC setting first.
![Image]()
Once you click on DSC you are present with a sub menu asking you to select:
Unchanged
Off (you want this one)
On
M Dynamic mode.
You want to select OFF.
![Image]()
![Image]()
Next you want to move the iDrive controller to select SMG Drivelogic mode.
In here you can select “D” or “S” mode along with gear change speed:
“1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6”
Option 6 may be grayed out and unavailable until you’ve set the DSC setting to OFF.
You want to select S - 6 in here.
![Image]()
You can also select the EDC settings for the suspension to your preference, you have a few choices:
Unchanged
Comfort
Normal
Sport
I personally choose Sport for the hardest ride.
![Image]()
You can now exit the iDrive settings menu.
To start launch control now is a 4 step process:
![Image]()
Click here for gallery of all the images.
Here's the result of Euro LC:
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Launch Control Instructions
Large Version (3MB - high quality photos)
Launch Control Instructions
Small Version (250k - low quality photos)
-----------------
[WARNING - the car keeps a count of the number of times you have performed Launch Control and this information is accessible by the dealer, so if you suddenly need a new clutch after a 2000 miles and your LC count is on 50 there may be warranty problems]
If you are in D1 you need to push the gear lever to the right to switch from Automatic “D” mode to manual “S” mode.
You should now be in S mode and the display should be showing a large number 1. Press the gear select button
to select S5 as shown in the image below:
You now need to switch from 400bhp mode to 500bhp mode by pressing the Power Button
The power button light should now be illuminated.
Next you need to disable traction control (DSC) by pressing the DSC button.
You will be presented with a warning on the dash to indicate that the DSC is now switched OFF.
Once you have disabled DSC you will notice that a 6th gear change speed settings now appears on the dash as a selectable option.
Press the up side of the gear selection button to switch from S5 to the newly available S6.
Your dash should now look like this, with a warning for DSC off (the small exclamation mark “!”) and you should be in 1st gear in S6 (count the little volume bars...1..2..3..4..5..6!!)
Make sure you are in S6 otherwise Launch Control will not work.
That’s pretty much all you need to do at this stage.
Personally I like to put the Electronic Dampening Control on hardest setting but some people debate whether its better to have EDC set to comfort to allow the car’s weight to shift towards the rear hence giving more down force over the back wheels which will be fighting for grip.
- no lights = comfort / soft
- 1 light = normal / firm
- 2 lights = sport / hard
OK you need to find yourself a clear stretch of tarmac.
DO NOT DO THIS ON PUBLIC ROADS!!!
When you are ready bring the car to a complete stop.
Grab the gear level firmly with one hand and the steering wheel with the other.
With your foot on the brake, press and hold the gear lever forwards.
That has now engaged launch control.....
Whilst keeping the gear lever pressed forwards, take your foot off the brake and press the accelerator (gas) pedal to the floor.
If you done everything correctly your revs should start to rise but you shouldn’t move anywhere. If the car engages the clutch and begins moving forwards you’ve gone wrong somewhere.
NOTE:
You must press the pedal down all the way! You can see in the two lower images alongside, if you think you’ve pressed the pedal all the way down you should feel a “click”. If you’ve not felt the “click” press a little harder until you feel it.
If you have a USA spec’d M5 I’m afraid you have a “crippled” version of launch control and the revs will only rise to and should sit on 1500rpm.
For the rest of the world, the revs will rise to 4000 and sit there waiting....
READY TO LAUNCH..!!!
RELEASE THE GEAR LEVER!!!
...we have lift off!
USA - you need to change gear manually at the redline [some have suggested pushing the gear lever to the right immediately after launching to switch to D mode to make the car change for you but other's report back it will over-ride this and switch you back to S mode]
UK & others - keep your foot planted, launch control will take care of perfect shifts for you at the redline.
NOTE for non-USA models:
The revs for launch control default to 4000rpm, if you want to higher or lower the launch rpm (wet tarmac, experiments, etc) you can press forwards or backwards on the cruise control level and the rpm will rise of fall by a few hundred each time.
Form memory I think you can choose between 3000rpm and 5000rpm.
That is all you need to know about Launch Control on the BMW M5 and BMW M6 with SMG.
The Easier Way
Now for those who think all that all seems to complicated or time consuming, keep reading. If you want to access Launch Control in a hurry then you can preset all the settings above to your magical M-button on the steering wheel, here’s what you need to do:
On the iDrive home page press the controller down to select the information sections “i”.
Along the top you will see a section called MDrive. If this option is not available it might be because you need the ignition in stage II or alternatively the engine on.
Select MDrive and then click.
Now move the iDrive controller to select the DSC setting first.
Once you click on DSC you are present with a sub menu asking you to select:
Unchanged
Off (you want this one)
On
M Dynamic mode.
You want to select OFF.
Next you want to move the iDrive controller to select SMG Drivelogic mode.
In here you can select “D” or “S” mode along with gear change speed:
“1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6”
Option 6 may be grayed out and unavailable until you’ve set the DSC setting to OFF.
You want to select S - 6 in here.
You can also select the EDC settings for the suspension to your preference, you have a few choices:
Unchanged
Comfort
Normal
Sport
I personally choose Sport for the hardest ride.
You can now exit the iDrive settings menu.
To start launch control now is a 4 step process:
- Press M-button on wheel
- Hold gear lever forward
- Bury throttle
- Release gear lever.
Click here for gallery of all the images.
Here's the result of Euro LC:
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