M5 owners - curious - 6 speed v. SMG

1974 Views 14 Replies 9 Participants Last post by KevinM, Jul 14, 2005

stominovich

Discussion Starter · Jul 12, 2005

Humor me. I cannot not decide between SMG and the supposed 6 speed that will be offered in the United States. I am 3rd on the list at large dealer and would imagine I will have the opportunity to order sometime in the next several months.

I am curious after some of you have had the car for awhile - would you prefer a manual? Do you believe the ///M5 will be "less of a car" with a traditional manual? I mean - is part of the allure of the car the 7 speed SMG? Is it part of the car's "character". I so fearful of making the wrong transmission choice. ouich

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vndkshn

· #2 · Jul 12, 2005 (Edited)

Ever thought of searching? There have been countless threads on this already, one just last week.

Next... the HP v. torque debate....

stominovich

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 12, 2005

Go the Mercedes Board - grouch

:happybirt

AJ

· #4 · Jul 12, 2005

vndkshn said:
Next... the HP v. torque debate....

i am ready

btw, i drove the cl65 yesterday. thats one evil sofa :wroom: if the world of driving was made of 100+ rollons on the highway- that would be my stock weapon of choice...

alex
few cars

vndkshn

· #5 · Jul 12, 2005

AJ said:
i am ready

Its almost tempting to beat the hornets' nest and get one going... those can turn into great fun, and much less dependant on personal opinion.. unlike the SMG v. manual debates...

stominovich

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 12, 2005

FYI - there is Silverstone ///M5 in Northern Virginia

Two people I trust have said they have seen it. Maybe a distributors car...

Where are you ordering your ///M5 from?:typing:

vndkshn

· #7 · Jul 12, 2005

Re: FYI - there is Silverstone ///M5 in Northern Virginia

I was ordering from VOB until I decided I can't live with SMG. SO... I ordered a M3 with the competition package instead, I'll just wait until the manual arrives.

Where did they see it?

MEnthusiast

· #8 · Jul 12, 2005

I vote for torque, no hp, no torque. OK- I vote for max power to the rear wheels- you call it what you want

BmwNut

· #9 · Jul 13, 2005 (Edited)

SMG is worse than anything. And if being a Nazi is wrong, I dont wanna be right! Oh wait, those were all from last weeks debate. I'll have to come up with some new material. hiha
Since this thread is all but dead, I'll go a little OT. Sometimes I forget that it is rather nice to post on a board with people who know what they are talking about for the most part. Some errors are always made (myself included), but there are some real winners out there on other webboards. For instance my bud posts on a poker forum, and there is a thread on how stick drivers are better drivers than automatic drivers. People went on and on about how stick drivers pay more attention, have learned more etc, which is a fallacy at best. My bud went on to explain how to downshift a stick, and all the other errors most stick drivers make, and then people came back with the worst driving habits ever! People posted how they pop their cars into neutral without using the clutch (not too bad of a habit), slow down with the brakes, and then plop it back into gear when they want to reaccelerate. Hmm, that doesnt sound too good in my book. Not even to mention most people thought that heel and toeing meant you were slowing down through the action of downshifting, not just downshifting to be ready for corner exit.
So, how about we do some Coffee Talk with Linda Richman (IIRC). Stick drivers are better than automatic drivers. Discuss. :haha:
:cheers:

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Zenith

· #10 · Jul 13, 2005

I've never been much of a stick driver myself - prefered the ease of Automatic type cars. There after a days work I feel like doing a lot of nothing - slip it into auto, and let the car decide. Not to mention the fact that when you're talking on the 'phone, it makes life a whole lot easier if you can just let the car do all the thinking for you.

That being said, I love SMG style shifting - gives the ability to tell the car what to do, just like in a manual, but much faster.

Just a personal preference mind.

As for Auto vs Manual drivers - much of a muchness really. Fact is, most manual drivers probably drive a manual cause they can't afford an auto, or they're driving a "trade" vehicle of some sort. Remember, this is a GROSS generalisation here, over the entire public spectrum. With that in mind, I'd say AUTO drivers are probably more careful, at the very least.

Digi

· #11 · Jul 13, 2005

Maybe a manual 6 speed with fixed paddle shifters on the steering wheel -- Best of both worlds. ??????

vndkshn

· #12 · Jul 13, 2005

Zenith said:
As for Auto vs Manual drivers - much of a muchness really. Fact is, most manual drivers probably drive a manual cause they can't afford an auto, or they're driving a "trade" vehicle of some sort. Remember, this is a GROSS generalisation here, over the entire public spectrum. With that in mind, I'd say AUTO drivers are probably more careful, at the very least.

Glad that you qualified that statement, pointing out it was a gross generalization, I was about to get the rant coat on! I only own one auto, and it is a truck, all of my others are manuals, and it definitely isn't because I can't afford the auto. In fact, now that I think about it, the vast majority of manual drivers I know (of all income levels) drive manuals because they want to drive manuals....

And I would definitely not agree that auto drivers are more careful. From my commute this morning, I saw the following:
1.) A E class MB driver putting on her makeup.
2.) A SUV driver reading the paper.
3.) Some generic car owner eating, drinking, AND talking on the phone!
4.) A Subaru driver reading a book.

One common feature of all of the cars involved? Automatic trans. I think that autos actually allow people to pay LESS attention to the road and the actual driving.

M5_2010

· #13 · Jul 13, 2005

I vote for 6 speed manual and higher torque. To me torque is more fun than HP.

KevinM

· #14 · Jul 13, 2005 (Edited)

What the hell, since this thread is all over the map, I'll add my opinion of... something.

It is interesting (to me only I'm sure) that the reason I started buying BMWs is because they were the only company to offer the kind of car I wanted (mid-size sedan, read 5-series) with a manual transmission. This was back in 1998 and at that time I associated BMWs with status seekers, etc. (unfairly, of course!). Because I wanted a manual transmssion, I test drove a 528 sport, was hooked, and have never looked back.

Now I don't have enough experience with SMGs to know if one would satisfy me, but I'm certainly glad that BMW is offering a choice (at least in NA).

In terms of automatic drivers vs. manual transmission drivers, I don't think the transmission matters nearly as much as the driver. However, I think the temptation to do more extra things while driving is greater in an automatic because your hands are not as busy. In my M5 I never use the cell phone or drink/eat. In my wife's Merc, if the cell phone rings I will answer it (still don't eat/drink!).

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KevinM

· #15 · Jul 14, 2005 (Edited)

somehow got duplicated...

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