So to get back on point here it really come down to how efficient you are with your box. I personally prefer a more fancier box as my driving requires it. What I'm saying is with all do respect is if you only know how to shift from end to end, first gear to redline and then again into the next then yes a standard MT will enable you to get the confidence you're looking for. But lets say you know when and where to up/down shift to maximize your power band under load, cornering entry, exit and induce weight then maybe you should really consider a more fancy super sport like tranny. Of course with all this said it just good on paper and in theory, what matters is how well you can do it in the field. My confidence does not come from a stick with a Bad to the Bone skull on it; it comes from four round rubbery things we all call tires. Thanks for playing, I should've came up with some prizes.
But. Automated manuals still use the clutch. So it's not mechanically equal. Pull the lever in an automated manual, and it releases the clutch, engages the next gear, cuts the throttle to rev match, and re-engages the clutch. Whereas a sequential dog box just slams the next gear with a throttle cut. I remember someone talking about machining a gated shifter for a subaru......don't think anything ever came from it. But I have no idea when or where that discussion was... What's the big worry about not having the controls on the wheel? Now, like I said, I know paddle shifters are not allowed in Rally-America as it does not allow a mechanical linkage to the trans, but WRC cars have a sequential shifter mounted off to the side near the ebrake handle. First WRC 2012 in car video I found. Mads Ostberg in the snow:
Similar is more accurate than "same," yes. The thinking is, the human element will always be the bottleneck
I was looking at buying a bmw m3 smg with there paddle shift. after driving it, i have to say it was nice. what ever gear it was in it would stay in so when you rolled up to the let you had to shift it back down and you could bounce it off of the rev limiter. it was just like driving my wrx but without touching a stick or clutch. the down fall is it needs to by adjusted by a bmw machanic like ever year to make the tranny last. not sure the how true that was but it sounded like that is alot of extra cost. if i was drag racing a auto of some sort would be what i would run. everything else i will keep my manual
If you're planning on tracking the car hard or increasing the power significantly I'd recommend a conventional MT as it's more affordable to upgrade and maintain, but that's saying the gears and synchro's are up to the job. Owning a BMW is like experiencing the first phase of your marriage. Tracking it is like experiencing your marriage in divorce, everything you thought you had is now going to the real state. You'll have to be a true Bimmer to keep your marriage moving forward.
In reference to the original question, I suspect four paddles will be faster if you can keep them all in the water on each stroke.
Well that depends on if you're on a Filipino Outfitter or a White Water Raft. "Put your back into it!"
i think the problem is the oversimplification of the concept of the "Automatic Transmission" As have been mentioned, there's so many different ways that a automatically shifting transmission can get the job done nowadays, compared to 20 years ago when autos were all fluid controlled with minimal/no electronic control, and considerable drivetrain loss. The latest generations of performance transmissions are effectively a manual transmission, clutch and all, who's actions are controlled by a computer and a handful of servos. but even the better fluid based automatic transmissions do a better job than old, as the technology has come so far. I've driven more than a few auto trans cars agresivley at novice instructional events over the past few years, and honestly what usually pisses me off more than anything is the programming around the gearbox. as an example, a few years back i drove a friend's C32 AMG, and the gear box delivered power beautifly, shifted quickly and crisply both up and down, but it had a few hang ups. The biggest being that autox courses are basically designed around using 2nd gear, but there was one section that year it was clearly faster to bomb through the first slalom in 1st, and let it bang off the limiter for the quarter second before having to slam the brakes to enter the carousel. the minimal extra speed you could have gained in that quarter second was nothing compared to being able to exit the carousel and use all your power. Instead of letting me bang off the rev limiter, the transmission was always programmed to upshift, even in fully manual shifting mode, and there was no way to downshift again it would have upset the car through the whole element. i pulled that same manuver off probably 10 times that day, with various other student cars, and i think a dodge magnum auto would let me bang it and get through that section faster than a 50k+ german sports sedan. it's that kind of intrusive dictation that i think gives people who genuinely enjoy driving a terrible taste of automatic transmissions.
So what happens when you have a sloppy box like a wooden spoon in a clam chowder soup, on top of a spongy clutch that rides high and grabs very shallow? The reality is they do exist more often then you think. In some cases you can make enhancements and in others you're stuck. The one that bugs me the most is the clutch. I think by now the confidence has left the building lol
