DCT Sequential or Drive mode for daily driving?

[Fugly M3]

I thought I'd be in auto for most of my traffic-laden commute, but I find I'm always in the gears. It's just better. For 5-20 mph morning traffic 2nd gear works remarkably well. Just kind of leave it there...it's actually easier than an auto because I don't have to do much braking...though the occasional emergency flashers are needed to alert idiots behind me as we now have whole generations that have no idea a car can slow without brakes and their accompanying lights.

[chicagoshark]

So I think I'm pretty good with paddle shifting... but today I had an opportunity to solo fake drag race a little bit out in the "country"... and I think if I'm trying to just get on it from a stop, the car does a better job then me in sport + and driving mode 3. I still love sequential mode for driving around, even on the expressway. But I was a little surprised at how great the auto mode shifted at my modified WOT. I still am pretty novice and can't really slam the gas all the way without loosing power/nannies coming on. I don't trust myself enough to turn them off or go to mdm, at least not yet. But anyway, it was fun

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by chicagoshark

So I think I'm pretty good with paddle shifting... but today I had an opportunity to solo fake drag race a little bit out in the "country"... and I think if I'm trying to just get on it from a stop, the car does a better job then me in sport + and driving mode 3. I still love sequential mode for driving around, even on the expressway. But I was a little surprised at how great the auto mode shifted at my modified WOT. I still am pretty novice and can't really slam the gas all the way without loosing power/nannies coming on. I don't trust myself enough to turn them off or go to mdm, at least not yet. But anyway, it was fun

At the Performance Center West in Thermal, CA if you do a PC "Experience" or M Track Days, or similar, one of the events is a drag race with various vehicles including the X5M. The advice is always to put it in Drive (auto), Sport+, DriveLogic 3, and then just mash the pedal and let the car shift itself. Strictly for straight line WOT acceleration, the vehicle will always shift at the optimal shift point. It's faster than trying to time the shift yourself, no matter how well you think you shift. This is one of the few instances where it's better to be in Auto mode and let the car shift itself.

[Dfields85]

I've had my car for about a month and haven't driven it in MDM mode. I'm still getting used to the car so have welcomed the extra help from traction control keeping it on the road.

Do any of you use it? How much "freedom" does it give you with the traction control?

[Fugly M3]

Originally Posted by Dfields85

I've had my car for about a month and haven't driven it in MDM mode. I'm still getting used to the car so have welcomed the extra help from traction control keeping it on the road.

Do any of you use it? How much "freedom" does it give you with the traction control?

Pretty much all weekend and whenever I'm not commuting I'm in my M2 button which is Sport Plus, Sport Plus, Sport, M3, MDM. Commute is Efficient, Comfort, Comfort, M2. If it's raining, which it rarely does in SoCal, I default to commute mode.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

I've driven all of my DCT cars in manual mode. Auto mode takes the fun out of driving, and it can't predict what's ahead of you. Better to downshiff before a hill then to come to it in 7th, strain the motor at 1200rpm, then have it downshift.

That's the exact opposite of my experience: between S55's flat torque curve and DCT's near-instant shifts, I NEVER want to manually shift gears, unless I'm bored.
DCT does a perfect job of selecting the gear at all times, and NEVER lugs or strains the engine.

The only time I shift manually is on track (where I want to know what gear I am in at all times), or when I'm feeling frisky, and flick gears to fun.

Originally Posted by Dfields85

I've had my car for about a month and haven't driven it in MDM mode. I'm still getting used to the car so have welcomed the extra help from traction control keeping it on the road.

Short answer - go try it, and see if you like it!

Originally Posted by Dfields85

Do any of you use it? How much "freedom" does it give you with the traction control?

Long answer - MDM is neither "here" nor "there": still way too restrictive, and tends to intervene when you don't expect.
I've toyed with coding Euro MDM, then stopped using it altogether. For me, it's unnecessary restrictive for track, and useless for street driving.

M2 button, and the cruise control button next to it, get pressed every time I get into the car (would be better if both were auto-defaulted-on, but not in a BMW). It's configured for default TC ON.
M1 button is configured for TC OFF, and used mostly on track/autoX courses.

Play around with yours, and see what works for you!

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[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by afadeev

...
DCT does a perfect job of selecting the gear at all times, and NEVER lugs or strains the engine.

Really? I tried Drive Mode (auto) when I first got the car to see what gear the DCT was going to select at any given speed. It was always 1 or 2 gears higher than I would have selected if I were driving a different car with a manual transmission or I shifting manually in Sequential Mode. It would be in 5th gear driving in my neighborhood at less than 30 MPH. It will lug all the way down to 1000 RPM or less before downshifting. It upshifts like it's trying to get to the highest gear possible as quickly as possible. I prefer to keep the car around ~2000 RPM in any gear. Different strokes I guess, but not a fun way to drive this car IMHO. You might as well be driving an actual Civic. Or maybe a Buick...

[shortseller]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

Really? I tried Drive Mode (auto) when I first got the car to see what gear the DCT was going to select at any given speed. It was always 1 or 2 gears higher than I would have selected if I were driving a different car with a manual transmission or I shifting manually in Sequential Mode. It would be in 5th gear driving in my neighborhood at less than 30 MPH. It will lug all the way down to 1000 RPM or less before downshifting. It upshifts like it's trying to get to the highest gear possible as quickly as possible. I prefer to keep the car around ~2000 RPM in any gear. Different strokes I guess, but not a fun way to drive this car IMHO. You might as well be driving an actual Civic. Or maybe a Buick...

It’s kinda Drive logic dependent don’t you think? Drive logic 2 seems about right to me when in auto mode. Setting 1 is ridiculous and seems to slip the clutch a bit too much. Setting 3 seems to want to take you to redline all the time when you hit hard on the gas but sure is fun when you have the room to run.