Suggestions for improvements to the M3/M4

[M3 Esq]

Originally Posted by rubber_ducky

It'd be nice to have more a-la carte vs. packaged options as well.

And a non-metallic red and non-metallic black. (Neither of which I would buy (well maybe red considering the other color choices), but these colors should be a given)

Agreed. Jet black should be a no cost option along with AW. Carbon black or Jerez black would be good to (actually my favorite color for E46 and E9x M3s). I'm not a fan of BSM for this car. It's too common and can be had on too many models.

[SteveSpy]

Originally Posted by karussell

a button that turns on and off the damn throttle blip would be perfect. i hope i can code it off permanently. i never thought some would want to have it on in sport+. makes sense to me if bmw has it on the car different users might want to use it. but anyone that doesn't want to learn to heel-toe themselves but wants a manual??? common guys! trust me you will appreciate the car more! and its easy to practice all the time. no need to speed to practice it.

It's funny because I've never heel-toed on any of my manual transmission automobiles during down shifting, what's the point?

[SteveSpy]

Can somebody please explain what blipping is?

[ersin]

Originally Posted by sspyrops

Can somebody please explain what blipping is?

The burst of rpm you give the engine (the blip of the throttle) during double clutching. Or in this case, the revving of the engine to match the car speed in the next gear being selected.


Cheers.

[EYEHAVEYOU]

Originally Posted by sspyrops

It's funny because I've never heel-toed on any of my manual transmission automobiles during down shifting, what's the point?

When you downshift a gear, the engine will be spinning at a higher RPM than it was previously - you need to blip the throttle (give it a little gas) to match the RPM that the engine will be spinning at in the lower gear. When you depress the clutch pedal the revs drop to idle, so this is necessary.

If you don't do this, the downshift will be very jerky/uncomfortable. Of course you can do this without heel-toeing, it's just slower and you have to remove your foot from the brake; the benefits of heel-toeing are that you can continue braking while downshifting, and a perfectly executed heel-toe downshift just feels downright awesome. Either you've been blipping all along or you've been making some terrible downshifts and probably screwing up your syncros in the process.

[SteveSpy]

Originally Posted by EYEHAVEYOU

When you downshift a gear, the engine will be spinning at a higher RPM than it was previously - you need to blip the throttle (give it a little gas) to match the RPM that the engine will be spinning at in the lower gear. When you depress the clutch pedal the revs drop to idle, so this is necessary.

If you don't do this, the downshift will be very jerky/uncomfortable. Of course you can do this without heel-toeing, it's just slower and you have to remove your foot from the brake; the benefits of heel-toeing are that you can continue braking while downshifting, and a perfectly executed heel-toe downshift just feels downright awesome. Either you've been blipping all along or you've been making some terrible downshifts and probably screwing up your syncros in the process.

Never needed it. I like the sudden jerk when downshifting it feels natural to me. Now as for the new M4, if it wants to do that fancy rev matching for me and make it so that the car doesn't jerk that's fine, I can live with that.

[ersin]

Originally Posted by sspyrops

... if it wants to do that fancy rev matching for me and make it so that the car doesn't jerk that's fine, I can live with that.

I'm reserving my judgement until I drive one. I still would like the ability to turn it on and off at will without changing throttle modes. Even if they did it the C7 Corvette way -- with steering wheel paddles.


Cheers.

[M3 Esq]

Originally Posted by sspyrops

Never needed it. I like the sudden jerk when downshifting it feels natural to me. Now as for the new M4, if it wants to do that fancy rev matching for me and make it so that the car doesn't jerk that's fine, I can live with that.

It's more applicable driving at speed. If you enter a corner at say 70 mph and execute a downshift without matching the revs, that "sudden jerk" you feel will upset the car and cause you to be slow, or worse, have a shunt of some sort.

[W Cole]

I do not own one (yet) but I was able to test drive:

Honestly when I test drove one I was a bit disappointed but it would be hard for me not to be since I am so obsessed with these cars and have such high expectations. It seems M can never get the power plant quite right compared to competitors such as AMG or even Ford with the v8 in the mustang. The e9x v8 was amazing but suffered from a serious lack of torque, if it only had a bit more it would not have been such an issue. And now the turbos in the f8x..

1.) The DCT paddles and shifter feel very cheap and plasticy when used. This is one of the reasons I hated the generation of 997 PDKs with push button shifting - it was like playing mario kart vs. shifting a "race car." This has made me think about going with the manual.

2.) I was told the turbo pre-tensioning is linked to the throttle mapping. I always drive my cars in the most linear throttle setting so this is annoying. The other throttle settings may be a cool gimmick or good for rev matching a manual but I dont understand why someone would want a non-linear throttle response for anything but novelty.

3.) I didn't drive a manual but I heard the rev matching is linked to I forget which either traction control or throttle mapping?

4.) Exhaust sound is not the best. Piping engine noise through the speakers is a depressing fix. I hope this can be disabled.

5.) DCT transmission did not feel smooth on upshifts. I know the e9x DCT had several software iterations so hopefully BMW will fix this.

[W Cole]

Originally Posted by sspyrops

Never needed it. I like the sudden jerk when downshifting it feels natural to me. Now as for the new M4, if it wants to do that fancy rev matching for me and make it so that the car doesn't jerk that's fine, I can live with that.

Oh boy.

[SteveSpy]

4) can be disabled through coding and I intend to disable it because I'm an audiophile and want to hear my music and only my music through my car's speakers.

[RickMonet]

CHOICE

We want the choice of whether to have auto rev matching on downshift (6MT) and Active Sound.

Some will want them on - others with not.

We simply want to choose for ourselves.

[Swancoat]

Originally Posted by ersin

The burst of rpm you give the engine (the blip of the throttle) during double clutching. Or in this case, the revving of the engine to match the car speed in the next gear being selected.


Cheers.

Not double-clutching. That's for old cars and tractors without synchros.

[M3 Esq]

Originally Posted by Swancoat

Not double-clutching. That's for old cars and tractors without synchros.

[JTO24]

I drove a 6mt M4 and didn't care for the auto blipping.. felt unnatural. I pretty much left it in sport+ the entire time. The clutch is heavier than in my e92 m3 but I was able to heel/toe pretty well lol I had to confirm I was still in sport+ haha

[1stm3f80]

1 extra horsepower...


We are never happy are we.

[Walt Dockery]

Originally Posted by karussell

I didn't notice the car does not have the attachment pins in the roof for a rack. that's kinda lame too. M3 has always been about being a sports car you can use every day.

Yes, that is annoying too. Has me occasionally thinking of switching my order to a moonroof.

The other thing I left off from my bitch list is there should be a way to turn off the piped in sound, whether a button or something that can be done through idrive menu. That's really stupid that can't be turned off.

[GBPackerfan1963]

Originally Posted by Walt Dockery

Yes, that is annoying too. Has me occasionally thinking of switching my order to a moonroof.

The other thing I left off from my bitch list is there should be a way to turn off the piped in sound, whether a button or something that can be done through idrive menu. That's really stupid that can't be turned off.

It can be coded out.

[Black Gold]

Originally Posted by sspyrops

Never needed it. I like the sudden jerk when downshifting it feels natural to me. Now as for the new M4, if it wants to do that fancy rev matching for me and make it so that the car doesn't jerk that's fine, I can live with that.

whoa, never heard of someone who doesn't blip for a downshift.

have you ever needed to replace a clutch on one of your cars? on the bright side, seems like you will benefit hugely from the auto blip tech

[SteveSpy]

Originally Posted by KennyPowers

whoa, never heard of someone who doesn't blip for a downshift.

have you ever needed to replace a clutch on one of your cars? on the bright side, seems like you will benefit hugely from the auto blip tech

OK let me be more precise about downshifting because you folks are harping on me here a little bit. The way I downshift I don't get a jerk because I don't release the clutch fast, I release it fast until I reach the friction point and then I hold it there until it realizes it is going into gear and this minimizes the jerk. That's firstly. Secondly I don't downshift more than one gear at a time, I always downshift one at a time and I think doing it 2 at a time further increases the jerky motion, plus IMHO it's not a clean way to downshift it's "cheating" in my book. Thirdly, I rarely downshift because I'm not in Canada anymore and I don't need to slow down without pummeling the brakes and sliding on ice or snow. This was my favorite way to brake on ice and snow.

[ersin]

Originally Posted by sspyrops

... I release it fast until I reach the friction point and then I hold it there until it realizes it is going into gear and this minimizes the jerk.

What you should be doing is revving the engine before reaching the friction point. By the time you reach it the engine rpm should be the same as for what it would be when the clutch is let fully out at that speed. When done correctly there is no jerk and it minimizes friction and wear on the clutch. And without the jerk the composure of the car will not be upset when driving "spiritedly". But it takes practice and skill to do it perfectly all the time.


Cheers.

[RickMonet]

Originally Posted by ersin

What you should be doing is revving the engine before reaching the friction point. By the time you reach it the engine rpm should be the same as for what it would be when the clutch is let fully out at that speed. When done correctly there is no jerk and it minimizes friction and wear on the clutch. And without the jerk the composure of the car will not be upset when driving "spiritedly". But it takes practice and skill to do it perfectly all the time.
Cheers.

Okay guys, I could not find the high res version of this video - but it is a classic.

Ayrton Senna heel toe in the NSX.

Watch and learn...