[Nezil]

Originally Posted by Smooth 330i

also make sure you apply full pressure on both the clutch AND brake in emergency braking scenarios

Again, speaking from the perspective of the UK driving test, you'd fail if you did this.

You are not expected to change gears in an emergency stop situation, but you are expected not to press the clutch until you're just about to stop. I don't think you'll fail if you stall the engine, I can't remember, but I do remember that you're not allowed to press the clutch during the start of the stop.

The theory of course is that you'll improve breaking by using the engine and the brakes to slow you down. I'm not convinced that this is true in practice because a) brakes are so good these days, and b) engine braking isn't as effective as it used to be on older engines, for various reasons.

[geogerf]

I'm always in Neutral at a stop. If you want to conserve gas, I don't think the auto-engine shutoff will turn on with the clutch pedal depressed. It is more comfortable IMO and doesn't put constant pressure on the springs.

[MrKepan]

Originally Posted by geogerf

I'm always in Neutral at a stop. If you want to conserve gas, I don't think the auto-engine shutoff will turn on with the clutch pedal depressed. It is more comfortable IMO and doesn't put constant pressure on the springs.

I think that what most people do. and I think everybody does the "wiggle" thing to make sure it's in neutral.

[Archie Bunker]

Originally Posted by cookiesowns

The excuse for downshifting just to have engine braking is... moot in this day and age. Many modern cars limit the amount of engine braking a motor has to keep it more civil and actually improve efficiency.

That said I personally still downshift lets say slowing down from 60mph slowly to 0, I will downshift from 6 - 5th - 4th - 3rd - 2nd, and eventually clutch in. This is all done around 2-3K rpm max unless I'm driving aggressively and I NEVER skip gears. unless upshifiting but even then I go through the gates to let the syncros match per gear, or double clutch.

Another helping aspect to your point is the auto-rev-match. I have to admit, sometimes it's nice to have. I'm DSC off most of the time, but sometimes in Sport+. I'm convinced, however, that this feature was to aid decreasing the amount of transmission failures by BMW. This point is especially valid as less and less people drive manual transmissions. Regardless of intentions, it seems like a win-win for both supplier and consumer.

[Nezil]

Originally Posted by Archie Bunker

I'm convinced, however, that this feature was to aid decreasing the amount of transmission failures by BMW. This point is especially valid as less and less people drive manual transmissions. Regardless of intentions, it seems like a win-win for both supplier and consumer.

That is a VERY likely explanation I think. They could have changed this for LCI but didn't, and its mentioned in EVERY SINGLE article, review, forum post etc... There is no way BMW didn't know about it.

It can be coded out fortunately. I'm hoping that the BimmerLink app can be updated to do this on the fly like it does ASD.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by akkando

I don't think the oil is up to temp at 'OK'.

EXACTLY. It takes a solid 10 minutes of driving on a stone cold motor that's been sitting in 60 degree temps before the oil reaches the minimum safe temperature of 180 degrees. If it's 40 out and the motor is cold, it's takes nearly 15 minutes of driving to get the oil up to temp. I've confirmed this multiple times with my Torque App. Coolant warms up much quicker than oil, but oil is the one you should be concerned about if you care about motor longevity. Keep the rpms below 4500 and try not to put excessive load on the motor until the oil is up to temp. Excessive load would be going heavy throttle at a low rpm and in a taller gear like 4th and above.

[Nezil]

I had read that the Pre-LCI temperature gauge is a combination of Oil and Water temperature, and when it states 'OK', it's not water up to temp, but both Oil and Water. I might be wrong about this, but I think it's in the owners manual.

I also think I read that the LCI cars actually have an Oil temp gauge, but mine hasn't arrived yet so I'm not sure.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by Nezil

I had read that the Pre-LCI temperature gauge is a combination of Oil and Water temperature, and when it states 'OK', it's not water up to temp, but both Oil and Water. I might be wrong about this, but I think it's in the owners manual.

I also think I read that the LCI cars actually have an Oil temp gauge, but mine hasn't arrived yet so I'm not sure.

Buy the $5 Torque App and a $25 OBDII reader and you can watch all sorts of engine parameters in real time on your phone. I monitor boost, oil temp, coolant temp, and air intake temp.

[M2Nebula]

I never get on it until the blue and red are balanced in the bar graph. The OK symbol is only water I believe and shows up relatively soon so that would make sense that the oil hasn't reached temp yet, no?

[Nezil]

Taken from the 2017 MY owner's manual:

[akkando]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

EXACTLY. It takes a solid 10 minutes of driving on a stone cold motor that's been sitting in 60 degree temps before the oil reaches the minimum safe temperature of 180 degrees. If it's 40 out and the motor is cold, it's takes nearly 15 minutes of driving to get the oil up to temp. I've confirmed this multiple times with my Torque App. Coolant warms up much quicker than oil, but oil is the one you should be concerned about if you care about motor longevity. Keep the rpms below 4500 and try not to put excessive load on the motor until the oil is up to temp. Excessive load would be going heavy throttle at a low rpm and in a taller gear like 4th and above.

I hit the highway like 4 minutes from my house. Very annoying as far as engine warming up.

[bobert]

Originally Posted by akkando

I hit the highway like 4 minutes from my house. Very annoying as far as engine warming up.

Oh yes, agreed - same here, only it's about 60 seconds for me. Drives me most crazy in the old Miata, which revs very high at normal highway speeds - on colder days, I start off on the highway right at the 60 mph speed limit (due to revs w/a cold lump, not the lame speed limit...) and little old grannies blow by me at 80-85 mph (the normal flow!) until I get 'er up to temp.

[CanadianDriver]

@M2-007 you'll find the M2 6MT very friendly to drive.
- hill-hold assist
- gear 1 + release the clutch gently and it will move forward without gas
- other gears + release clutch gently + some gas = smooth acceleration

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by akkando

I don't think the oil is up to temp at 'OK'.

Digital temp meter needle slides from the last notch before the middle to the middle around 86°C-87°C oil temp. That should be your reference.

[akkando]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Digital temp meter needle slides from the last notch before the middle to the middle around 86°C-87°C oil temp. That should be your reference.

Usually when it first gets to the middle I will take it up to 4-4.5k for a bit before I rev it up any higher.

[look585]

Can rev-match be disengaged?

[ZPrime]

Originally Posted by hogger453

Can rev-match be disengaged?

Disable traction control entirely ("DSC off" / hold button for like 10 seconds)
Use coding app + computer and change one of the settings related to whether the clutch is required to be held down to start the car - this mysteriously also disables the revmatching, apparently. (I don't have my car yet so I can't confirm this but I've seen it from others on here.)

[M2-007]

Originally Posted by CanadianDriver

@M2-007 you'll find the M2 6MT very friendly to drive.
- hill-hold assist
- gear 1 + release the clutch gently and it will move forward without gas
- other gears + release clutch gently + some gas = smooth acceleration

BMW must be thinking of people like me when they design this MT gear box

[ewohar]

Really, it just takes time and experience. You will learn instinctively as the car will give you feedback when you do something right and when you do something wrong. Good news is you have plenty of power bandwidth in all gears so the car will be pretty forgiving if you aren't being overly aggressive.

[DETRoadster]

Originally Posted by stefan

I do not think you can learn to drive from youtube. You can definitely learn to refine your technique there, such as minimizing clutch wear and heel toe and all that. But the basics? Buy a beater or a find a friend with one.

Just like making sweet sweet love. You wouldn't expect to watch a few youtube videos and become an expert in that either. It's all about practice, feel, and getting some pointers from an expert while you are in driver's seat, not behind the computer screen.

[M2-007]

Just to be sure I am absolutely clear on how to shift properly, can you share how you would shift in the following scenario?

I am cruising in 5th gear in the 50mph zone and will be turning right at the next intersection. As I approach the intersection about 5 car lengths away, I would shift into neutral and lightly apply the break to slow down. When I am about 1 car length from the intersection @ roughly 15mph, I would shift into 2nd gear and then turn the corner and continue on.

Based on comments in this post, I think I should leave the car in 5th gear while slowing down, then shift into 2nd gear at around 15mph and make the turn. I am a bit worry the car might stall keeping the car in 5th gear at such a low speed.

Or should I be slowing the car down from 5th to 4th to 3rd, then to 2nd as I approach the corner? This method seems to require quite a bit of work and more wear on the clutch.

How would you shift in this scenario?

[gmzanatta]

Originally Posted by M2-007

Just to be sure I am absolutely clear on how to shift properly, can you share how you would shift in the following scenario?

I am cruising in 5th gear in the 50mph zone and will be turning right at the next intersection. As I approach the intersection about 5 car lengths away, I would shift into neutral and lightly apply the break to slow down. When I am about 1 car length from the intersection @ roughly 15mph, I would shift into 2nd gear and then turn the corner and continue on.

Based on comments in this post, I think I should leave the car in 5th gear while slowing down, then shift into 2nd gear at around 15mph and make the turn. I am a bit worry the car might stall keeping the car in 5th gear at such a low speed.

Or should I be slowing the car down from 5th to 4th to 3rd, then to 2nd as I approach the corner? This method seems to require quite a bit of work and more wear on the clutch.

How would you shift in this scenario?

Never, ever, ever, shift into neutral and coast like that. This is extremely dangerous if you get in an accident as the car will keep moving out of control and since it's in neutral, the engine won't stall and stop the car. You'd fail a driving test pretty much anywhere in the world doing this. It's not bad for the car mind you, but bad for your safety.

Now, to answer your question, there's a couple of different ways you could go about it:

- In 5th, hit the brakes and slow down, rev-match down shift into 2nd and make the turn. The car won't stall, but if it comes close, you will certainly notice the jitters and then just shift into 4 or 3.

- In 5th, hit the brakes and down shift in sequence 5-4-3-2 and make the turn.

- Anywhere between those two - for example, maybe shift 5-4 and then continue braking and shift into 2 and make turn.

One key thing to remember is that brakes are cheaper than a clutch. With newer cars like the M2, engine braking is not nearly as effective as in older cars as the software prevents engine braking under certain load conditions. So as a rule of thumb, for newer cars, always use the brakes rather than engine to slow down - it'll save you money in the long run because pads are much much much cheaper than clutch and engine repairs.