[arwin]

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I just placed my order for my M2.

I went for a test drive in a LBB DCT M2 and I was blown away how good it actually shifts. I've been driving a manual car for 17 years and I've never even considered an auto M2. But after the test drive and placing my order, I'm really thinking hard about it.

I probably only have a few days to decide but are there any other long time manual drivers that went from manual to the DCT? Any regrets? Is it worth the extra money?

I can't believe I'm even considering this!

[Semi-Poor]

I switched, CT traffic, age, and I put in my time on a manual, and have nothing to prove. Can't say I miss it, but that is just me. With technology (rev matching etc.) how much of the shifting are you really doing?

[Kid Eh]

M2 transmission: do you prefer manual or DCT ? http://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1177987

[CommitConfirm]

I own a manual but recently had the opportunity to really drive a DCT. Buy the DCT!!! Drive it in manual mode.

[DoggieHowser]

I think a lot depends on how you drive the car.

For a daily commute during peak hours, the DCT may make more sense.

But if your commute starts off peak and you can take back roads with some nice twisty bits, or if you only take the car out during weekends and the main purpose is just to have fun, I'd say manual is the way to go.

[stefan]

I recently drove a DCT M2. Utterly lifeless. I cannot understand why anyone would pick this over the increasingly rare manual option unless you don't know how to drive it. I will gladly give my left foot a workout in traffic for the reward of having the right transmission for this car.

DCT just isn't sporty. It's really competent but not particualrly fun. Although when I say competent I have to confess the ZF 8sp in recent iterations is 90% as good in most situations. Unless you're using launch control which requires you to jump through hoops, launches are uninteresting and laggy. The auto mode is weirdly unintuitive and unexciting on downshifts unless you intervene with the paddles. Which are mounted to the steering wheel which is also kind of ridiculous.

Don't do it. Besides the market is flooded with them.

[430409M2]

People keep claiming the m2 won't be so rare down the road, so why worry about market saturation? Yes, I know that still doesn't change the fact that stick m2's will hold a premium. My purchase was for pleasure not investment. I have the DCT because it's what I found first. And after owning a m235i with a stick and then driving this DCT, I feel like I made the right (forced) mistake. The DCT suits the precision of the m2 and really just modern performance cars. The continuous rush of power through the gears really makes me giddy. And fortunately my concern that I'd have less of a feel for the motor's rpm and what gear I'm in since I'm not physically changing gears wasn't a problem. Low speed jerkiness is often associated with dual-clutch systems, but after a week you'll be able to predict the disengagement of the clutches when coming to a stop and you can feather the brakes accordingly. The feel of the 6spd never lived up to my hopes after driving an e46 for years.

On a side note, and this is really just childish silliness.. More gears to go through means an extra "opportunity" to hear the overrun in traction mode.

Just my opinion and to each their own. I'd say let your financial situation decide for you. If you can, go for it.

PS: Oh, if you do get the DCT.. comfort mode is indeed lifeless, understandably so. Traction or sport mode is the way to go. Considering that traction mode is more or less analogous to the idea of a "normal" mode with added pops.

[Diver21]

Originally Posted by stefan

Which are mounted to the steering wheel which is also kind of ridiculous.

Yep, them F1 racers are just clueless ... Mounted on the steering wheel? Seriously?

[M2LA]

Originally Posted by stefan

I recently drove a DCT M2. Utterly lifeless. I cannot understand why anyone would pick this over the increasingly rare manual option unless you don't know how to drive it. I will gladly give my left foot a workout in traffic for the reward of having the right transmission for this car.

DCT just isn't sporty. It's really competent but not particualrly fun. Although when I say competent I have to confess the ZF 8sp in recent iterations is 90% as good in most situations. Unless you're using launch control which requires you to jump through hoops, launches are uninteresting and laggy. The auto mode is weirdly unintuitive and unexciting on downshifts unless you intervene with the paddles. Which are mounted to the steering wheel which is also kind of ridiculous.

Don't do it. Besides the market is flooded with them.

^^^This. I drove the dct at a bmw event in socal on the 11th and it would be the last thing I would ever own for myself. great in traffic or to share with the better half but totally an non-involving experience imo. I have been driving a manual for over 45 years and its one of those things along with rock, sex and alcohol that stays. also spent some time in a B6 and i8, on those cars it makes more sense but not on an M car like this. even the instructors even gave a nod to the mt. really think about the kind of involvement you want from the car.

[M2Nebula]

Just buy the 6MT....in the end you'll get bored with the DCT and find yourself driving almost exclusively in auto mode anyway. As far as F1 goes, those cars have a completely different steering ratio and on a road car the f'n paddles end up being in the wrong place many times so now your dancing with the faux shifter....it all gets too contrived in my mind whether it's faster or not, who cares unless your chasing lap times or stuck in traffic. That seems to be the deciding crux factor.

[dasblack]

Get the manual. My M2 is my first manual car and I love it. Morning commute about 30 mins with stop and go traffic on a bridge and it's not bad at all.

[akkando]

Speculation is that the manual will have better resale value and that it costs less to repair later if you have any problems. The manual does have a bunch of features that make it easier to drive than real old school manuals such as hill hold, auto blip on down shift, and I think some tech that makes it a bit easier to get into gear in stop and go traffic?


I have the DCT myself. I do like it because I drive in sequential/manual mode most of the time but I put it in auto if I am tired, lazy, or on bad traffic. The DCT does have some quirks but I guess that makes it much more interesting than a regular automatic.

[doug_999]

Originally Posted by Diver21

Yep, them F1 racers are just clueless ... Mounted on the steering wheel? Seriously?

Yes, I fancy myself a F1 racer every morning on the way to work

[izzyM2]

If you are worried about taking it easy in traffic just buy a Honda. But that said I'm a long time manual user and I switched to DCT. If an auto tranny has to replace a manual it will be the DCT. It's the closest feel to a manual, it shifts faster than a human can and it rolls backwards from an incline (lol). The bit of it is It's your car, it's your way of life and you're gonna have to live with it. Not me or any of these a**holes, No I do not mean you reading this unless you think you are one. Joking aside, when I'm coming back home from a good dinner in a restaurant my last thing on my mind is shifting my M2. So thats it I command you to get the DCT or not! I hope this does not add to the confusion.

[seis-speed]

I bought a DCT once. Liked it for 2 weeks (it was really fast) then traded it in for a stripper 6MT. I live between 1st and 4th gear. I prefer involving over fast.

[stefan]

Originally Posted by Diver21

Yep, them F1 racers are just clueless ... Mounted on the steering wheel? Seriously?

What exactly is your point here? That m2s are F1 cars? That road cars are anything like F1 cars?

[akkando]

Originally Posted by stefan

What exactly is your point here? That m2s are F1 cars? That road cars are anything like F1 cars?

Well where would you like the paddles if not the steering wheel? Or is there some other interface you think would work better than paddles for customers on a dual clutch transmission motor sports vehicle?

[ajvdh]

Originally Posted by Quadz

Just buy the 6MT....in the end you'll get bored with the DCT and find yourself driving almost exclusively in auto mode anyway. As far as F1 goes, those cars have a completely different steering ratio and on a road car the f'n paddles end up being in the wrong place many times so now your dancing with the faux shifter....it all gets too contrived in my mind whether it's faster or not, who cares unless your chasing lap times or stuck in traffic. That seems to be the deciding crux factor.

To state that someone you've never met will inevitably have the same opinions as yours is kind of arrogant, doncha think? Funny how I've put 9000 miles on mine in just over a year, and I still almost never use automatic mode. And I'm still waiting to get bored. I drove nothing but manuals for almost 40 years. My race car still has a manual. I like the DCT. By objective measures (e.g. performance, gas mileage) it works better, and popping up and down through the gears with it still makes me giggle.

These are not lithe sports cars like Miatas or even E30s. These are state-of-the-art, turbo charged, e-diff equipped, 3400 lb cars, with kind of numb electric steering. If you want pretend it's something other than that, and get the manual to satisfy some atavistic sports-car-purity fetish, go ahead. And try to ignore the irony of defending a manual which does the most difficult task (rev matching) for you. But I think the DCT is right in tune with the modern, high-tech theme of the M2. You don't agree, but as The Dude says, that's like, just your opinion, man. Others differ from you (hunt down the February Roundel and read the "Safety Third" column - the guy Alex interviews happens to be our chief instructor, and a seriously good driver).

Oh yeah, if you don't shuffle steer, the paddle mounted shifters are placed perfectly. If you get flummoxed, you can always hit the stick instead.

So, to the original poster, it's entirely up to you, and it's not an easy choice. If I had to do it again, I'd still get the DCT. I can understand getting the manual, 'cause shifting can be fun, but don't feel pressured because some self-appointed sports-car fundamentalists aggrandize themselves 'cause they mastered a skill that pretty much everyone used to take for granted.

[Ian ///M]

Get what the fuck you want-- as you can see opinions are all over the place in here

[Robin_NL]

I'm from Europe and there is nothing special about a manual tranny overhere. The only problem worldwide it's near extinction which is a pity. For the rest I have 7,900 reasons to choose the DCT because that's what the Mt costs more overhere in Euros..
Furthermore , try to testdrive both. See which you like best. I adore my DCT, I never thought I would so much, it's great, a serious bit faster and you have one more gear which is nice on the Autobahn.

Cheers
Robin(ex 1M)

[AndyinHou]

If you can't find an M2 6MT to test drive, see if you can find a manual M3/4 - apparently the gearbox is pretty much the same.

[stefan]

Originally Posted by akkando

Well where would you like the paddles if not the steering wheel? Or is there some other interface you think would work better than paddles for customers on a dual clutch transmission motor sports vehicle?

Yes. On the column. Where they make 100% more sense for street cars with non-F1-car steering ratios.


OP: you have to drive both. And I'd actually urge you that, when you're driving the automatic, that you try to discount how quick it is. I only say that because you'll get used to it quickly. You always get used to acceleration and will want more. So really it comes down to the essence of the car as lap times don't matter to 99.9% of this forum other than in their heads. DCT and 6MT aren't some interchangeable options. They are totally different cars. One is for driving the other is for commuting. Still don't know why people buy M2s to sit in this traffic they always complain about but hey.