Davo's MDCT Review

[Davo2003]

Well, I am almost to the break in mark...won't be long. I am posting this now especially for those who are on the fence about MDCT and the window for order changes is closing.

First, I am a huge fan of the 6MT so I don't want to come off wrong. My 330i was a 6MT and was totally awesome and fun.

BUT...now I have almost 1,000 miles on the MDCT and holy crapola is it sweet. At first I felt like I was on another planet driving it since I am so used to the 6MT. But now, jeezus, I am totally in love with it. The five auto modes are awesome. I have been playing around with them and they are just incredible. The shifts in D1 are smooth as silk, you can hardly even feel them. In every mode there is a total uninterruption of the flow of power. The shifts are lightining fast and so smooth, almost unbelievable. I drove a 2006 M3 with SMG and my impression was "not for me". It was extremely jerky and harsh. This car is pure finesse or a monster, or anything inbetween, just take your pic. I was 100% unsure if I had made the right choice when I ordered. I kept asking myself if I was "taking all the fun out of driving" by going with the MDCT...not so. It is a different sensation, but oh what a sensation it is.

Bottom line, if you have an extra 2700...get the MDCT and never look back. You will wonder what the hell you have done when you first drive it, but when you get used to it, which takes a week or so...you will need an orbital sander to remove the smile from your face

The M3 with MDCT or 6MT is a helluva machine and pure joy to drive. Just get behind the wheel and forget the so called competiton...they are just posers in my book.

[500]

Great to hear another positive review of the DCT...can't wait to drive it.

Enjoy your car

[JEllis]

sweet

[oneginee]

continuous flow of power sounds great but how about shifting lag ? upshifting / downshifting ?

I would never come to term with it even if it shift as seamlessly as a CVT

[Davo2003]

Originally Posted by oneginee

continuous flow of power sounds great but how about shifting lag ? upshifting / downshifting ?

I would never come to term with it even if it shift as seamlessly as a CVT

Well, I don't feel any lag at all up or down...now the iDrive, THAT LAGS lol. I will give you more of my thoughts in a few days after the 1200 mile service. I posted this now as I said, so that if someone is on the fence they should feel better about going MDCT. To use an old cliche it truly is the best thing I've seen since sliced bread! I do feel though that it is an "acquired" taste and will truly take me another month or so before I would venture onto anything resembling a track with a bunch of twisties, a 6MT is definitely much easier to modulate. But I think with time and experience the MDCT will prove to be equally easy to manipulate in the twisties. There IS a DEFINITE learning curve, but it's the best and "funnest" damn learning I have ever done!

[skierman64]

Originally Posted by Davo2003

I do feel though that it is an "acquired" taste and will truly take me another month or so before I would venture onto anything resembling a track with a bunch of twisties, a 6MT is definitely much easier to modulate.

I'm not sure if I agree here. Please explain what you mean by modulate?

[rai]

thanks

like many I ordered the DCT without a test drive but sounds like something I'm glad I did.

[JIO]

I want to know what the best thing was before sliced bread....he he

Thanks for the DCT write-up. It's really the wave of the future.

[WCH]

Originally Posted by oneginee

continuous flow of power sounds great but how about shifting lag ? upshifting / downshifting ?

I would never come to term with it even if it shift as seamlessly as a CVT

Thanks Davo for your thoughts. I agree with everything you have written.

The lag is very, very short - in most cases, I don't sense any lag. I think it is only noticeable because one perhaps expects it to be instantaneous. There's no way that someone could shift as quickly or as smoothly as M-DCT does this. Once I get past break in, I'll be able to see how it works at high revs.

To the poster above, if that is true, how do you rationalize a SL55 with a true automatic???? Don't get me wrong, you have a great car but if one can live with an automatic (even a good/great one), I don't understand your comment.

[gorun]

Originally Posted by WCH

To the poster above, if that is true, how do you rationalize a SL55 with a true automatic???? Don't get me wrong, you have a great car but if one can live with an automatic (even a good/great one), I don't understand your comment.

My thoughts, exactly

[Davo2003]

Originally Posted by skierman64

I'm not sure if I agree here. Please explain what you mean by modulate?

I meant I was really tuned into the 6MT, hardly ever had to look at the tach, could feel the cars connection to the pavement through the stick and rev point I was at. With MDCT there is no "feel" at the shift lever, no vibration whatsoever, so I am having to get used to keeping both hands on the wheel and taking all the feedback through the wheel instead of having to manually shift with only one hand on the wheel. One hand on the wheel and one hand on the stick rowing the gears really connected me to the car and pavement. With MDCT there is a time period where you have to make adjustments in your driving style and what you are "used to" feeling and from what points. This isn't a negative at all, just a familiarization period. I have never owned an SMG so I am starting from square one, and it is AWESOME. Hope that makes sense.

[footie]

Davo,

You are feeling exactly what I felt when I first got the DSG Golf, it's like trying to ride a motorbike with the front brake and clutch levels reversed. It will take time to get familiarised with a different way of driving, not worse just different.

[nusevad]

Nice review Davo!

Glad you see that you are really enjoying your M-DCT!

[Shade]

One thing i discover with the new MDCT and the old E46 SMG, the new MDCT. lf you step on the thottle a bit, the car will start moving and acting like a "automatic" with mean it wont stop with the ground friction until u step on the brake (on a flat ground road). Same as reverse gear.

But overall its a great transmission ! i def like it over the SMG

[valeram]

Originally Posted by Davo2003

I meant I was really tuned into the 6MT, hardly ever had to look at the tach, could feel the cars connection to the pavement through the stick and rev point I was at. With MDCT there is no "feel" at the shift lever, no vibration whatsoever, so I am having to get used to keeping both hands on the wheel and taking all the feedback through the wheel instead of having to manually shift with only one hand on the wheel. One hand on the wheel and one hand on the stick rowing the gears really connected me to the car and pavement. With MDCT there is a time period where you have to make adjustments in your driving style and what you are "used to" feeling and from what points. This isn't a negative at all, just a familiarization period. I have never owned an SMG so I am starting from square one, and it is AWESOME. Hope that makes sense.

Thanks for sharing your insight. I also ordered DCT and I am hoping that I made the right decision (so far, it looks like I did). That was my impression of driving a DCT. There is a learning curve that you mentioned specially from people who's been driving MT for a long time. It may take a day, a week, a month who knows. The bottom line is that I will enjoy every moment while learning to use it the proper and ideal way. 2 more waiting months, it sucks

[ersin]

There was a learning curve with the E46 SMG also. After you got used to it, shifts were not as jerky as many people reported from one test drive with it. When I learned to modulate the throttle correctly upon shifting the SMG would shift as smooth as I could in any manual transmission. But auto mode was a completely different story.

I'd guess that MDCT requires much less familiarity than SMG did since it is already so much smoother. Good luck.

[TheBry]

Thanks for the review, man! I blindly placed an order for the M-DCT transmission a couple of weeks ago based purely on the feedback and reviews guys posted in this forum. Now I feel that much better about my decision. Now I wish they'd just hurry up and BUILD the darned thing!

[skierman64]

Originally Posted by Davo2003

I meant I was really tuned into the 6MT, hardly ever had to look at the tach, could feel the cars connection to the pavement through the stick and rev point I was at. With MDCT there is no "feel" at the shift lever, no vibration whatsoever, so I am having to get used to keeping both hands on the wheel and taking all the feedback through the wheel instead of having to manually shift with only one hand on the wheel. One hand on the wheel and one hand on the stick rowing the gears really connected me to the car and pavement. With MDCT there is a time period where you have to make adjustments in your driving style and what you are "used to" feeling and from what points. This isn't a negative at all, just a familiarization period. I have never owned an SMG so I am starting from square one, and it is AWESOME. Hope that makes sense.

Makes sense, I interpreted you modulate comment differently so thanks for the explaination.