6 MT owners

[stevenjasmin]

hey guys first off can we not make this another 6MT vs DCT thread. I am getting to the point in my order where I have to make a final decision on a transmission. I have been reading alot of complaints on the shift between 1-2, also been reading alot that people are getting grinding between shifts when driven hard. As I plan to track I am sure this will come up. Any feedback on your experiances good and bad with the 6MT would be appreciated.

[J08M3]

6MT has been known to grind if you try the 1->2 shift too quickly. It's no excuse, it should be able to shift quickly but doesn't sometimes. If you slow your 1->2 shift down just a touch you won't have any problems. The rest of the transmission is great.

[PKL]

Look I am really lucky. My first car was a brand new 323i in manual transmission, which I replaqced within 9 months with a 1999 M3, manual.

Yes, there is a slight grind between first and second. Slight.

When I bought my 2005 M3 in manual transmission, same thing.

When I bought my new 2011 M3 manual, same thing.

MY POINT? I have lived with it my whole life to the point where it was completely normal to me and I never even thought about it, until people on this board started bitching about it.

It's totally fine, period. GET THE 6MT!

If I ever experienced grinding between gears during heavy acceleration it was the fault of the driver, not the car.

[GreasyGinzo]

I have 37k on my 08 and it has not once grinded 2nd at any rpm. Those are driver related problems by releasing the clutch to early and not having the stick far enough into gear

[chris s]

I agree with the ginzo, I've had my 08 for over 2 years and have never grinder a gear at any rpm. It is not a tranny issue, def driver error

[creepy coupe]

No grinding here, 10000 miles on. I find with the power button ON, The rpm holds up a milliseconds longer and things slip in a lot smoother.

[stefan]

1st to 2nd is a pretty contentious subject on all BMWs going back to the E36. I think it will always be a bit notchy. After years of owning BMWs, I have come to enjoy this signature trait of their gearboxes.

Grinding? No that's probably operator error. Remember that smoothness is more important to a quick gear shift than outright speed of motion. This is probably what happened here.. or maybe he was trying to force it into first at high speeds or something. Hard to say, but definitely operator error.

Still, I'd be picking 6mt for a variety of other reasons such as feel, price, ease of maintenance, etc. Wouldn't worry too much about the criticisms.

[takashin]

Under heavy load, the tranny has a tendency to move around a bit, this leads to an increased chance of the driver missing

[1sikbmr]

It's not so much of a grind than a missed shift. Sometimes at high rpm when you go to change from 1-2 really quickly(and I mean really quickly) it would miss the gear for some reason.

solution slow down your shift from 1-2 very slightly and it's smooth sailing from then on.


I say get the 6MT can't go wrong.

and by saying don't start another 6MT vs. DCT thread you just did

[poopdeckpappy]

I had a old Saab that had a hard time with 1 to 2, 2 to 3, and 3 to 4, other than that it was great.

[NYCM3ryder]

the only time i had grinding issues was in my 335xi i used to have from 1st to 2nd.. but in my 2011 m3 it hasnt happened at all.. not once and i have had the car for 1 year.. i think it is due to driver not holding the cluth long enough..

[gthal]

On mine, the grind was slight and only from time to time. Definitely should not stop you from going 6MT. Also, the grind many refer to is NOT driver error. It was a slight grind shifting 1 to 2 with the clutch pedal fully depressed. It is a grind as the shifter is sliding into the gate almost like the syncros are off a bit. Having said that it is very slight and not an issue other than being annoying sometimes.

[Seattle S65B40]

Originally Posted by gthal

On mine, the grind was slight and only from time to time. Definitely should not stop you from going 6MT. Also, the grind many refer to is NOT driver error. It was a slight grind shifting 1 to 2 with the clutch pedal fully depressed. It is a grind as the shifter is sliding into the gate almost like the syncros are off a bit. Having said that it is very slight and not an issue other than being annoying sometimes.

+ 1.

The 1>2 grind has appeared in the absence of driver error and that fact is well documented. All my BMWs have done it. I wouldn't sweat it though. It's still awesome with the MT and you will love it.

[greycrx87]

mine grinds a lot, and it starts to bother me more nowadays

[drburton]

I don't have any grinding issues. However, even if you had some minor problems with the 1-2 shift (not a problem for me), this would have little to no impact on the track. Other than leaving the pit lane, you won't be spending much time in 1st gear on most tracks.

If you prefer a 6MT then go for it, you won't have any problems. I find it to be a very nice transmission.

[signes]

Over 30k miles now and never had any grinding going from 1st to second, including at the track. Notchy, yes, grinding, no.

[immiketoo]

While I have experienced it, it's a matter of learning the car. After a few flubs, I learned how to do it without grinding. It's a great tranny.

[///My5UV]

I only got to drive it a few hundred miles in Germany, but the 6MT worked perfectly, and I did a fair amount of stop-and-go and slow driving in the city. I don't know WTF people are bitching about.

[Mr C]

The SHIFTS between First and Second will be somewhat NOTCHY, until you get the 1200 mile service (which includes Oil/Filter/Differential and Transmission on the 6MT.) After the service it will be much better, but it still can be a little notchy from time-to-time. Don’t let that deter you from getting a 6MT.

The M-DCT is very smooth and can be setup with way more options for your driving experience.

I have two (2) M3s, one with 6MT and one with M-DCT, and I love driving the 6MT, but if I picked one to take to the “track” it would probably be the M-DCT.

So, if you are “tracking” then maybe the M-DCT, because the shifts are LIGHTING fast. But then again, I have driven (not mine) a 6MT on the track, and it was a blast!

[Seattle S65B40]

Originally Posted by ///My5UV

I only got to drive it a few hundred miles in Germany, but the 6MT worked perfectly, and I did a fair amount of stop-and-go and slow driving in the city. I don't know WTF people are bitching about.

You haven't had the car long enough then. Launch 1st at 4500 RPMs and Shift to second as fast as you reasonably can at 8400 RPMs and do it 100 times. I can assure you that you will grind 1 > 2 at least 5 times.

[Grail05]

When i bought my 08 M3 it was notchy in the beggining. thought it needed some break in. so i waiting about 5k miles just to make sure but for some reason my 1st and 2nd gear just doesnt feel right. it sometimes doesnt engage in 2nd so i brought it in.

1. Dealer test and found the same problem
2. Dealer replaces 1st and 2nd along with some other things in the tranny and still did the same thing.
3. Submitted a PUMA case to determine what was wrong...
4. PUMA says replace the entire tranny for a new one.
5. now it still feels like new with 40+K miles on the car.

I have no issue or problems ever since.

[M5280RCR]

Originally Posted by stevenjasmin

hey guys first off can we not make this another 6MT vs DCT thread. I am getting to the point in my order where I have to make a final decision on a transmission. I have been reading alot of complaints on the shift between 1-2, also been reading alot that people are getting grinding between shifts when driven hard. As I plan to track I am sure this will come up. Any feedback on your experiances good and bad with the 6MT would be appreciated.

Absolutely no problems in the first year with my 2008 6MT (I bought it two years old). If the primary concern in when tracking the car, how often does a 1-2 shift come up on the track? (assuming you are not meaning a drag strip)