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      05-07-2012, 11:46 PM   #1
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DCT: Transmission Mode "6"

I was watching some videos on the forums and confirmed a previous concern.

I have an 2011.5 e92. I had the 1,200 mile break-in service done, but the highest transmission mode that my M-Drive allows is still 5. Is there something that my servicing dealer missed? As I thought I understood, mode 6 is unlocked during the break in service, and is required to engage launch control.

Thanks guys
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      05-07-2012, 11:53 PM   #2
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Before anyone says it, read the manual.

For a quick answer, it can only be accessed when dsc is off.
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      05-07-2012, 11:56 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by C|3R1C View Post
Before anyone says it, read the manual.

For a quick answer, it can only be accessed when dsc is off.
This. Also, 6 is pointless unless you are drag racing, it will just increase wear on your transmission.
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      05-08-2012, 12:01 AM   #4
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Start car, Turn off DSC. bingo
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      05-08-2012, 12:43 AM   #5
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2011.75 no longer allow DSC-Off to be set for M Drive. This means you can't access S6.

This sucks.

You can, however, get it coded to remove that limitation...
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      05-08-2012, 10:22 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Porschefile View Post
This. Also, 6 is pointless unless you are drag racing, it will just increase wear on your transmission.
very true.
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      05-08-2012, 10:44 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kitw View Post
2011.75 no longer allow DSC-Off to be set for M Drive. This means you can't access S6.

This sucks.

You can, however, get it coded to remove that limitation...
I'm going to have to try this when I get in the car to confirm but my understanding is you cant slave it to the M button since you cant set DCS off but you can enter S6 manually.
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      05-08-2012, 11:23 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crabman View Post
I'm going to have to try this when I get in the car to confirm but my understanding is you cant slave it to the M button since you cant set DCS off but you can enter S6 manually.
Yup. Gotta turn off dsc and push the transmission setting rocker.
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      05-08-2012, 12:34 PM   #9
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Lol yeah I was pretty sure I had tried it but figured I'd better check before posting drivel.
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      05-08-2012, 01:08 PM   #10
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Nice post thanks for sharing.
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      05-08-2012, 01:22 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kitw View Post
2011.75 no longer allow DSC-Off to be set for M Drive. This means you can't access S6.

This sucks.

You can, however, get it coded to remove that limitation...
Did not know this. This REALLY sucks
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      05-08-2012, 11:48 PM   #12
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Thanks for all the feedback guys. The whole DSC thing didn't even dawn on me. I probably had no intentions on using it (S6) anyways, just didn't want to feel that if my dealer missed one thing, they could have missed another..

All in all, probably a good reason why they disallowed it in '11.75 models anyways.

Thanks again guys
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      05-08-2012, 11:49 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Porschefile View Post
This. Also, 6 is pointless unless you are drag racing, it will just increase wear on your transmission.
Assuming one doesn't use launch control, how does using S6 increase wear on the transmission?
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      05-09-2012, 07:17 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RussRamz View Post
Assuming one doesn't use launch control, how does using S6 increase wear on the transmission?
LC wears out the clutches and the gears, using S6 wears out the gears but not the clutches. It just shifts so fast and hard that it puts unnecessary pressure on the gearbox. Try it under acceleration at high rpm and you can feel it. Similar to the fastest shift mode in SMG E46's, a few track guys have busted trans that way.

Basically it shifts up without allowing the revs to drop 100% to match the next gear. So it feels like it "surges" forward when you shift.

Personally I stick with S4 on track, still shifts very fast without bucking at all. S5 I've done before on track but the tiny decrease in shift time isn't worth the increased wear to me.
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      05-09-2012, 07:52 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Porschefile View Post
LC wears out the clutches and the gears, using S6 wears out the gears but not the clutches. It just shifts so fast and hard that it puts unnecessary pressure on the gearbox. Try it under acceleration at high rpm and you can feel it. Similar to the fastest shift mode in SMG E46's, a few track guys have busted trans that way.

Basically it shifts up without allowing the revs to drop 100% to match the next gear. So it feels like it "surges" forward when you shift.

Personally I stick with S4 on track, still shifts very fast without bucking at all. S5 I've done before on track but the tiny decrease in shift time isn't worth the increased wear to me.
I am not sure S6 would "wear" the gears faster. Most of the gear wear happens during normal meshing when the gearbox is turning. I agree, the shifts are much harsher, so it does put additional load during a very brief moment on the gears. I assume the gears were designed for this momentary increased load, so it should not be an issue. It should have very little impact on wear.

I can see how it can be worse on a SMG. During a shift, the gears are loaded in the reverse direction while the clutch is disengaged and then they see a peak load back in the other direction when the clutch slams shut. The impact of this going back and forth on the gear backlash could start cracks in the gears and lead to low cycle fatigue. On a DCT, since the clutches slip against one another, the gears are always loaded in the same direction, minimizing the effect of backlash impact.

The higher the shift mode, the more of the engine inertia from the RPM drop is recuperated to be converted in forward thrust, hence the surge. In theory, it should translate to more efficient shifts and better acceleration. I doubt that my limited driving abilities benefit from those hundreds of a second, however I do prefer the crispness and immediacy of the S6 shifts.

Last edited by CanAutM3; 05-09-2012 at 08:54 AM..
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      05-09-2012, 09:49 AM   #16
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It isn't just wear in the trans its the entire drive train that should be considered. There can be no question everything gets worked harder in higher S modes so the real question becomes does it make any significant difference to the lifespan of any of the effected parts? I don't have an answer but one thing that is telling to me is that they made S6 harder to access and that wasn't done without reason. If you start thinking about what that reason might be its hard not to put drive train issues or failure before the warranty expires at the top of the list.

Another thought is that it may not be the shifting level so much as driving style when at that level. It doesn't take long to figure out the aggressiveness of the shifting needs to match the way you are driving or else you end up with some rather unseemly clunkiness of the kind that you know isn't good. An example would be when stuck at low speed in traffic and you are shifting at low rpm and little load. I can get smooth shifts up to S4 in this condition but in S5 its hard to avoid the trans clunking into the next gear when I shift at times On the other hand I find S5 shifts fine with a hard but not clunky shift or bang when I'm driving in a more aggressive manner on the open road. You can pretty much figure there are people who bought these things and put it into the highest available settings in M drive and then keep the car in that mode even though they are not actually driving in a style that would be suited to the harder shifting.
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      05-09-2012, 10:04 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crabman View Post
It isn't just wear in the trans its the entire drive train that should be considered. There can be no question everything gets worked harder in higher S modes so the real question becomes does it make any significant difference to the lifespan of any of the effected parts? I don't have an answer but one thing that is telling to me is that they made S6 harder to access and that wasn't done without reason. If you start thinking about what that reason might be its hard not to put drive train issues or failure before the warranty expires at the top of the list.
Usually when that's the case BMW will document that warning. I remember reading something about excessive wear from using launch control too often in the manual, but don't remember seeing something similar for S6 mode.

I'm speculating that in the case of S6 the harder shifts can increase the risk of lost traction which cannot be compensated by DSC, and could reduce overall performance and stability. I'm guessing this is why they allow access to S6 only with DSC off.
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      05-09-2012, 10:08 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kitw View Post
2011.75 no longer allow DSC-Off to be set for M Drive. This means you can't access S6.

This sucks.

You can, however, get it coded to remove that limitation...
is there no longer a button the center console to turn off DSC?
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      05-09-2012, 10:27 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crabman View Post
It isn't just wear in the trans its the entire drive train that should be considered. There can be no question everything gets worked harder in higher S modes so the real question becomes does it make any significant difference to the lifespan of any of the effected parts? I don't have an answer but one thing that is telling to me is that they made S6 harder to access and that wasn't done without reason. If you start thinking about what that reason might be its hard not to put drive train issues or failure before the warranty expires at the top of the list.

Another thought is that it may not be the shifting level so much as driving style when at that level. It doesn't take long to figure out the aggressiveness of the shifting needs to match the way you are driving or else you end up with some rather unseemly clunkiness of the kind that you know isn't good. An example would be when stuck at low speed in traffic and you are shifting at low rpm and little load. I can get smooth shifts up to S4 in this condition but in S5 its hard to avoid the trans clunking into the next gear when I shift at times On the other hand I find S5 shifts fine with a hard but not clunky shift or bang when I'm driving in a more aggressive manner on the open road. You can pretty much figure there are people who bought these things and put it into the highest available settings in M drive and then keep the car in that mode even though they are not actually driving in a style that would be suited to the harder shifting.
It's only a guess, but I figure the reason DSC needs to be disabled is because you can get a solid tire chirp when you shift in S6. So keeping DSC activated would negate the benefit of the crisper shift, DSC would always be engaging.

Further, if you shift at low RPM with moderate throttle, you get pretty smooth shifts in S6.
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      05-09-2012, 01:40 PM   #20
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Yeah, that was what I was saying. The shift firmness needs to match the driving style or else you get into clunky land on the higher modes. Again my thought was that this kind of low rpm driving without adaquate throttle to get smooth(er) shifts is probably being done by some and could be the reason it was made unavailable to the M button rather than it being the shifts at higher rpms and loads where it actually shifts more smoothly. I don't know this, its just a thought.

As to DCS traction control by any name can engage pretty much whenever they do or don't want it in any amount on any car so there is no reason they could not have allowed some scratch on shifts or completely disable it momentarily with a kick in for yaw (potential loss of control) if it follows the scratch. It is strictly a programming choice and in no way a limitation of the system. I'm saying this also pointed at the post before yours BTW. For an example in a corvette you can do slides, burn outs, etc while in comp mode and still have traction control backing you up if things get too lurid. IMO there is little doubt about the ability of DCS to handle S6. It could have been incorporated into the MDM mode but was not and I believe this came down to a choice, not capability.
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      05-09-2012, 02:15 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Porschefile View Post
LC wears out the clutches and the gears, using S6 wears out the gears but not the clutches. It just shifts so fast and hard that it puts unnecessary pressure on the gearbox. Try it under acceleration at high rpm and you can feel it. Similar to the fastest shift mode in SMG E46's, a few track guys have busted trans that way.

Basically it shifts up without allowing the revs to drop 100% to match the next gear. So it feels like it "surges" forward when you shift.

Personally I stick with S4 on track, still shifts very fast without bucking at all. S5 I've done before on track but the tiny decrease in shift time isn't worth the increased wear to me.
I drive in S5 all the time - even to the shops with the kids in the back!
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      05-09-2012, 03:55 PM   #22
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UM, My 2011.75 (12/2011) E92 M3 can program the M button to turn DCS off and put my DCT into S6? I do it everyday once its warmed up.
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