Current Dct Owners...would You Still Buy A Dct For Track Use

[Sebringjetta]

ok so im getting ready to pull the trigger on a new e90 m3 after totaling my e46 on the track. 1 of the e90 m3's im looking is dct. i know in the past that the dct had issues but after the dealer update and several miles on the track how do you guys feel about the dct...any complaints? would you change to a 6spd? etc...thank you for your time

[///M Ryder]

Without a doubt. Do it and you won't regret it.........Phil

[Sebringjetta]

Originally Posted by ///M Ryder

Without a doubt. Do it and you won't regret it.........Phil

i know this subj has been beat to death but wanted to hear your opinion after putting miles on them. sounds like after the updates people have not had issues with them on the track...

[arter]

For NASA the DCT has 3 penalty points over the 6 sp. It is faster on the track.

And you wont ever do a money shift with it....

[sterile stork]

Originally Posted by arter

For NASA the DCT has 3 penalty points over the 6 sp. It is faster on the track.

And you wont ever do a money shift with it....

You also won't make it more than 30 minutes on the track with it

[Sebringjetta]

Originally Posted by sterile stork

You also won't make it more than 30 minutes on the track with it

thought this issue was fixed

[Groundpilot]

I have two cars with DCT and love both of them. Would never go back to MT(new Z07 maybe the only car i would be ok with MT).
However, DCT has overheating issues if driven hard for 20minutes or longer in a hot, humid conditions. My tranny(both cars) refused to downshift several times at WGI and LRP. Ambient temp. was 85 or more in all instances. Would not use it for racing, but its ok for HPDE. Never had problems on the street.

[Billj747]

I wouldn't hesitate. F1 cars and most modern Sports Car and Prototypes have paddleshifters.

As far as cooling goes, here's an upgraded heat exchanger:

http://ind-distribution.com/ind/cate...rmance/dkg-dct

And the thread on how it works:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=510178

[Gearhead999s]

Without a doubt!The closer gear ratios really help the performance where you use 3rd-5th gear at a faster track like Mosport or WGI in addition to the faster shift times.

[thorny]

Not sure about race use, but for hpde it is the best

[///M Power-Belgium]

In a heartbeat...special now with the BPM-DCT software upgrade !
DCT shifts now smoother,faster,and more powerfull ,my car feels faster now,this is the best thing to do for our cars with DCT !
So...special thanks to Mike-Benvo and BPM

[Longboarder]

I've tracked my car in wild conditions, including a 95 degree day at Big Willow. And it's supercharged AND DCT. So apparently my car is supposed to overheat badly. But guess what? No issues. DCT was fine and oil temp needle crept halfway between 210 and 300. The only thing that was an issue was the tires. They actually melted and I slipped off the track!

People getting overheating issues aren't driving them fast enough

[Gearhead999s]

Originally Posted by sterile stork

You also won't make it more than 30 minutes on the track with it

The only time I ever noticed a heating issue was at WGI in 90degree + heat where it started to pull the redline back after about 25 minutes of a session.Pulled the shift points back to 7600 & no further issues.

[CanAutM3]

Go for it. I tracked MT cars for 15 years before getting the DCT 5 years ago. I really have not regretted it for track use.

I recently drove a 6MT E90 from one of my track buddies, he wanted me to drive his car rather than mine on the track to see where he could be faster with his own car. As much as I had fun going back to rowing gears and heel-and-toeing, I still prefered my DCT on the track.

I never had overheating issues until I had the rev limit increased to 8600RPM. On hot days, after several laps of 8600RPM shifts, the DCT would get sluggish on upshifts and would sometimes refuse to downshift. Simply lowering the shift point RPM for a few laps fixed the issue.

[bigjae1976]

The DCT is fantastic and fun in a different way. You can overheat it pretty easy since you can just keep downshifting to keep the engine constantly on the redline.

Its not always as easy as you think especially if you have the OEM exhaust and you get near a car with a loud exhaust. Then I find I tend to shift too much because its so easy.

[arter]

Originally Posted by sterile stork

You also won't make it more than 30 minutes on the track with it

I have gone over an hour with it and no problems.
The driver is not rated longer than that

[CBS]

I asked IND to install a Trans Temp Gauge on my SC'd M3 so I can monitor while on the track. I have never had a problem with the DCT overheating. I live in the Northeast so it's not like FL or TX.

[OC3]

My DCT M3's (E90, and now E92) and others I know of overheat during hot summer months here in SoCal. The oil temp indicator shoots to around 285F after about 4 to 5 hot laps, forcing me to do 2 consecutive cool-down laps, and then I may or may not have time left in the session to may be put in 1 more hot lap after that. In contrast, in winter months, the temp indicator maxes out at around 255F no matter how hard the car is run.

Spoke to several 6MT track buddies and they tell me that their M3's don't overheat like that. Didn't ask them what temp their cars read. May be they can chime in here.

As far as adding (larger, aftermarket) heat exchangers go, the consensus seems to be that they don't prevent temp from skyrocketting. What they do is, once the temp shoots up, the temp will drop down rapidly in a mere half a lap of cool-down lap - enabling the driver to may be put in 2 or 3 more hot laps in that session. In comparison, I was envious of GT3's running 10 to 12 hot laps and the oil temp indicator steadily being at 220F or so during the entire time.

As far as DCT being faster, at our non-professional, HPDE level, I don't know how beneficial it might be. Somebody mentioned that DCT is 2 seconds faster than 6MT, but perhaps he meant "if a DCT driver tries 6MT, he'll be 2 seconds slower than his DCT lap time"? If so, I say, tracking in 6MT and heel-and-toe'ing isn't no monumental achievement that's next-to-impossible to master. Nothing one can't get up to speed on by tracking 6MT for 5+ track days. The logic of some people...

[ThunderMoose]

Originally Posted by arter

For NASA the DCT has 3 penalty points over the 6 sp. It is faster on the track.

And you wont ever do a money shift with it....

It's a 6 pt penalty, since DCT also has different gear ratios.

[klammer]

Love the DCT, no issues or "overheating" but did notice slow upshifts at times in extreme heat and late session, but that is all, no drop in redline/loss of power, and has not been frequent. Durable thus far

[///M Ryder]

I've never had a overheating issue. The summer heat and humidity in the Houston area can be brutal and my car has been brilliant while on track. Again, I say go for it OP.........Phil

[Sebringjetta]

Well once again I guess its on and individual basis...from what it sounds is like mist cars some can be great and some might have an issue...none the less thank you for all the input