E92 M3 Ideal Shift Points

[M3Rolly]

Anyone that can advise me on the ideal shift points to conserve mpg for city driving and engine life? I usually shift from 1-2 at 2k+ or where it just feels smooth and non jerky. But, I still feel my E92 is slow off the line from a red light and it's not until third gear that I feel the potential of the M engine.

I don't want to do any speed shifting (shifting w/o releasing foot off the gas) or anything of that sort. I'm still learning to drive stick and the M itself.

I've been reading posts on M3forum.net about ideal shifts points for people's E46s. Some are saying to shift at least in the middle to high end of the power band (at least 5k).

I want to be able to drive my M with confidence that I'm treating it the way that it should be driven whether in a relaxed drive or a pull the trigger mode.

Thanks.

[J08M3]

When I'm driving slow in traffic or whatever I usually find myself making the 1-2 shift around 2,500 RPM.

For speed off the line this engine doesn't really make power at low RPM you need to be much more aggressive with the gas and coming off the clutch. You want to have more RPM when letting off the clutch, unlike driving around town in traffic you can take off at 1k rpm. I'm not saying dump the clutch from 3k+ although that helps a stop light race haha. But if they are too low when you engage the clutch the engine seems to bog down and take awhile to start making power.

Just practice. This car takes a little time to learn, reading on a forum won't help like practicing in the car. You'll get used to it.

[1MOREMOD]

shifts at 2-2.5k from 1st to 2nd? how is that possible? barely even moving by that point. this isnt a diesel peterbuilt. imo i rarely shift below 4-5k when taking it easy.

[DevJ]

Originally Posted by J08M3

When I'm driving slow in traffic or whatever I usually find myself making the 1-2 shift around 2,500 RPM.

For speed off the line this engine doesn't really make power at low RPM you need to be much more aggressive with the gas and coming off the clutch. You want to have more RPM when letting off the clutch, unlike driving around town in traffic you can take off at 1k rpm. I'm not saying dump the clutch from 3k+ although that helps a stop light race haha. But if they are too low when you engage the clutch the engine seems to bog down and take awhile to start making power.

Just practice. This car takes a little time to learn, reading on a forum won't help like practicing in the car. You'll get used to it.

Exactly! I usually vary my shifts around town from 2500-3000 rpm, in my opinion, anything lower than 2500RPM, it is difficult to shift smoothly.

Practice makes perfect! I have about 5K miles on my M (first manual car) and i'm a pretty good driver now! Just find an empty place to practice and you'll be fine!

P.S. this is kinda random but i still have a little difficulty rev-match down shifting from 3rd to 2nd

[J08M3]

Originally Posted by DevJ

P.S. this is kinda random but i still have a little difficulty rev-match down shifting from 3rd to 2nd

I find 4 - 3 very easy. 3 - 2 is more difficult as you need a bigger blip of the throttle to get the RPM high enough to match

[J08M3]

Originally Posted by chriszeh

shifts at 2-2.5k from 1st to 2nd? how is that possible? barely even moving by that point. this isnt a diesel peterbuilt. imo i rarely shift below 4-5k when taking it easy.

4-5K is quite often to fast for traffic conditions. One main reason I'm considering switching my rear to a 4.10. I think it will help keep the engine in the power band better while driving on the street. Plus the 6% increase it torque at the rear wheels will be nice. Top speed is totally unnecessary for me and it will still be fast enough with this gear change.

[96OCTNE]

Originally Posted by J08M3

4-5K is quite often to fast for traffic conditions. One main reason I'm considering switching my rear to a 4.10. I think it will help keep the engine in the power band better while driving on the street. Plus the 6% increase it torque at the rear wheels will be nice. Top speed is totally unnecessary for me and it will still be fast enough with this gear change.

How do you hope to achieve this? I would like to do the same.

[jbeene]

Originally Posted by DevJ

Exactly! I usually vary my shifts around town from 2500-3000 rpm, in my opinion, anything lower than 2500RPM, it is difficult to shift smoothly.

Practice makes perfect! I have about 5K miles on my M (first manual car) and i'm a pretty good driver now! Just find an empty place to practice and you'll be fine!

P.S. this is kinda random but i still have a little difficulty rev-match down shifting from 3rd to 2nd

Rev matching is a breeze in SportPlus Mode.

[J08M3]

Originally Posted by 96OCTNE

How do you hope to achieve this? I would like to do the same.

http://www.dinancars.com/store/produ...cat=800&page=1

Assuming I can afford it... Quite an expensive upgrade.

going from stock 3.85 to 4.10 is not a huge change but should be nice

[bruce.augenstein@comcast.]

Originally Posted by M3Rolly

Anyone that can advise me on the ideal shift points to conserve mpg for city driving and engine life? I usually shift from 1-2 at 2k+ or where it just feels smooth and non jerky. But, I still feel my E92 is slow off the line from a red light and it's not until third gear that I feel the potential of the M engine.

I don't want to do any speed shifting (shifting w/o releasing foot off the gas) or anything of that sort. I'm still learning to drive stick and the M itself.

I've been reading posts on M3forum.net about ideal shifts points for people's E46s. Some are saying to shift at least in the middle to high end of the power band (at least 5k).

I want to be able to drive my M with confidence that I'm treating it the way that it should be driven whether in a relaxed drive or a pull the trigger mode.

Thanks.

For best mileage, max throttle and very low shift points is the hot tip. This is hard to do while still maintaining smoothness, but your limited experience may help you in this regard, as you won't have to unlearn long-held habits.

For best smoothness, shift very early (2-2.5K), but use only as much throttle as you can successfully manage in the lower gears without people involuntarily nodding during the shift. As you progress through the gears, you can use more and more throttle (while still shifting way early), and in, say, third through fifth, max throttle may be very doable before the mid-2s shift.

Try lower and lower shift points by gear (while still being aggressive with the throttle), until the engine starts to lug (i.e. - vibrate and feel unhappy) after the shift. If that happens, shift a little higher into that gear the next time.

Note: The noticeable lugging point will vary by gear.

Lugging won't hurt the engine, but it will set your teeth on edge, and if you have friends aboard, they will ride you unmercifully, which is partially what friends are for.

What people love about this engine is that it's docile at lower rpm (yes, it's "weaker" than some competitors under these conditions), but it turns into a fiend when you want it to. Just make the tach needle pass twelve o'clock high and you're gone.

[1MOREMOD]

i often skip shift also going 1 to 3 or 2 to 4.

[M3Rolly]

Thanks guys. These are all very good advice. I also notice that the ecu won't let me upshift or downshift to a certain gear if i'm not in the appropriate mph range which is a good thing. That's another good starting point to learn too.

And, sometimes when i get on the freeway on-ramp i will floor it from 40 mph to 110mph until the rpm is about 8k and then shift directly from 3rd straight to 6th gear). How would you guys do it?

[dizman7]

Originally Posted by M3Rolly

But, I still feel my E92 is slow off the line from a red light and it's not until third gear that I feel the potential of the M engine.
Thanks.

By this statement I'm guessing you haven't tried the Power button ("Sport Mode"), nor the M-Button (if you have it, and you have it programmed for "Sport Plus" mode).

In "Normal" power mode (with both of those buttons off) you have to really push the gas pedal more than half way down to get it to really go. This mode is designed for everyday/city driving.

And if your in Normal mode and shifting at 2k rpm, then yeah it's not really going to feel that fast cause your probably not push the pedal down that much which in Normal mode it's not giving that much gas to the engine which is perfectly fine and what you wanted for MPG.

next your at a stop light push the Power button so the orange light is on. Just drive as you normal do and you'll notice the car is much zippy even though you only pushed the gas pedal down a little bit.

And if you have iDrive, go into the Settings, M-Settings and set Power to Sport Plus (probably leave everything else normal for starters). Then next time you are at a red light, press the M-button and drive as you normal do! You'll notice that when you push the pedal in just a tad the car will just want to go! Careful in Sport Plus mode, if you are shifting at 2k rpm, you might stall it in this mode if your not being aggressive with the gas, just an FYI




I often skip gears a lot in my driving around town/interstate. I most often skip 3 in city driving. so from a light I'll floor it a bit and go 1-2-4 and then I'm up to 45-50mph or so which is around the speed limit and the next stop light isn't for 5 or 6 blocs. Not to say I don't use 3rd, cause some times that's all traffic allows, but more times than not it's the gear I skip for city driving.

With a nice interstate on ramps I usually floor it 1, 2, 3, 4 and then once I get to whatever speed I want I throw it into 6th. I don't really use 5th gear a lot unless I want to set cruise but still have a tad more power to quickly pass people, but usually 6th is enough for that.

[J08M3]

Originally Posted by M3Rolly

Thanks guys. These are all very good advice. I also notice that the ecu won't let me upshift or downshift to a certain gear if i'm not in the appropriate mph range which is a good thing. That's another good starting point to learn too.

I never noticed this.

[1MOREMOD]

[QUOTE=J08M3;5038668]4-5K is quite often to fast for traffic conditions.

a shift at 2k is only 10-12 mph. dont see 4-5k as being too much for anything but school zones.

[M3Rolly]

Originally Posted by dizman7

By this statement I'm guessing you haven't tried the Power button ("Sport Mode"), nor the M-Button (if you have it, and you have it programmed for "Sport Plus" mode).

To tell you the truth, dizman, the power button has always been on and with one LED lit and dsc on. It stills feels slow in 1-2 shifting compared to 325s, civics, etc. How high rpm can i get in rpm before the car will begin jerking. I guess i've been pretty reluctant to push it in 1st because it's embarrassing for the car to jerk at 10mph, 3k rpm.

[M3Rolly]

Also, where do you guys shift when WOT'ing for maximum hp? Is it 7.8k, 8k, 8.3k, etc? I imagine 8.3k is not good since that's where redline is peak power usually drops off at that point. Sorry for so many questions but if I get these answered it will really help.

[M3Rolly]

Originally Posted by chriszeh

i often skip shift also going 1 to 3 or 2 to 4.

Wouldn't starting in 2nd be bad for the clutch since it's a smaller gear than 1st and that's where you need the biggest gear to get off a stop?

[J08M3]

Originally Posted by M3Rolly

Wouldn't starting in 2nd be bad for the clutch since it's a smaller gear than 1st and that's where you need the biggest gear to get off a stop?

The engine has enough torque to start from 2nd without having to slip the clutch very much and cause any damage.

[MrHarris]

To conserve fuel, I shift at 2.5k, til the highest gear that's above 1.5k and below 2k. I get 17.1-17.4 with 60% city, 40% highway.

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by M3Rolly

Wouldn't starting in 2nd be bad for the clutch since it's a smaller gear than 1st and that's where you need the biggest gear to get off a stop?

i wasnt refering to starting in second just skipping 3rd or any other gear at times. i do sometimes on rolling stops use 2nd rather than 1st and leaving the line seems to be fine in second also.

[bruce.augenstein@comcast.]

Originally Posted by M3Rolly

Also, where do you guys shift when WOT'ing for maximum hp? Is it 7.8k, 8k, 8.3k, etc? I imagine 8.3k is not good since that's where redline is peak power usually drops off at that point. Sorry for so many questions but if I get these answered it will really help.

In this car, max acceleration s obtained by essentially shifting right at the rev limiter without actually hitting it. Even though you're past the power peak by a smidgeon, you'll have more power after the shift in the next gear if you do this, and therefore higher average power for the duration of the run.