135 DCT vs M3 DCT

[03SG///M3]

Hello
I currently have an E90 M3 with DCT and i am considering getting a 135 with DCT. Does anyone know how the two transmissions (DCT) differ other than the M3 having multiple transmission modes - drivelogic.
How many shift modes are available on the 135 DCT?

I absolutely love my DCT transmission.

Thanks

[new2the3]

It has a sport on/off button, it's basic compared to the M3 and shifts slower but still very fast.

[Dackelone]

Does anyone have the BMW factory acel times for the 135i DCT? I have all the M3 times but none for a 135i.

[03SG///M3]

Is the actual transmission different? Or is it just the software that is different?

[MarkR171]

Originally Posted by new2the3

It has a sport on/off button, it's basic compared to the M3 and shifts slower but still very fast.

A bit more modes than that:

1. Drive
2. Drive + Sport Button
3. S (Lever moved to the left and out of D)
4. S + Sport Button
5. M
6. M + Sport Button

...but to be totally honest, if you're going to be in M or S modes, there's no reason to not have the Sport Button on.

I wouldn't say it shifts slower than the M3. I'd say it shifts just as fast in S+Sport or M+Sport. You can't shift any faster than instant! The M3 just has more adjustments which I think are unnecessary anyway. You either want comfortable slower shifts, or super fast instant shifts for spirited drives. I don't see a reason for anything in between.

[BSM 335I]

Originally Posted by MarkR171

A bit more modes than that:

1. Drive
2. Drive + Sport Button
3. S (Lever moved to the left and out of D)
4. S + Sport Button
5. M
6. M + Sport Button

So you have 6 mode in total?

Last I checked it was 3 modes:

1) Drive
2) Sport
3) Manual

If I understand correctly according to your above post are you able to move the shifter to the left into M mode and drive in D that way without sport mode being enabled?

[MarkR171]

Originally Posted by BSM 335I

So you have 6 mode in total?

Last I checked it was 3 modes:

1) Drive
2) Sport
3) Manual

If I understand correctly according to your above post are you able to move the shifter to the left into M mode and drive in D that way without sport mode being enabled?

If you're in D and move the lever to the left, you go into "S" mode. You can do that without pressing the sport button. I'm not sure if there's a difference between S with Sport or S without Sport because I've never been in S without it on.

M is activated any time you pull a shift lever. The only difference is, if you have the lever to the left (S location), the computer will not revert back to automatic and will stay in M mode.

Alternatively, if you pull a shift lever in D, it will go to M, but as soon as you stop shifting it will revert back to D.



In Manual mode (M + Lever to the left), the Sport Button does make a difference. It quickens the shifts and gives a quicker pedal response.

[fancyfl1ght]

Originally Posted by MarkR171

A bit more modes than that:

1. Drive
2. Drive + Sport Button
3. S (Lever moved to the left and out of D)
4. S + Sport Button
5. M
6. M + Sport Button

...but to be totally honest, if you're going to be in M or S modes, there's no reason to not have the Sport Button on.

I wouldn't say it shifts slower than the M3. I'd say it shifts just as fast in S+Sport or M+Sport. You can't shift any faster than instant! The M3 just has more adjustments which I think are unnecessary anyway. You either want comfortable slower shifts, or super fast instant shifts for spirited drives. I don't see a reason for anything in between.

As part of my test drive between the 2006 M3 vert and the 135i vert and the M3 sedan, I found the DCT to be simpler with the sport button on the 135i.

I learned immediately what the differences were, but when I tried the different buttons on the M3, I wasn't so sure. Was it complexity just for complexity sake or real changes?

Ultimately I had to choose with my guts so I bought the DCT 135i vert over the 2006 M3 and the M3 sedan. The V8 in the M3 didn't really impress me all that much except for the gas consumption.

My wife did like the novillo leather in the M3 over the Boston Leather in the 135i, but as a driver, I could not appreciate the difference in the leather all that much.

[MarkR171]

Originally Posted by fancyfl1ght

The V8 in the M3 didn't really impress me all that much except for the gas consumption.

I've heard that numerous times from people who test drove them though I've never driven an M3 myself. They're great track cars but I think they just don't have the power down low to notice it on your every day drive. The 135 has more peak torque and it's available lower in the RPM range.

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by fancyfl1ght

Ultimately I had to choose with my guts so I bought the DCT 135i vert over the 2006 M3 and the M3 sedan. The V8 in the M3 didn't really impress me all that much except for the gas consumption.

The M3 has a high strung engine. If you didn't drive with your foot to the floor up to 8400rpm's, you weren't in the power band. I agree that for everyday driving, the low end torque in the 135i is more fun. But on spirited drives, nothing beats a screaming engine that pulls harder as the rpms climb. I love high rpm cars where the power band is up top. It's one of the main reasons I sold my 1 and have an M3 on order.

But not sure how the v8 didn't impress you. The sound it makes is just amazing. And it pulls harder than a stock 135i, just in a different part of the rpm range. If the salesman didn't let you drive the car hard, you didn't experience what the m3's engine is all about.

[IMASINNER]

Originally Posted by MarkR171

A bit more modes than that:

...but to be totally honest, if you're going to be in M or S modes, there's no reason to not have the Sport Button on.

Is there anyway to get the sport to come on automatically when i start my car?? I drive DCT in M all the time and would just like the sport buttom on automatically

[DWRAT]

Originally Posted by IMASINNER

Is there anyway to get the sport to come on automatically when i start my car?? I drive DCT in M all the time and would just like the sport buttom on automatically

No, you have to push the button every time the car is started.

[fancyfl1ght]

Originally Posted by radiantm3

The M3 has a high strung engine. If you didn't drive with your foot to the floor up to 8400rpm's, you weren't in the power band. I agree that for everyday driving, the low end torque in the 135i is more fun. But on spirited drives, nothing beats a screaming engine that pulls harder as the rpms climb. I love high rpm cars where the power band is up top. It's one of the main reasons I sold my 1 and have an M3 on order.

But not sure how the v8 didn't impress you. The sound it makes is just amazing. And it pulls harder than a stock 135i, just in a different part of the rpm range. If the salesman didn't let you drive the car hard, you didn't experience what the m3's engine is all about.

about the M3. The salesman and I took turns on a stretch of road with each car. I definitely got the engine noise for the M3 and appreciated it. And it does pull harder at higher RPMs.

I simply made a choice on gut feeling. I guess I like the practical get up and go torque more than the power at higher RPMs. This is a personal choice on my part and I am not race car driver most of the time. I do enjoy occasionally the hooliganism that my 135 gives me though.

Congrats on the M3. It is perhaps too hardcore for me.

[cukoodukoo]

sorry for going off topic but...I too am in limbo.undecided between an M3 and 135i for daily driving.

[Remonster]

Originally Posted by cukoodukoo

sorry for going off topic but...I too am in limbo.undecided between an M3 and 135i for daily driving.

Definitely the 135i, that's why I bought mine. The M3 is an amazing car but the N55 gives you a much bigger kick in the ass in the midrange.

Why don't you just go test drive both? Tell the salesman you're stuck between them and drive them back to back, I did that with an M3 and 335i (N54) and decided the only thing I was really going to miss M3 was the sound of that V8.

The 135i, in terms of the way it feels and handles, is even closer to the M3 than the 335i (and the 3 I drive had Performance suspension, exhaust and the power kit).

It's true what others have been saying, you've gotta keep the M3 way up in its power band whereas the N55 I have now has the power to light up my rear tires in 3rd or even 4th in the twisties if they're anything but perfectly smooth.

[///M Rakete]

Mmmmm. Both.

135i for daily driver, M3 for everything else.

They are different, no question. While my 135i was just built last week so I don't have it yet (just test drives) I expect to drive them differently as well, each for its own purpose and in the way they are designed to be driven. Street fighter vs. canyon bomber.

[babyboss]

M3 DCT Launch Control u can adjust RPM .. 135 DCT U Can't <>

[///M Rakete]

Originally Posted by maxnix

You mean by using the throttle?

No, on the M3 the engine speed when flooring the accelerator pedal for LC can be adjusted by up to 500 rpm higher or lower using the cruise control stalk.