[Daytona_John]

Previous to my 2006 330i, I had two Acura TLs (a 2000, and a 2003). Here's a few observations I've made during the first few weeks of BMW ownership:

-In most respects, the BMW Sportshift Auto tranny kicks the snot out of the Acura's. In the Acura, when you move the shifter over into the manual selection mode, you _really_ only get 3 shifts to play with, because the car won't let you shift into first. The BMW really and truely feels like a clutchless manual transmission, and thankfully it doesn't insult the drivers's intelligence by not allowing you to shift down into first. The one complaint that I do have with BMW's transmission is that the + and - selectors seem backward to me (perhaps only because Acura has them in the reverse configuration). I got used to it after about a week.

-This car seems amazingly fast. Gobs of power throughout the curve...very refined, yes. But wow...the power! Between the rear wheel drive characteristics of the 330, and the great sport shifter, it REALLY drives like a sport car. I wonder if you can actually get better performance in sport shift mode? Will a sport shift auto's performance numbers duplicate those of a manual transmission equiped car if driven/shifted correctly? Interestingly enough, one of the car magazine's tested the Acura TL in full auto mode, then again in sport shift mode. There was no difference in the performance numbers.

- For all the thrashing I read of the BMW I-Drive system, I don't really have any major complaints. Sure, it would be better if it were a touch screen, menu driven system, and it does take a few days to get used to. But it's radical departure from how the driver controlled systems in a car are operated, so I would expect a learning curve.

- While I opted not to get the Sports package (which would make the winter driving characteristics more treacherous), I'm pleasantly surprised by how well the car handles in the snow. The car tracks perfectly, and doesn't slide unless I intentionally force it. My TLs drove pretty darn well in the snow and ice, but I don't think my 330 will be that much worse.

I'd love to see a three way comparison of a manual 330, full auto, and sport shift mode 330 from 0-60, etc.

I love my e90!!!

[jmcphillips1]

Good for you, glad to have you aboard

[LEDZEP]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and comparisons! I agree with on the reverse logic of the manual shifting. I had MB and VW that both worked the opposite. I find the BMW to be counter-intuitive in that respect.

[325Driver]

Good writeup!

To answer your question about the full auto vs. sport mode. The difference in acceleration times would be negligible at best. We are talking hundredths of a second here. The manual will still beat the auto with a good driver, but not by much. Automatics are becoming more and more efficient at what they do. Couple that with 6 and even 7 speed boxes showing up where 4 and 5 speeds used to rule and you have a much faster package. What used to be close to a full second lag between stick and auto is now down to 2/10ths for the 330I in question according to bmwusa.com.

[tctic]

I actually liked the way BMW put the "+" and "-" in that particular setup. It's more natural when you are shifting from low gears all the way up to higher ones.

[Squawks]

Think of the "+" and "-" positions as this: you are controlling the needle on your tach. Tap the shifter down to make the tach needle go down (tapping down upshifts, upshifting to a higher gear lowers the RPM if going at the same speed). Tap the shifter up to put the tach needle higher into the power band.

The true way to place the "+" and "-" in my opinion. I used to play racing games with the same sort of configuration on my controller back in the golden days.

[kal-el]

glad you like the car.

[ksfrogman]

My hunch would be similar to 325Driver's thoughts about full auto vs sport mode. The 6MT actually has different gear ratios and is lighter than the 6-speed automatic, so naturally, all else being equal, the manual would intuitively have the slight advantage.

One more important point for us math nerds: The difference in 0-60 mph times of 6.1 and 6.3 seconds is 0.2 seconds. This IS significant. At 60 mph, a car will be travelling at at 8.8 ft/0.1 secs or 17.6 feet/0.2 seconds. The 330i is about 15 feet long, so by the time the cars hit around 60 mph, the faster one will be over a car length ahead (give or take) in a drag race.

[blownaway]

I'm about to make the change from my 6 speed 04 TL to a 330i SP with 6 speed. If finally had a chance to drive a sport 330 6 speed a couple of day's ago and was very impressed. Smooth shifts, like "budda" :rocks: I like the TL, but LOVE the 330i!

[voltron1011]

My brother's 06 TL with 300 horsepower doesn't feel as powerful as my 215 horsepower. His car is nice but I don't see paying $50,000 for it. I also think that my Idrive nav is better than his. The TL's sound system is awesome. I let my brother drive my 325 and I think he wishes now he had looked at the Bimmers some more.

[Arby 330]

IMO the bmw + and - postions for the manual shifting /w auto tranny makes sense to me. When i tryed to figure out why bmw does things "backwards" is this. Under acceleration it is easier to move your hand backwards with the G's then it is to move it forwards and against the G's. Not that it is significant to make much of a difference at all, but that is why i have always thought bmw did it differently from other companies. So they can talk about how they offer a "unique manual mode that allows you to effortlessly shift through the gears all within the very sporty and practical automatic transmisson". This is all a assumption on my part, but it hsa been what i have always thought.

[ase2dais]

Originally Posted by Daytona_John

The BMW really and truely feels like a clutchless manual transmission, ....-This car seems amazingly fast. Gobs of power throughout the curve...very refined, yes. But wow...the power! Between the rear wheel drive characteristics of the 330, and the great sport shifter, it REALLY drives like a sport car.

Thks for the great observations, for some seem to miss the delight of what this steptronic really brings to the table. It is, to me, Today's Age manual tranny, for I drive mine like I have a true manual transmission. Such joy to give the car a kick, by giving it a sudden downshift or engage the engine brake, while still pushing the accelerator, and I know other enthusiast around me can observe that the car has power, thats why they let a E90 go.

Welcome to the forum.

[nyfinest]

As a former 2004 Acura TL owner i most whloeheartedly concur!!!!!!!!!

[saquibk]

Originally Posted by voltron1011

My brother's 06 TL with 300 horsepower doesn't feel as powerful as my 215 horsepower.

Yeah sure, whatever makes you sleep better. And BTW, the TL with NAVI has 270HP and is $35,700 approx. not $50,000.

[voltron1011]

Originally Posted by saquibk

Yeah sure, whatever makes you sleep better. And BTW, the TL with NAVI has 270HP and is $35,700 approx. not $50,000.

Actually, my brother's car is an RL, not the TL. Excuse me for being one letter off, Im no Acura expert. They all look like Accords to me anyway. His RL is definitley slower than my E90.

[r3amir]

Originally Posted by voltron1011

Actually, my brother's car is an RL, not the TL. Excuse me for being one letter off, Im no Acura expert. They all look like Accords to me anyway.

I like the new RL outside and inside I don't know about its ride

[sunchild]

i was an ex TL owner as well. had the oem kit, mugen wing... bla bla bla

[saquibk]

Originally Posted by voltron1011

Actually, my brother's car is an RL, not the TL. Excuse me for being one letter off, Im no Acura expert. They all look like Accords to me anyway. His RL is definitley slower than my E90.

So the 525i is slower than your 325i and looks like crap. So is 525i no good and should not be preferred ever over a 325i?

Understand that different people have different choices and different priorities when buying cars. At least compare cars in the same class.
A Lotus Elise would beat a 330i (forget a 325i) in handling and acceleration and is comparably priced. Would it be a fair comparison? Different class of cars different target buyers. Same thing with RL and a 325i.

[Arby 330]

Originally Posted by saquibk

So the 525i is slower than your 325i and looks like crap. So is 525i no good and should not be preferred ever over a 325i?

Understand that different people have different choices and different priorities when buying cars. At least compare cars in the same class.
A Lotus Elise would beat a 330i (forget a 325i) in handling and acceleration and is comparably priced. Would it be a fair comparison? Different class of cars different target buyers. Same thing with RL and a 325i.

Even if Saquibk is just a big negative nancy..... he still does bring a good point. Its interesting to hace a neutral opinion to help us notice how biast we are here, and how much we float our own boats by talking about cars were better than... i do it a lot im not hating on anyone, i just have never thought about it before...

[voltron1011]

I guess my point was also that the RL isn't really that much bigger than the E90. The E60 is definitely bigger than the RL, yet they are supposed in the same class.

[Daytona_John]

Originally Posted by 325Driver

Good writeup!

To answer your question about the full auto vs. sport mode. The difference in acceleration times would be negligible at best. We are talking hundredths of a second here. The manual will still beat the auto with a good driver, but not by much. Automatics are becoming more and more efficient at what they do. Couple that with 6 and even 7 speed boxes showing up where 4 and 5 speeds used to rule and you have a much faster package. What used to be close to a full second lag between stick and auto is now down to 2/10ths for the 330I in question according to bmwusa.com.

Thanks for the info - that's good to know.

The interesting thing to me is that it feels much faster to me when I do 0-60 in sport shift vs. full auto mode.