[degarfs]

Hi

Is the M/S shift gear only can be used if you have MSport in X3? I have an ordinary X3 20d with no DDC option but I can see the M/S shift on my gear. How can I use the M/S shit gear? Any advice?

[DavC5000]

shift car into drive and push the lever to the left then you should be in manual mode.

[sfax]

Important f missing in your last shift

When you nudge to the left the dash changes to DS and you're in automatic sport. If you then nudge up or down you're in semi-automatic and the dash will show M2, M3 as you change gear

[Beyu]

All X3s let you shift manually using the gear lever regardless of packages or options.

Different car models and options add paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

[tank531]

Good question this - it took me a while to realise you also get the sport auto - I originally thought you only got 'manual'

[Razel]

"DS"? May be different depending on where you live? I get "D" when shifting out of "P" (neutral or reverse, too), then when pushing the gearshift to the left I get "Sx" where x is the gear the transmission is in. Subsequently moving the gearshift forward or back will change the "Sx" to "Mx".
From what I understand, D will give me all 8 forward gears.
S mode only goes as high as S7, but going to M I can get M8
M1 and M2 can be accessed when stopped. From what I understand, M1 and M2 are the only gears where the torque converter isn't locked all the time. I tried M3 at a stop, but it went to M2. If it's in the Mx mode, it will shift down to M1 when you stop, regardless of your shifting. Then it stays there until you upshift.

I do have DHP, so when I set it via iDrive to sport mode, the display shows "D SPORT" with the gearshift to the right.

[X3msport]

I am confused as the what the DS mode does... Can someone clarify? What are the benefits of it? Does it give the car more "pep?"

[x3heh]

Originally Posted by X3msport

I am confused as the what the DS mode does... Can someone clarify? What are the benefits of it? Does it give the car more "pep?"

I think it just shuts off the overdrive(s) - higher engine speed and more engine braking in all gears. Better acceleration response, less economy.

BTW does anyone know where to find the service manual? It wasn't a problem buying one for a Honda... Is this information held secret by BMW or something??

[dnw]

So what happens if you first put the drive select rocker switch into sport or sport+ and then push the shift lever to the left?

Does sport mode automatically put the transmission into DS/S mode or is it a different mode again?

[tank531]

umm - a can of worms has opened. It appears the operation of the 'manual' or 'sport auto' mode could depend on other options you may have. However, I think the operation of the transmission is not to be confused with other 'sport' settings such as the suspension (if you have these buttons)

I have the 2.0D engine and the operation of my ZF 8 speed auto when I move the stick to the left/otherside (is it left or right if you have a left drive vehicle?) I get two modes:

a) just moving the stick to the otherside puts the vehicle in 'sport auto' - it simply revs higher before automatically changing up or down. In this mode the dash panel displays 'DS'

b) moving the stick to the otherside then pushing up or down will allow you to change gear 'manually' at any rev (within a preset range, but I don't know what the limits are) If you slow down to a junction the transmission will 'auto' change down anyway if you can't be bothered with the stick. In this mode the dash panel shows the current gear a M1-8

It took me 3 months of ownership to realise the 'sport auto mode' was available. In reality I have only used these modes on asbout 5 occasions. No doubt fuel will take a hit but on some roads you can have some fun - a bit like 'a fix', you only a short dose.

I still have an unanswered question: Once you move the stick accross and start changing manually - how do you get back to 'sport auto' without moving the stick back and forth again?

I think some of the questions above are mixing up suspension settings, but I don't have these buttons so I cannot add more detail. I also noticed that ZF who make the transmission now have a 9 speeder!

[sfax]

Originally Posted by tank531

I still have an unanswered question: Once you move the stick accross and start changing manually - how do you get back to 'sport auto' without moving the stick back and forth again?

I think some of the questions above are mixing up suspension settings, but I don't have these buttons so I cannot add more detail. I also noticed that ZF who make the transmission now have a 9 speeder!

You can't as far as I know. The only way is to go back and forth. I never switch to semi-automatic but do use DS quite a lot.

On the whole DS vs Sport/Sport+ confusion. The transmission in DS is not the same as the transmission in Sport mode. I don't know the exact differences but it has been discussed ad naseum in another thread.

Sport mode will also change the suspension if you have dynamic dampers and the steering if you have variable sport steering

[troggy1969]

I did have to read it twice to spot it!

Originally Posted by sfax

Important f missing in your last shift

When you nudge to the left the dash changes to DS and you're in automatic sport. If you then nudge up or down you're in semi-automatic and the dash will show M2, M3 as you change gear

[degarfs]

Originally Posted by Beyu

All X3s let you shift manually using the gear lever regardless of packages or options.

Different car models and options add paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

Thanks Bevu! Tried the shift gear but did not drive with it.

Can I find out what is the difference between the normal D drive and the M1 to M6 drive? What is the purpose or advantages of using the manual shift gear during driving? Thanks

[sfax]

Originally Posted by degarfs

Thanks Bevu! Tried the shift gear but did not drive with it.

Can I find out what is the difference between the normal D drive and the M1 to M6 drive? What is the purpose or advantages of using the manual shift gear during driving? Thanks

D = automatic
M1-6 = semi-automatic, you decide when to change gear

[lbjgh]

I would assume the dealer went over the various features at delivery.

[degarfs]

Originally Posted by lbjgh

I would assume the dealer went over the various features at delivery.

Yes, just basic but not 100 percent everything

[Beyu]

Originally Posted by dnw

So what happens if you first put the drive select rocker switch into sport or sport+ and then push the shift lever to the left?

Does sport mode automatically put the transmission into DS/S mode or is it a different mode again?

From what I know driving an X3 w/o DHP putting the shift lever left and into DS simply makes the car's gear shift points higher and allows you to lock in a gear if you choose to manually shift. For those who don't know or haven't tried this yet you can manually shift even if you don't put the car into DS mode, the transmission will engage the gear you selected and revert back to automatic after a couple seconds.

Depending on what you have enabled in sport mode the changes from putting the car into DS mode differs.

Normal Mode: The transmission points are altered and upshift much later (will hold until red-line if you let it). Keeps gears locked in the one you've selected if you up or downshift with the gear lever or paddle shifters.

Sport Mode w/o drivetrain: Acts the same way as normal mode.

Sport Mode w/ drivetrain: Doesn't seem to change anything except prepare the gears to be locked if manually shifting is selected.

So to summarize, DS mode is essentially the same thing as "drivetrain" in the sport mode menu. The only difference is DS mode allows you to lock gears in place if you so choose and "drivetrain" not only alters the shift points but also sharpens throttle response. You can test out this out difference in throttle response by having drivetrain enabled and shifting gears yourself, then toggle drivetrain on and off within the sport mode menu when driving.

Originally Posted by degarfs

Thanks Bevu! Tried the shift gear but did not drive with it.

Can I find out what is the difference between the normal D drive and the M1 to M6 drive? What is the purpose or advantages of using the manual shift gear during driving? Thanks

Some advantages of manually shifting include the fun factor, possibly increased mpg, and being in the best gear for the situation. For example if you're going up a hill cars sometimes gear hunt not being able to decide if it should up or downshift. Another reason could be because in sport mode w/ drivetrain the car only goes up to 7th gear but if you manually shift you can go up to 8th.

[Nahoa]

Fuel economy hit of DS was mentioned above. It doesn't match my experience that it's less. You can test it a little by flipping between the two at a constant speed and seeing that the consumption gauge tends to stay the same. Separately, I've found that in "surging" vice "stop and go" traffic during my commute that I get better economy in DS (or Sport Mode) than I do in D or Normal. I expect there are other situations where it would be worse -- more steady freeway driving where it blocks out the efficiency of 8th gear, or driving where there's a lot of coasting and DS would introduce unnecessary engine braking. But at least in that one traffic situation, it works great.

[XenaBimmer]

Good information in this thread.....
I find using "DS" mode mainly helps with acceleration; the car is much more sensitive to throttle input. I've used the manual mode while in "DS" some, but find it annoying that the only way to switch back to auto "DS" is to kick the shifter back to the right, then back into "DS" mode again.
ALso, I think it's backwards how you have to shift back to go up a gear and forwards to drop down a gear (My Cayman S is the opposite of that, and to me it makes more sense to push forward to advance into the next gear)

[degarfs]

Originally Posted by Beyu

From what I know driving an X3 w/o DHP putting the shift lever left and into DS simply makes the car's gear shift points higher and allows you to lock in a gear if you choose to manually shift. For those who don't know or haven't tried this yet you can manually shift even if you don't put the car into DS mode, the transmission will engage the gear you selected and revert back to automatic after a couple seconds.

Depending on what you have enabled in sport mode the changes from putting the car into DS mode differs.

Normal Mode: The transmission points are altered and upshift much later (will hold until red-line if you let it). Keeps gears locked in the one you've selected if you up or downshift with the gear lever or paddle shifters.

Sport Mode w/o drivetrain: Acts the same way as normal mode.

Sport Mode w/ drivetrain: Doesn't seem to change anything except prepare the gears to be locked if manually shifting is selected.

So to summarize, DS mode is essentially the same thing as "drivetrain" in the sport mode menu. The only difference is DS mode allows you to lock gears in place if you so choose and "drivetrain" not only alters the shift points but also sharpens throttle response. You can test out this out difference in throttle response by having drivetrain enabled and shifting gears yourself, then toggle drivetrain on and off within the sport mode menu when driving.



Some advantages of manually shifting include the fun factor, possibly increased mpg, and being in the best gear for the situation. For example if you're going up a hill cars sometimes gear hunt not being able to decide if it should up or downshift. Another reason could be because in sport mode w/ drivetrain the car only goes up to 7th gear but if you manually shift you can go up to 8th.

Thanks Bevu once again for your useful information!

Can I find out what if the car is not a sport model, does it means it would be the normal mode as describe by you above when using the M/S?

When you are driving on the freeway and you hit the hill, can you quickly switch the gear from D to M/S to use the manual gear to speed up? Is that possible? What damage can it do to the car if the car is just normal mode only?

[Nahoa]

If you have the paddles, you can force a down shift with the paddle w/o even moving the gear selector to the S setting. It's just temporary in that case and the automatic D program takes back over after a set time and/or when the selected gear is a certain range out of what the program would select.

[LaGent]

You can shift it from Auto to Semi-Auto on the move, no problem