I was reading about the new BMW SMG transmission that is available on the M3 (in Europe now and in the US next year) in the January issue of Road & Track. I've read about "trannys" like this before on Ferrari's and F1 cars, but the following statement caught my attention.

"You too can launch like Ralf Schumacher"
How to activate the Acceleration Assistance

1. Switch off Dynamic Stability Control (DSC)
2. Select the sequential mode S6
3. With the vehicle stationary, move the selector lever to the left and hold it
4. Fully depress the accelerator pedal. The optimum-start engine speed (about 3500 rpm) is (automatically) regulated.
5. As the selector lever is released, the vehicle accelerates. Keep the accelerator fully depressed - and hold on!

It sounds like fun.....but it involves no skill. It seems like some of the satisfaction will be lost. Will this make "the ultimate driving machine"........the ultimate computer controlled machine?

Amazingly, it only adds 18 lbs. to the weight of a standard 6 speed.

What do you think?

 

sounds just like driving on a video game to me. i dont think the skill of shifting will die, but there may be less and less people who will know how to do it. there will alwyas be enthusiasts who will learn and drive manual tranny cars and do it well....i hope.

 

See this thread:

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?...5&highlight=evo

This was a great article.

 

Don't forget that the SMG launching is not available in the US, at least not as a standard feature. Alos, the warranty is only suppose to cover 30 SMG launches.

 

This is the future for the fastest cars. Already in F1 it's the only way to be competitive. Eventually continuously variable transmissions will probably rule, since they can theoretically better autos and manuals. Manual shifting will probably become a lost art like double clutching. Something that can make you feel more connected to the machinery but only useful on old cars. Yes, rev matching and the skill of shifting will gradually be lost, but only because it is no longer competitive. Instead competitive driving will probably become more focused on steering and braking.

Besides it's not like driving an automatic. The throttle response is instant and you still have control over the gears. Look at motorcycles or shifter karts for example. They have a clutch, but it's used mainly just to get moving. Their gearboxes lets you shift without the clutch, so people do.

 

I don't think so as pure enthusiats like myself and many others on this forum enjoy a clutch pedal in unison with the shifter..

-simon2000-

 

The art of shifting will not die! There will always be some manufacturers out there who will give the enthusiasts what they want, and there will always be those wonderful classics that have been taken care of and are out there puttering around on the streets. I for one will always be shifting. I do not compete on the street so the fraction of a second quicker a car could go by a high-tech auto tranny would be worthless for me.

 

Well, as long as there are manuals around, the art of shifting won't die.

Then again, with the advent of syncro's, how many people can execute a double declutch maneuver?

 

That's my point. After driving an slushbox for the past year, I would be as sad as anyone to see the clutch and shifter go away. However if technology come out that offers the immediacy and speed of a clutch with the ease of an auto-stick, I can see the true performance crowd going away from the clutch eventually. On the other hand there are still people who collect old roadsters and relish having to double clutch, and those people will always be around, so shifting will never completely go away. After all you can still double clutch all you want in the s2000, but most people don't. And in competition it would be a disadvantage to do so. Yet, there are still people who do it.

I'm sure someday we'll look back and wonder how we ever actually liked to operate a clutch.

Of course this is still new technology so this is still a while off from becoming dominant. I just don't want to write off the early attempts at this technology simply because I take enjoy a skill that would be made obsolete. As long as it is in the name of performance I can accept it.