is your car step or manual?

[dissto]

it seems that a lot of people here always talk about inproving the performance of their car by things like CAI, exhaust, software, light wheels, CF parts etc etc etc. what i have noticed a lot as well (from posted pics) is that most people have step transmissions in their cars. IMO, what is the point of getting a cai, exhaust and software for a step car when it will MAYBE bring you up to a performance of the same car that is manual. why not get a manual in the first place? i guess it just irritates me when someone post a pic of their new rims and others say "why get thost heavy chrome rims? get some LMs or HRE"? meanwhile that person has a step car. IMO, the words "step" or "auto" and "performance" should not be used in the same sentance. now pleae dont flame me, im just wondering this. peace to all my fellow fanatics :)

[unionjack]

STEP :( :cry:

[dissto]

and by no means am i putting down auto transmissions at all. when i am older and buy a e500 or a 760, i would not want a manual, even if it was offered. its just the concept of performance and step together that i have questions about!

[0hMyGod]

Step here. :hi:
I wanted manual, but the traffic is horrible over here. :rolleyes:

[bluecougar]

step

[BMW-///M3]

emanual here.

[Gucki83]

Step. Traffic sux. My next will be manual! :woot:

[JCsE46]

Step here, because wifey can't drive with stick. :mischief: I want manual so bad. Nice wheels :thumbup:

[mrx733]

step..car was bought as a daily driver at 1st...until i get $ for a swap im stayin step lol

[Nix325i]

manual, and even with LA traffic and parallel parking on hills, loving every minute of it

[Santiago]

Manual.

When my wife and I got her 98 New Beetle we agreed to get it automatic on the sole condition that our next *new* car would be a manual. I am SOOOOO glad I made that deal back then. Little did I know back then that our next new car would be my Touring. Woohoo!

[330-2nv]

:lmao: :brent2: Step here too, and love the convience of auto. What you may not be considering is that people (like me) have had manuals all of there life, in fact my other car is a manual. And for a daily driver, through traffic, with others driving, etc auto is all around easy, versatile, and good for resale. What your saying about performance is true... kinda. manuals make more power, fact. but in my case I was not buying this car for performance, but the mods are to get more from YOUR car. Looks, performance, bragging rights or whatever. Not cuz it has to be the fastest 330 on the street. With 10 thousand dollars worth of mods my 330 would just barely be visible in the rear view of my stang or many other fast street cars on the road. And besides the real facts... I can eat a buritto, drink a coke, smoke a smoke, while talking on the cell phone and still have a hand on the wheel.

"And thats all I have to say about that!"

[russ330]

Unless I get into some kind of freak accident in the future that leaves me unable to drive stick, I'll be driving manual for life. :thumbup:

[ice_man]

Unless I get into some kind of freak accident in the future that leaves me unable to drive stick, I'll be driving manual for life. :thumbup:

:werd: Driving with a manual is an experience everytime I get behind the wheel. Step is good and all, but just doesn't offer the same exhiliration that I get every morning when I get up and head to work at 6am.

EDIT: I am not sure why people say Traffic & manual don't go together. I have been through some shi tty traffic (Beltway on a Friday afternoon) and I was not anymore frustrated with a manual than an automatic.

Only thing that does suck on a manual is parallel parking on hills. So yeah if I lived in some place like San Fran, I would go auto.

[ShortRound]

Manual. This was my first manual. Been driving for more than a couple of months now and so far I am enjoying the experience. Still learning though but I am very happy I went manual.

[pomsaeng]

5pd manual...wish there were infinite gears so that you could shift forever!!! :woot: :loco: But yea...I'll never get tired of stick, its a new experience everytime :)

[WhiteDagger]

Step...I do about 75% city driving, so it suits me fine. :thumbup:

[Jupiter19]

MANUAL.....Even with traffic, I love it :)

[Mule]

:lmao: :brent2: Step here too, and love the convience of auto. What you may not be considering is that people (like me) have had manuals all of there life, in fact my other car is a manual. And for a daily driver, through traffic, with others driving, etc auto is all around easy, versatile, and good for resale. What your saying about performance is true... kinda. manuals make more power, fact. but in my case I was not buying this car for performance, but the mods are to get more from YOUR car. Looks, performance, bragging rights or whatever. Not cuz it has to be the fastest 330 on the street. With 10 thousand dollars worth of mods my 330 would just barely be visible in the rear view of my stang or many other fast street cars on the road. And besides the real facts... I can eat a buritto, drink a coke, smoke a smoke, while talking on the cell phone and still have a hand on the wheel.

"And thats all I have to say about that!"

:werd:

[Ultm46]

Hi, i have a step, and i made a mistake. :cry:
Sometimes i am glad that i have a step when i am stuck in the so cal traffic, but most of the time, i miss the feeling of driving a stick. I thought step would perform like a stick that's why i got it and i was wrong~

[AceDaKing]

MANUAL.....Even with traffic, I love it :)

same here

[RKing4441]

Right leg injury has made Auto only option. Had to sell my Manual! :cry:
Still gonna buy the performance upgrades though! :thumbup:

[325 & 55]

and I say both with "Pride". All the speed and performance I'll ever need in a lifetime of driving. Shark, CAI and RE-DMS have definately enhanced my 325 Step's overall performance.

I did not buy this car for straight-line street or drag strip racing trap speeds (to much emphasis on this by to many Fanatics, IMO.), instead give me the back road twisties of the foothills, or narrow coastal highways anyday, step and all. :woot:

[Xplosive412]

My first car and it is a manual. Theres nothing like driving a manual although the BMW auto trannys aren't all that bad especially with step. Learned how to drive stick a month ago and it just continues to get better :thumbup:

[330-2nv]

well quite honestly the step IMO is near usless, but fun. when you are used to a manual not the same at all. But it really is what I wanted it to be. The car is awsome to dive in any form and for performace 5 speed is the way. but for drunk nights where someone else drives me home or better yet road head!!! :thumbup: guess it depends on what you want your car to do for you? I do miss the real deal sometimes though. I have found myself slamming for a clutch pedal in fast cornering where I am used to downshifting. That'll :censor: :censor: :censor: :censor: you all up!

But damn do I want that Paddle shift???????? any clues

[turb0]

when I was getting my 330ci I thought i'm making a big mistake getting a manual since I haven't driven it before... after a year owning it, I love 5 speed, I think I'm hooked for life =)

[HighRevin330]

Stick, soo much more enjoyable to drive than auto.

[Penguin Koolaid]

Step.

In New Orleans I never find myself in any gear above 2nd. Sometimes I will put it into 3rd (m-mode) when I want to keep the RMPs low (noise reasons). Living in this city is killing me, not being able to do over 45 (other than the highway) blows so much. Not to mention how bad the streets are. I'm sorry, I've seen NY/NJ streets, you have nothing on the streets here.

[JB330ci]

Step...had had enough stick for 20 years and switched to step.

[bobm3]

smg best of both worlds a 6 speed and a 5 speed auto. period
bobm3 :woot: :woot:

[certify]

Step here... Unfortunately in my country our dealer don't sell manual BMW... :banghead: All step and some limited edition SMGs... well 100 units to be exact. :(

[Phil_D]

Manual here :D

[Exacc]

Step here... Unfortunately in my country our dealer don't sell manual BMW... :banghead: All step and some limited edition SMGs... well 100 units to be exact. :(

SMG...

Same thing in my country...we only have 24 SMG (M-sport units) per year! I did not want a Step so I went for the SMG...

You can always convert to Manual if you want...! Drove a step before, it drives really well! I don't see what the fuss is all about...It is still a BMW, the ultimate driving machine! :thumbup:

[Phil_D]

I tried one that had the Auto box that you could push across and use as sequential but it did not suit my driving stlye

[Azrael]

i have had both and dont really care as long as it starts up and looks good :thumbup:

[sehoot]

manual, i would get bored with step

[Red Iron]

MANUAL! I have noticed that since I have gone back to driving a manual, I pay much better attention to what is going on around me, I am far less likely to talk on my cell phone while driving, or drink my coffee while driving. Maybe more people out there should be driving manuals???

[dbtheo]

Unless I get into some kind of freak accident in the future that leaves me unable to drive stick, I'll be driving manual for life. :thumbup:
:werd:

[Jeff43]

Manual.

from the poll results at this point, it's a pretty even split...i always figured the majority on here were manuals for some reason... :dunno:

learn something new about your fellow fanatics everyday.... :hi:

[sehoot]

MANUAL! I have noticed that since I have gone back to driving a manual, I pay much better attention to what is going on around me, I am far less likely to talk on my cell phone while driving, or drink my coffee while driving. Maybe more people out there should be driving manuals???

:werd:
good point

[Blue]

IMO, the words "step" or "auto" and "performance" should not be used in the same sentance. now pleae dont flame me, im just wondering this. peace to all my fellow fanatics :)

LOL, so there's no such thing as a performance car with an automatic transmission? Don't worry, I'll keep your secret.

[schreck]

5 speed manual. Sure, sometimes it gets on my nerves even though the traffic here typically isn't bad at all. I live in Iowa, with two citys joining to make a population of around 130,000 in the metro area. Typically I love driving the manual, but my car sucks. It makes some weird ass noises and is not so enjoyable to drive. Hopefully after I get it fixed today it'll be more fun. If I had a nice performing car I'd definitely want the manual. A true performance car needs a manual. :thumbup:

Alex

[Staszek]

Manual, traffic in NJ sucks, but that second I hit open road or a nice curve I never doubt my decision for the manual.

[bimmerchop]

Unless I get into some kind of freak accident in the future that leaves me unable to drive stick, I'll be driving manual for life. :thumbup:
:werd: 5 spd manual right here, even with traffic, Manual for life :D , Ifeel as though I have so much more control over the car and fun in a manual, and that I pay so much more attention to what I'm doing while driving, as opposed to being in an auto. I drive my moms old car (auto) that she doesn't use anymore as a beater in the winter, and I always find that I get bored while not using the other hand to shift, and start talking on the cell, or maybe drinking coffee, something like that. Anyways, manual > step :evil:

and it's not like I don't enjoy driving my car in the winter, I wouldn't have it any other way, but unfortunately, it's too low for use in the snow, unless of course I want to plow my driveway :lmao:

[BndrBimmer]

I have a Step b/c of traffic! My old car was a manual 325i. I hope to eventually get a weekend car like an manual M3 -- if anyone wants to donate one to me that would be great!! :)

[av_guy]

6-speed manual, which is the way I like it. Perhaps later in life, I'll opt for an Step/Tip.

[stephenn]

When I was in the market for my car a few months ago, it was almost impossible to find a manual. I would have preferred one but couldn't find one. At the dealership, the only new cars I EVER saw with manual were base-model without any bells & whistles and only sedans. More important to me was finding a late model, low mileage coupe. I wasn't willing to special-order a brand new one.

I do miss a manual transmission but as it's already been said, it's still the Ultimate Driving Machine. However, if you put two identical BMWs in front of me, one with manual and one with step, I would choose the manual every time. Do the same with the Dodge pick-up I used to drive and I choose the auto.

[akhbhaat]

Something to consider: if anything, step drivers have all rights to be concerned with heavy wheels and performance. They have less power at the wheels and less aggressive gearing to begin with.

This is a tough question. My car is a manual, but I find the clutch and shifter disappointingly vague, especially as the car ages. My clutch is defective and my shifter is getting notchier with each passing month. Do I enjoy driving my manual trans car? Sometimes, I honestly do not. It can be remarkably difficult on some days, jerky and always hesistant to engage smoothly, and yet smooth as butter the next. And, of course, it almost always slips if I'm too hard on it these days.

On the other hand, the steptronic isn't the greatest transmission, either - one which seems to have a high failure rate once you pass 75k miles. Not to mention that it is, in fact, an automatic, and the boring steptronic "feature" is more of a gimmick than anything else.

BMW's claim of lifetime transmission fluid doesn't help for either trans!

In my opinion, the ultimate driving machine's greatest flaw/achilles heel is, in fact, the transmission and/or the assorted drivetrain components that go with it. :(

[M3bluewater]

all i have to say is.....
if it is loud and goes fast its what we all love.

and i have an smg transmission by the way.

[wag-zhp]

MANUAL! I have noticed that since I have gone back to driving a manual, I pay much better attention to what is going on around me, I am far less likely to talk on my cell phone while driving, or drink my coffee while driving. Maybe more people out there should be driving manuals???

Well said! Manuals are far more involving to drive, to the point of not allowing you to do things like talking on the cell phone, eating, primping in the mirror, etc... And let's think about this for a moment, you ARE supposed to be driving when you're behind the wheel. Driving is a fulltime task for most people. Granted there are a many folks who can multi-task very well and really can drive well while doing other things (like those listed above), but most folks really do need to pay full attention to the task of driving to be good at it.

Sure, anyone can aim a car down the road and get from point A to point B. But if you aren't paying attention to everything around you it's very easy to get into an accident, or worse, depending on your point of view and how responsible you are, you could be the cause of an accident.

I'm not trying to say that manual drivers are better than auto drivers. Being a bad driver has nothing to do with the car or how it's equiped. However, manual drivers are almost forced to pay more attention, at least to what's going on in front of them so they can pick the right gear. So in this respect, a manual provides more of a probability of the driver paying attention.

Regardless of the type of transmission in your car, drive responsibly, pay attention to your suroundings, look before you change lanes, and by all means, if conditions allow, drive like a bat out of he// and have fun. Just don't ruin someone elses day in the process.

Ok, I'm stepping off the soapbox now.... ;)

[deletedpenguin]

I'm a stepper. :shhh:

[dissto]

bump for more

[eg6turbo]

bump for more

i dont wanna sound like a a-hole...but what i hear from girls i kno..is that if a guy has a bmw and its stick its probably his car...if he drove an auto...its prob his parents or a hand-me-down...but i understand about traffic with stick...but its hard to have the ultimate driving machine with the car doing all the fun stuff....

[meel330]

it seems that a lot of people here always talk about inproving the performance of their car by things like CAI, exhaust, software, light wheels, CF parts etc etc etc. what i have noticed a lot as well (from posted pics) is that most people have step transmissions in their cars. IMO, what is the point of getting a cai, exhaust and software for a step car when it will MAYBE bring you up to a performance of the same car that is manual. why not get a manual in the first place? i guess it just irritates me when someone post a pic of their new rims and others say "why get thost heavy chrome rims? get some LMs or HRE"? meanwhile that person has a step car. IMO, the words "step" or "auto" and "performance" should not be used in the same sentance. now pleae dont flame me, im just wondering this. peace to all my fellow fanatics :)
i have a step and ill blow your doors..what you tryin to say?..i have llight weight rims and carbon fiber... and the engine mods i maybe...i mean deffinatly have surpassed a manual by far :thumbup:

[Bradytopaz330]

5speed and i love it...

[Martialartsblac]

I dont even have a step auto :bawling:

[Broncs014]

LOL, so there's no such thing as a performance car with an automatic transmission? Don't worry, I'll keep your secret.

My 330i is step, and my dad has a CL55 AMG 0- 60 in 4.6, not to mention the E55, dont even have to say that, and 330i step, its soooo much faster than people think, the step is a perfect balance of performance, driving experience and covcience, trust me automatics can definately be performance cars, ever heard of F1 for ferrari, are they not performance cars now that it doesnt have 3 pedals? These comments are stupid from some people.

[e46sr]

Even with marketing's best attempts at giving them cool names like Steptronic, Tiptronic, Sportronic, whatever -- they're still automatics! They just don't "do the job" like a real manual.


Just for the record -- I'm referring to fluid-based automatics, *NOT* electro-mechanical systems like BMW's SMG or the stuff used in exotics like Ferrari.

[e46craze]

Hi, i have a step, and i made a mistake. :cry:
Sometimes i am glad that i have a step when i am stuck in the so cal traffic, but most of the time, i miss the feeling of driving a stick. I thought step would perform like a stick that's why i got it and i was wrong~

damn who is that in your sig....simply gorgeous :thumbup:

[HighBoostin330]

My 330i is step, and my dad has a CL55 AMG 0- 60 in 4.6, not to mention the E55, dont even have to say that, and 330i step, its soooo much faster than people think, the step is a perfect balance of performance, driving experience and covcience, trust me automatics can definately be performance cars, ever heard of F1 for ferrari, are they not performance cars now that it doesnt have 3 pedals? These comments are stupid from some people.

Don't the Ferrari's have a SMG like transmission? Its basically a manual. And the step seems not be good on BMWs. Lots of people have been having problems with it lately, and end up buying a new auto/step transmission.

[sire325i]

but my wife refuses to learn stick and she argues: "What if you took the suv to do some work and the baby has to be rushed off to the hospital! Get the auto for the family"
I replied: f**k!!! yes ma'am

[e46craze]

6 speed manual for sure next time...step just isn't cutting it :thumbdwn:

[V330xi]

SMG IS CONSIDERED STEP in this poll

[RANE2001]

Auto.....for now! :idea:

[ronsega]

emanual here.

:lmao: :lmao: this reminded me of a BMW dealership website questionaire form and in the dropdown menu for "Transmission" was an option emanuel lol