Another step owner here. I don't think the majority of this board has stick. I think its even. We do mod here of course. I have Dinan Stage I/II/III software with their CAI and Throttle Body. The Stage I software does not provide HP gains, but removes the top-speed limiter, increases the rev-limit and gives better throttle response. The throttle response is much better IMHO and the mods did provide some gains.
As for driving step, here are recent results from a San Diego AutoX event. I'm the only automatic in this group and look how I did. There were 80 cars total:
1. 84.110 MM Karl Asseily BMW M-Coupe 2000 black Instructor 1st
2. 85.724 X David Maurer Honda S2000 2001 yellow Non-BMW 1st
3. 86.261 D Randy Walters BMW 325is 1989 white Fast BMW Time of the Day
4. 87.230 MM Patrick Avakian BMW M-Coupe 2000 silver M' Modified 1st 5. 88.427 D Albert Pernia BMW 330Ci 2001 black 6/8/12 Modified 1st
6. 88.443 MM Mike Simanyi BMW M-Coupe 2000 black M' Modified 2nd
7. 88.450 MS Peter Busalacchi BMW M3 2001 blue M' Stock 1st
8. 88.556 MM Tuan Phan BMW M Coupe 2001 silver M' Modified 3rd
9. 88.983 MM Geoff Allen BMW M-Coupe 2000 black M' Modified 4th
10. 89.024 D Ricardo Gomez BMW 328i 2000 silver 6/8/12 Modified 2nd
11. 89.052 MM Alfredo Giese BMW M3 1987 black
12. 89.488 MS Mark Jedlicki BMW M Roadster 2002 red M' Stock 2nd
13. 89.534 MM Erik Bernstein BMW M3 1988 white
14. 89.813 MS Otto Obrist BMW M-Coupe 2001 blue M' Stock 3rd
15. 90.564 MS Scott Sansom BMW M3 1988 white
i'm a step owner as well. i was actually waiting for a while to mod because I wasn't sure about my decision to not go stick. well, i drove my friends car (stick), and was like, i love my car....no need to change. so let the modding begin!
i will probaly start with the Dinan Auto Trans Download. I have to learn more what the other stages do. Do you have to start with Stage 1, then go to Stage 2...and so on, or can you jump ahead?
tv330i has a 330i with Dinan Stage 2 and auto tranny software. Drop him a line. I couldn't tell the difference because there were 3 of us in the car and I'm a heavy guy. But we hit 100mph pretty quick.
Another step owner here. I don't think the majority of this board has stick. I think its even. We do mod here of course. I have Dinan Stage I/II/III software with their CAI and Throttle Body. The Stage I software does not provide HP gains, but removes the top-speed limiter, increases the rev-limit and gives better throttle response. The throttle response is much better IMHO and the mods did provide some gains.
As for driving step, here are recent results from a San Diego AutoX event. I'm the only automatic in this group and look how I did. There were 80 cars total:
1. 84.110 MM Karl Asseily BMW M-Coupe 2000 black Instructor 1st
2. 85.724 X David Maurer Honda S2000 2001 yellow Non-BMW 1st
3. 86.261 D Randy Walters BMW 325is 1989 white Fast BMW Time of the Day
4. 87.230 MM Patrick Avakian BMW M-Coupe 2000 silver M' Modified 1st 5. 88.427 D Albert Pernia BMW 330Ci 2001 black 6/8/12 Modified 1st
6. 88.443 MM Mike Simanyi BMW M-Coupe 2000 black M' Modified 2nd
7. 88.450 MS Peter Busalacchi BMW M3 2001 blue M' Stock 1st
8. 88.556 MM Tuan Phan BMW M Coupe 2001 silver M' Modified 3rd
9. 88.983 MM Geoff Allen BMW M-Coupe 2000 black M' Modified 4th
10. 89.024 D Ricardo Gomez BMW 328i 2000 silver 6/8/12 Modified 2nd
11. 89.052 MM Alfredo Giese BMW M3 1987 black
12. 89.488 MS Mark Jedlicki BMW M Roadster 2002 red M' Stock 2nd
13. 89.534 MM Erik Bernstein BMW M3 1988 white
14. 89.813 MS Otto Obrist BMW M-Coupe 2001 blue M' Stock 3rd
15. 90.564 MS Scott Sansom BMW M3 1988 white
i'm a step owner as well. i was actually waiting for a while to mod because I wasn't sure about my decision to not go stick. well, i drove my friends car (stick), and was like, i love my car....no need to change. so let the modding begin!
i will probaly start with the Dinan Auto Trans Download. I have to learn more what the other stages do. Do you have to start with Stage 1, then go to Stage 2...and so on, or can you jump ahead?
jersey I see....see ya at the next meet! Hopefully sometime next year when the weather is warmer. And where you getting your dinan stuff done...MotorworksWest?????
I'm a manual owner and wish I should have coughed the extra $2,000 and gotten an automatic instead. Believe me, the pain of having clutch problems, rough idles, awkward gear shifting, long throws, squeaky/popping noises is certainly a pain. Most of all, I HATE driving stick while in traffic. Any 330i automatic owners want to trade for my manual 330i?
My next BMW will either be an automatic or SMG for sure.
Made a big difference... My 1st mod was the stage 1 software... 450 bucks and IMO a waste of $$$.. I went back to the Dinan Guy at my dealership and he hooked me up with the trans download free. that was where I felt the dif... much better... holding gear longer and raising shift points. felt like it pulled much stronger.
I like the Dinan program. I know there are alot of options and I'm sure some could be better. I just like the warranty aspect and resale value of Dinan.
I would not buy another Manual car.
I live in Sydney Australia, the traffic here is crazy.
If i lived in a smaller city or country town manual all the way.
but been in traffic jam for 2 hours every day takes the fun out of it
i've never seen so many 'driving' enthusiasts complain about driving manual in traffic. it really doesn't make a difference if it's natural to you. i know driving in the worst city trafficwise (So Cal), driving manual doesn't make one bit of a difference to me versus auto.
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