[MTV]

The power in my 335i is very linear. So linear that the feels slower than it actually is...

What I've noticed though is that the car seems to slow down after 6500 RPM. It really kicks from 4000 to 6500. My question is: Should I shift at 6500 or wait till redline? What will give me more pull?

Thanks,
Matt

[AWD Addict]

get a few dyno pulls done and check it out.

[MTV]

From what I've seen on the forums, the car dies after 6500...

[AWD Addict]

So then what's the question? You've seen the powerband, shift accordingly.

[MTV]

Just want more feedback. I want to make sure I'm not reading the dyno sheet wrong.

What do you shift at?

[hotrod2448]

The only times I would run it out past 6500RPM is if I was at the track and it kept me from having to shift one more time before crossing the line down shifting immediately when entering a turn.

[5soko]

from what i have seen on the forum, its basically,

power band vs gearing and next gear speed.

if u shift too early you have to make up that gearing and power in the next gear.
no1 i guess ever did get the answer, but most member have had there best times leaving there tranny in DS for the AT owners.

FWIW, for AT owners, esp when doing a highway run, dont ever just use kickdown mode for this car, it usually jump to the lowest gear and the highest rpm which yeilds almost no jump and power for a few seconds..
try to get it into the correct gear before hand so you are in the powerband, i have see too many people lose races because of this.

[MTV]

After even more research, I'm shifting at 6500 from now on...

[Sniz]

that is a good idea.......after 6500 your just building heat and wasting time.

[mistermojorizin]

there was a thread on here that did the math. the bottom line was in a 6mt, shift at redline in 1st, redline in 2nd, 6700rpm in 3rd and 6400rpm in 4th and 5th. the idea is that torque is effected by gearing but hp is not. so you can calculate for max geared torque or max ungeared hp and the answer will be the same.

[Graystone]

I have a 6mt and have checked this against my garmin 0-60runs manymany times and changing gears early gets the best times

[sleepdoc]

Originally Posted by 5soko335i

most member have had there best times leaving there tranny in DS for the AT owners.

FWIW, for AT owners, esp when doing a highway run, dont ever just use kickdown mode for this car, it usually jump to the lowest gear and the highest rpm which yeilds almost no jump and power for a few seconds..
try to get it into the correct gear before hand so you are in the powerband, i have see too many people lose races because of this.

I don't believe you will get your best time by leaving in DS. I feel shifting in manual mode yields faster times.

I agree about the kickdown. It is easy to accidentally do the kick down and lose a highway race because of it.

[O-cha]

Originally Posted by MTV

The power in my 335i is very linear. So linear that the feels slower than it actually is...

What I've noticed though is that the car seems to slow down after 6500 RPM. It really kicks from 4000 to 6500. My question is: Should I shift at 6500 or wait till redline? What will give me more pull?

Thanks,
Matt

Torque is direct to acceleration, so where you see torque slowing down, you will feel like you're slowing down. The n54 is NOT linear, it drops like a log over a waterfall. That's why you get that feeling. HP is in relation to how torque can be taken advantage of by gearing which we shall discuss below.

Originally Posted by MTV

After even more research, I'm shifting at 6500 from now on...

You will be selling yourself a tad bit short. Below is a graph of torque in relation to gearing. With a graph like this you can completely throw HP out of your mind.

You want to be shifting where a gear crosses the next gear as it signifies a point where torque through the gearbox will be the same or greater in the next gear.

And yes, that's right, there are times when it would be better to be in 6th gear then it would be fourth.

[O-cha]

As for 0-60 being better when short shifting. It has more to do with the driver being able to shift faster when short shifting. Most people don't have the restraint to properly engage second gear from a redlined first. Yes that's right I said restraint, trying to JAM it into gear slows you WAY down.

[Mr. 5]

Ocha,
Can you explain a little more about the graph you posted?
I think it would be more understandable if you posted the graphs of each gear coniciding with the next gear based on the RPMs and not the time.(I think that's the time that you have in the X axis)

I've done this before on a another program that I found online and it looked like around 6500 was the best.

It really would be nice to see the 2 curves meet from one gear to the next as a function of RPMs.