[sleepyx637]

so im still in my break-in period, and decided to try out the steptronic ds mode. i've never used it before so that probably wasnt a good idea. anyway, i was going down my street, going somewhere between 20-40 mph, when i hit downshift twice by accident. I have no clue what rpm i was at, but while i was rolling to a stop it was around 3000 and i was in first.

question:

1) say i'm in first and going 40mph, do you know what rpm i'm at at that point? what if it was only 20mph? i dont want to try it again till after the break-in period ,so i'm hoping one of you guys can answer my question.

2) is shifting into first while im about to stop bad for the car?

3) did i screw up something if i went over 4500 in the break-in period?

thanks much.

[SoCalTech]

The car will not let you shift in a damaging way. And no, you did not hurt anything going over 4500rpm. I can guarantee that your car was red-lined several times before you bought it.

[RavenE90]

+1 couldn't of said it better myself

[exidisjon]

You have warranty drive hard if you want... And AT steptronic is idiotproof. Wouldnt let you over rev it. And theres also a debate on break in your car the right way. Hard or manual way. Its all your choice.

[sleepyx637]

haha, well, i purchased the car so im trying to play it safe. any answers for questions 1 and 2? thanks again! i feel a little better.

[yerffejleahcim]

It should be ok. The salesperson let me test drive a new 328 by redlining it. Thats what made me buy it. I did get another car with 1 mile on it. Hehe

[Year's_End]

there's no point in downshifting to 1st unless you're at a stop or want to launch, but a tech told me that it's better for the engine to start off in 1st regardless. it sounds nice when you're downshifting and slowing down but it causes unnecessary engine braking (and wear).

[lkn]

Engine braking will help you stop the car if you need assistance.

[darkphantom]

Good thing you have 6AT - you can't break that transmission

[3lusive]

well 1. 40mph at first gear, you're probably around 6 or 7k. for my 325i, the first gear is very short so it's possible that 40mph exceeds redline for 1st gear.
2. no it's not. However i do use second as my lowest gear when using manual mode. Starting in first or second doesn't really matter but first is too short for me so its a waste of a shift ;P

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

Bah, I went past my 4.5k red line a couple of times when I was breaking my car in. Didn't want my adaptive tranny getting use to sluggish driving. Still drive it hard once in awhile to get the juices flowing now and again.

[Sara]

Originally Posted by -=Hot|Ice=-

Bah, I went passed my 4.5k red line a couple of times when I was breaking my car in. Didn't want my adaptive tranny getting use to sluggish driving. Still drive it hard once in awhile to get the juices flowing now and again.

+1 my tech told me I was ruining my car and I needed to drive it harder and drive it in DS mode. Next service he noticed a great improvement.

[335e92tx]

Originally Posted by 3lusive

well 1. 40mph at first gear, you're probably around 6 or 7k. for my 325i, the first gear is very short so it's possible that 40mph exceeds redline for 1st gear.

Yeah, upshift point for 1st is like 35 at near readline. Can't happen - don't worry.

[Drakos]

I really hate the current paddle shift configuration. Squeeze on fingers upshift / push with thumb on downshift does not work for me. I am thinking of doing the paddle shift mod but I don't know how difficult it will be. Anyone do it yet?

[Z22Z]

1st gear at 40 should be a little over 6k. 1st at 20 should be around 4k. you wouldn't mess anything up by shifting higher than 4500rpm but at the same time you shouldn't put the car into first gear while it is still moving. not only does it add wear and tear, but if it causes enough engine breaking you could get rear ended.

[335e92tx]

A little math here - first gear ratio in a step is 4.17 - rearend ratio is 3.46. That equals a final drive of like 14.42 to 1. Figuring a 25" tire, that makes each 1000 rpm about 5.15mph. To get 40 it would take a 8K redline. Using a 7k redline that is about 36. And thats not even counting the converter being unlocked in 1st.