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Full Test: 2015 BMW M4 Manual

4K views 33 replies 21 participants last post by  BBDOS CV8 
#1 ·
We drop the clutch in BMW's latest hot-rod coupe.
Car & Driver
October 2014
By: Mike Sutton


The high-tech tour de force that is the new BMW M4 is packed with enough bits and bytes for the M faithful to seriously question what the Ultimate Driving Machine has become. Since the coupe shares its new-age guts with the equally fresh M3 sedan, we knew we needed to lay hands on a two-door with a proper enthusiast’s transmission: a row-your-own six-speed manual. As with the M3 we tested with the manual, the three-pedal setup is the best way to cut through the gauzy haze of the M4’s electronic wizardry.

Full article available at link.
 
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#3 ·
Do you really find this shocking? also do not consfuse the DCT with older slower planetary gearbox automatic transmissions with torque converters. Mechanically a DCT is a manual transmission (actually it is mechanically two manual transmissions). Dual clutch transmissions as well as newer automatic transmissions offer shift speeds in which a synchronous manual gear box. A good manual transmission shift can add .3 seconds to the time it take to accelerate (because it takes roughly that much time). These newer faster shifting transmissions can cut that time down, the 6 speed automatic transmission in the ZL1 Camaro was stated to shift in 200MS and had a 0-60 time .1 seconds faster then the car with a manual transmission.

Also it is pointless to compare performance numbers for two vehicles not tested on the same day at the same time and at the same location with the same driver. You end up with too much variation to tell much about the two cars when they are closely matched. If a competent drive were to drive both the DCT and manual car back to back we may only see .2 seconds difference in 0-60 time. On this day and location the DCT M4 may only have reached 60MPH in 3.9 seconds (instead of the earlier test of 3.7 seconds). Greater differences come from different temperatures resulting in different levels of power and different levels of grip on different roads. One car may be tested at near sea level and another car might be tested a mile high which obviously the car a mile high will suffer due to the thinner air.
 
#5 ·
What i do not get is why people are making such a big deal out of 0-60 time difference between manual and automatics. I drive sticks, when I do, because i love the control I have in turns, from a light, or just period. Sometimes i love that connect feeling with the car that you get in a manual. So i could care less which version is faster because for me it is not about that. Now I know guys that came up in the muscle car era are fixated on 0-60 times but to me that has no bearing I take a more holistic approach.
 
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#6 ·
The article in four sentences:

...the DCT’s extra adjustments mostly just distance the driver farther from the action. . . .

Actually driving with the manual, however, is far more enjoyable as you work the well-oiled shifter and the perfectly spaced pedals. . . .

The DCT automatic is definitely easier to commute with day-to-day, but we wouldn’t spend three grand on it. . . .

We could live without most of this test car’s add-ons, but not its manual transmission.
No one who buys an automatic M4 will ever notice (let alone appreciate) the difference between a 12.0 and 12.4 second quarter mile. However, those who buy a manual M4 will appreciate the enjoyment they get out of the manual transmission every time they drive it.
 
#13 · (Edited)
M3/m4 should be manual only for driving. The autos are for those who are lazy and care only about a stat....

To be fastest driver.....order the manual..



For the record, my actual views are somewhere closer to the middle, but still.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Another factor in the sprint difference times is probably the extra ratio in the DCT. Means it probably has a lower gearing spread through the indirect ratios, too. While DCT might offer a tenth or two here or there, I wouldn't have one myself. Autos are fine in luxury/commuter cars and DCT - taking it to the track, yes. Driver involvement is why I would own a car like that, and manuals are it as far as that is concerned. No doubt DCTs are getting very good - no torque converter and isolating the gears on one shaft is good from an economy/efficiency standpoint although you give a little weight/compactness away: and one day you won't have the option, so I'll take it while I can. Choice is good, no?

This car's broad spread of peak torque makes gear selection less critical to maintain a quick time on the road.

I think the issue with this particular car as a concept is, it is so competent, it is way beyond the abilities of 99.9% of the planet to ever fully use it's capabilites. It'd probably be a bit more fun if they left a bit to the driver's abilities.' And the electrickery taking control of various functions adds a layer between the driver and the vehicles, which in some respects could sap confidence.

I don't know about SOTP stopwatches - my Speed Triple was pulling 3.6 sec 0-60s when it was new in tests in 2001, I can tell the diff between it and my Monaro, even idling off the line and revving it to 4-5 grand (9500rpm redline), it's probably still a second quicker than the car: as in, blink, and your're there.

Just due to weighing about 700lb full of juice and with me on it, with 120-some hp and a nice, fat, lazy torque curve. The car feels like it takes - not forever, but considerably longer. I don't know if I could feel two tenths, but half a second - yep, that's a long time.

As I said though, wouldn't stop me picking the manual. Most 'races' are won by reaction time if the vehicles are more or less equal.
 
#12 ·
the auto industry is heavily "wrapped up" in a stat they can "sell", sports cars it is 0 to 60 trucks it is trailer towing and cuvs it is hi way fuel usage and all of those stats them selves do NOT make a good car/truck ETC
and in some cases a LESS capable car is more fun in NORMAL environments then the top number bringer, for a normal person in a normal PUBLIC environment a Mini Cooper will be more "FUN" then a GT-R
Top Gear once remarked testing the Nissan GT-R that it is blazingly fast but is a LOT like playing a racing game on the PS3 because the computers did ALL of the work for you
 
#14 ·
Seems what we have here are a group of people on the fringes of the bell curve. Both at odd extremes on this issue.....is it really that much of an issue either way? Younger people never learned to drive sticks because they did not have to and so they don't understand or value the experience. Older guys came up in the V8 0-60 time era where people would brag about being a 10th of a second faster. Any balanced person can see how the experience is about what you feel and what you get out of it. Who cares what some old rag says these "auto journalist" are so out of touch. Younger guys sometime don't have a clue when they think they do and older guys think they know it all when actually the game has changed. What can you do about? nothing.
 
#19 ·
No, not kidding, Cadillac has nowhere to go but up. So no one will hear that this generation of Cadillac doesn't handle as well as the last generation as we hear with BMW. To hear that this generation of BMW isn't as good as the last generation wouldn't be a strong selling point for me were I to me in the market for a BMW.
 
#21 ·
Cadillac is caught between a rock and a hard place. They had to wait to see what BMW and Mercedes AMG come to play with. Being underdogs, they could not afford to come below them.
They would find themselves in the STS V situation, fast, but no match for anyone and no consideration by magazines during reviews.
 
#27 ·
I wish there would be a mandate that all new drivers must use a manual for the first 2-3 years of receiving a license. Texting and calling whilst driving will go down significantly as well as accidents because you are forced to pay attention. And on the positive side ownership should be cheaper as tires and brakes can last longer with an astute manual transmission driver versus an automatic.
 
#30 ·
Regarding the car, yeah, the manual is slower, big surprise. People who buy and want manuals don't care. It's all about the involvement.

That said, this is a car I'd actually prefer as DCT. It is faster, but it's also more usable on a day-to-day basis, and I think that's what the M3/M4 are all about, being do-it-all sports cars that you can use for everything.
 
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