BMW Roadster Homecoming 2003 (part10)

There, with the task of negotiating the twisties, pictures are few.

 

  

 

Gee "Ma & Pa" you're either in one mirror or the other, lets go home? 

 

  

    

 

OK, I promised my impressions of the Z4 so here they are:

 

First - At the Performance Center, we had great time w/ the X5 on the back-woods course they took us on. However our experience with the Z4 was not so impressive. Most surely that was due the steptronic transmission that we had. For drivers who are more comfortable with manual transmissions, the steptronic automatic made response and predictability quite uncertain. That may have been my due to my unfamiliarity of driving an automatic though a slalom course but all I could say was, "give me my stick back!"

 

Second - On a more positive note, the experience I had with Michelle in her 2.5l Z4 with SMG tranny was completely different. I had no information on the SMG so Michelle kindly filled me in:

 

"The 2.5l Z4 comes standard with 5-speed manual transmission," she said, "but as an option the 6-speed sequential manual gearbox or SMG transmission is available." Let me tell you this is one hell of an option. I can honestly say this is the first time I have experienced anything like the feel of control one has with a manual tranny in, what must be considered, an Automatic Transmission. (now Michelle will argue definitions here, but buy BMW's own terminology, "automated" ) You see the SMG has no clutch and without a clutch, I have a hard time calling it anything but "automatic." To shift up, just nudge the stick back towards you. To down-shift simply push forward or away from you.  The catch is, it's seamless, and even better, there are sister-paddles on the steering wheel which can be tapped forward or back for "both hands-on the wheel" steering, while shifting. When entering a tight corner in 3rd, all one needs to do is tap down, the engine revs to meet the higher gear-ratio and one is ready to power though the rest of the curve. It's almost like magic, and the benefit is, no more blown downshifts. Not that I make them the rule, but anyone who has pushed their manual stick tranny though the twisties will tell you that 'on occasion' it is possible to miss a downshift due to timing errors. Its not the end of the world, just lost acceleration out of the corner. The SMG eliminates 100% of those errors. Simply put, its one sweet tranny and I could seriously consider one in place of a 6-speed manual on my next roadster.

  


6-speed Sequential Manual Gearbox (SMG) Transmission

 

 


Sequential Manual Gearbox, or SMG, is one of the most exciting performance features offered in the Z4 roadster.1 Derived from technology used in Formula One racecars, SMG allows you to shift gears more easily and quickly than ever—without using a clutch.

There are three ways to shift. In the quickest mode, your hands never leave the steering wheel, but shift by tapping the small paddles located just behind it—toward you for up shifts, away from you for downshifts. For those who prefer more traditional shifting, the knob on the center console can be pulled back to up shift, and pushed forward to downshift. In slow-moving traffic or poor weather, you can select Automated mode, which leaves SMG to do the shifting. And thanks to BMW technology, the engine never over-revs—even when you forget to shift.

1: Optional on Z4 2.5i and 3.0i; requires Sport Package.

  

The panel to the left comes directly from BMW's web site. An of course their illustration and description does a far better job of describing the SMG transmission. Thanks BMW

 

 

 

  Homecoming 2003 via the again, yippee!                                              

 

                                                                                                                                                                

 

97ArcticSilver/red-blk/blk1.9lDinan Stage 1, Strong Strut brace, "Fogged" air box CIA, red calipers and Cabriolet Design Windscreen.