SMG trans normal around town driving?

I drove a couple M cars w/the SMG trans. I played w/the settings in iDrive. Drove in P400, P500, P500 sport, S-5, D5-, comfort, etc etc & no matter what I did it still did the typical dragging ass shifts making it a PITA to drive like a sane person.

So what are the magic settings to make the SMG trans bearable for normal around town driving? I don't mash the gas every time I hit the pedal so the SMG is really a PITA so far.

It's not only setting/s; it's the seat time that'll make the SMG shine for you, eventually. M cars need some effort on driver's part to extract performance out of them. If you are looking for street light to light race monster, then M is not the car you should be settling for. M cars do not even come alive below 4K-5K rpm and that's where the shifts are seamless and lightning quick.

Originally Posted by mustaine

It's not only setting/s; it's the seat time that'll make the SMG shine for you, eventually. M cars need some effort on driver's part to extract performance out of them. If you are looking for street light to light race monster, then M is not the car you should be settling for. M cars do not even come alive below 4K-5K rpm and that's where the shifts are seamless and lightning quick.

I am not worried about the performace part. Mash the gas & I get my performance.

I'm looking for input on how to make the SMG trans enjoyable during normal driving.

I don't mash the gas on my cars every time I get behind the wheel. I also don't rev to 5k RPM every time either. I know how to get the performance out of them This is about driving like a normal person.

I do understand your point. Just out of curiosity, have you driven any other M car besides E60 M5 or E63 M6? What I was trying to say is that when you’ll spend some seat time in M5/M6 SMG and get to understand the car better, normal driving in city without mashing the pedal will come natural to you. Even then, one still have to shift beyond 3K rpm otherwise one will get this bucking or bogged down feeling from the engine all the time. In addition, shifting at a low RPM will also yield clunky shifts.
But it’ll take some time to learn the nuances of SMG. Moreover, it’s a V10 with a rev happy S85, it needs some winding to get it going. There’s nothing subtle about it. Unfortunately … no magical SMG setting/s to give one low end torque for normal driving in the city.
IMHO, the challenge that you are having is comparing your current cars’ twin-turbo with a low end torque to a S85 engine, which, only comes alive when it’s driven like you own it.
Again, the magic phrase is - “Spend some seat time” and sees if it checks most of your expectation boxes.

Originally Posted by Magic-Man

I am not worried about the performace part. Mash the gas & I get my performance.

I'm looking for input on how to make the SMG trans enjoyable during normal driving.

I don't mash the gas on my cars every time I get behind the wheel. I also don't rev to 5k RPM every time either. I know how to get the performance out of them This is about driving like a normal person.

Originally Posted by mustaine

I do understand your point. Just out of curiosity, have you driven any other M car besides E60 M5 or E63 M6? What I was trying to say is that when you’ll spend some seat time in M5/M6 SMG and get to understand the car better, normal driving in city without mashing the pedal will come natural to you. Even then, one still have to shift beyond 3K rpm otherwise one will get this bucking or bogged down feeling from the engine all the time. In addition, shifting at a low RPM will also yield clunky shifts.
But it’ll take some time to learn the nuances of SMG. Moreover, it’s a V10 with a rev happy S85, it needs some winding to get it going. There’s nothing subtle about it. Unfortunately … no magical SMG setting/s to give one low end torque for normal driving in the city.
IMHO, the challenge that you are having is comparing your current cars’ twin-turbo with a low end torque to a S85 engine, which, only comes alive when it’s driven like you own it.
Again, the magic phrase is - “Spend some seat time” and sees if it checks most of your expectation boxes.

I wasn't mashing the pedals the whole time. I also don't want to have to manually shift every time I get behind the wheel. May as well buy a manual at that point.

I wasn't asking for low end torque or power. All I am asking for here is normal around town driving without the trans acting like a pile & throwing any normal driving enjoyment right out the window.

Originally Posted by Magic-Man

I wasn't mashing the pedals the whole time. I also don't want to have to manually shift every time I get behind the wheel. May as well buy a manual at that point.

I wasn't asking for low end torque or power. All I am asking for here is normal around town driving without the trans acting like a pile & throwing any normal driving enjoyment right out the window.

I have nothing more to say. Good luck with your fact finding and decision.

Just purchased a 2006 E60 yesterday. beautiful and fun would be the two words i would choose to describe this car if faced with the challenge. the third would be "clunky". Today just going to and from work and traveling around town, i too am facing this same question. I have tried letting off the gas when i expect the shift and resume once it has completed the change...still clunky. messed with different modes...still clunky. This is the first BMW i have ever driven...period. That being said i have nothing to compare it to. I am though, aware enough and car savy to know it does shift quite awkward... in my opinion. I believe Magic-Man and myself were shooting for the same drive experience today. something comfortable around town and dirty when M button pushed and above 5K RPM. From my estimations i dont think this is going to happen. It is a true sports car sedan. it loved to be smashed with the gas. i drove it slow and quiet and got clunky. i drove it "semi-hard" and fast...got smooth. I am sure the engineers knew of this "problem" but technology just couldnt produce a remedy. I am ok with this. I will sacrifice the jerky ride for an unbelievable ride otherwise. looking forward to getting more comfortable with the car and enjoying my time with her. Thank you BMW for the experience.

My '10 M5 is perfectly enjoyable around town I personally found the key to (relatively) smooth driving to be:

1. "Instruct" the car to upshift via your right foot. If it hangs onto a lower gear too long, lift your foot off the accelerator lightly, and it'll generally shift up. This gets better with time and conditioning as the transmission/car learns how you drive.

2. Keep it in D3 around town. I find that in D4/5 it hangs onto low gears/higher RPMs uncomfortably long, and its much more prone to shifting "luxuriously" in D3. I have never tried D1-2 - they may be even better.

3. Around town, I personally find the car more comfortable to drive/less twitchy in P400 - the less sensitive throttle and lower power output seems to help.

1-3 wil help, in my experience, but it'll still never shift as smoothly as a regular automatic or DSG.

Not meaning to make my first post a negative one, but I'm afraid I have to agree. I've always wanted an M5 and stumbled across a clean 48k '08 at a Mecum auction this week. (I was there to perhaps purchase a street rod or muscle car.) Anyway- I didn't have a chance to drive the car obviously.

Picked it up yesterday and *HATE* the SMG transmission. Now it's interesting because after I bought the car on Friday, I read a bunch of reviews (Motortrend, Car & Driver, etc.) online before picking it up on Saturday. I kind of thought "uh-oh" as I read them because every single one without exception ragged on the SMG being harsh and unpleasant to drive- and several of these reviews were from SERIOUS enthusiast sites/publicatons. But I thought, "Wimps- how bad could it be" right?

Now I've owned high hp C6 Vettes with automatics (as well as 6-spd manuals) and I've owned several Porsches including a Boxster S with TipTronic and I've driven a new 911 with PDK automatic. Just drove a 55AMG with great shifting transmission. NO COMPARISON between those vehicles and the SMG in the M5.

All the way home yesterday I was FURIOUSLY fiddling with the Idrive and console buttons trying every imaginable combination looking for any sort of 'livable' shifting experience- nada. And considering BMW has done away with that transmission apparently they heard a LOT of that feedback from folks.

So now what to do? LOVE the car, the performance, funky front seats with 1000 adjustments that GRAB you when you go around a corner, etc. Beautiful styling (to my eye) and build quality.

But if I don't find a solution to the shifting issue it'll be for sale before April is over. I LOVE a fast ride (heck, I own a 2100 lb., 500hp Cobra replica!) but when I'm just going to the dentists office or the grocery store I do NOT want to be kicked in the butt or slammed into the steering wheel every time the car upshifts or downshifts.

I'll be searching for other threads that may offer ideas, but the first several threads I've read don't look promising. If the best answer is "drive it and you'll get used to it" I'll be bummin' insted of bimmin'!

Time will tell I guess. I'll either A: learn to live with it (doubt that) or B: discover a livable shift setting, or C: sell it.

Originally Posted by Boompa

Now I've owned high hp C6 Vettes with automatics and I've owned several Porsches including a Boxster S with TipTronic . Just drove a 55AMG with great shifting transmission. NO COMPARISON between those vehicles and the SMG in the M5.

The C6 paddle shift, 55AMG paddle shift and Boxster S TipTronic are all fluid based transmission with NO Clutch. Therefore it allows "slip" between gears to smooth out the gear change at the expense of fluid transfer loss.
The SMG has real clutch, the jerk comes from clutching and de-clutching with very little slip that is controlled by logic instead of your left foot on 3 pedals manual car (where you can control the slip of the clutch).

I don't like the D-mode but I enjoy driving the S-mode since I paddle shift it manually and know to expect the clutching action. I also take advantage of the car wide power band and smooth rev by staying in the gear for at least 4k-5k RPM (for relax driving) before shifting and rev it to at least 7k-8k for more spirited driving. Try driving the car by staying in gear longer, this engine loves to rev and the torque keeps building up beyond 6k RPM unlike C6/BoxsterS/AMG where the torque is dropping after 5k RPM and is straining at high RPM. I rarely shift beyond 4th gear when driving in town to keep the RPM above 3K at all time.

Originally Posted by Master Apex

The C6 paddle shift, 55AMG paddle shift and Boxster S TipTronic are all fluid based transmission with NO Clutch. Therefore it allows "slip" between gears to smooth out the gear change at the expense of fluid transfer loss.
The SMG has real clutch, the jerk comes from clutching and de-clutching with very little slip that is controlled by logic instead of your left foot on 3 pedals manual car (where you can control the slip of the clutch).

I don't like the D-mode but I enjoy driving the S-mode since I paddle shift it manually and know to expect the clutching action. I also take advantage of the car wide power band and smooth rev by staying in the gear for at least 4k-5k RPM (for relax driving) before shifting and rev it to at least 7k-8k for more spirited driving. Try driving the car by staying in gear longer, this engine loves to rev and the torque keeps building up beyond 6k RPM unlike C6/BoxsterS/AMG where the torque is dropping after 5k RPM and is straining at high RPM. I rarely shift beyond 4th gear when driving in town to keep the RPM above 3K at all time.

absolutely...I had a 997 911 carerra S and like that car, this one as well loves the revs...you just gotta wind the thing out...let it breathe a lil...hell, let it breathe a lot and enjoy the damn thing. Its supposed to be cranked up and out and ran like a thai hooker before the world blows up.

Really though...beat it and love it thats what this car is for...why the hell not...lol

Or get a manual and drive the machine rather than let the machine drive you. To me the steptronic / SMG trannys is like trying to order a pizza while your wife is talking to you.

I have to go with Mustaine on this one. I just bought my '07 M5 w/36000 mi from a local BMW dealer for a song. I traded in my '09 X5 Diesel. As I iterated in another posting, I was fortunate to have the GM of the dealership, who is an "M" fanatic and owner, take me for an "educational" test drive. He demonstrated all the nuances of the various programs and modes. But the thing that stuck out most was "shift between 3000-4000 rpm when street driving". This is unnatural for most of us who are used to low RPM shifting in non high-performance situations. It's the nature of that wonderful V10. With an 8000+ RPM redline, it's torque and horsepower are minimal at low revs. Get used to being at a higher RPM, for a given gear, than you're used to while shifting. Once settled in in traffic you can select up seamlessly for fuel economy. Work with it, not against it. My 58 year old wife loves it! I couldn't be happier!

I drive mine in D3 around town all the time with minimal issues. Trick is to "tell" the car to change gears by taking your foot of the accelerator ever so slightly when it's time to shift up a gear. With practice comes perfection (or as close as you'll come with SMG). Yes, it'll never be auto-smooth, but it'll be much, much better.

I was in the same boat as all of you, I had my m5's SMG updated with the EURO SMG specs off a board member on m5 board and i swear its night and day! The car is now more enjoyable around town, no more hard clunks and awkward jerks in traffic. I recommend this to anyone looking for more comfort (and reliability) out of there SMG.

I have only had mine for about 5 months, and I agree. Shifting anytime below 3K rpm and it will drive me nuts, gotta go higher in the rpm range