Factory service CD-Roms or manuals

[odortiz]

Just don't let him drive it.
You may never see it again.

a little dirt won't kill the car

[frankenauto]

The SMG is great for a street car - the V-10 / 7 speed combo seems like a total mismatch in the 5 series if your really looking for an auto stick - but with everything dailed up, the power band is nice between about 5000-7300 - down shifts are neat as well -

On track the loss of vehicle control associated with the SMG set up will show up - but who cares - its an incredible package for a street car.

I'll start working on a new motor build next.

[ErikT]

Forgive my ignorance, but haven’t there been some problems with the V-10 M5 in a true stick?

I remember reading that you can't completely turn off the traction control in the latest M5 due to a wheel-hop issue? I thought the same article said something about how BMW engineers did not want to even offer a manual with the newest M5 because it was designed to work best with SMG…eventually they caved because the “purists” in the US would chastise them if they didn’t offer a true stick. There’s a lot of mis-info out there in the “webs”, so correct me if I’m wrong.

I love driving my stick, but I will admit that there are times when an auto may be more appropriate.

[frankenauto]

I read the same article - you can turn it all off in the SMG version in our car, but I guess in the stick shift car you can't. It may just be a matter of BMW not wanting to spend the R&D time to change things around for what they consider less than ideal configurations.

I drive the car daily to work - so I can appreciate shifting with your pinky every so often.

Forgive my ignorance, but haven’t there been some problems with the V-10 M5 in a true stick?

I remember reading that you can't completely turn off the traction control in the latest M5 due to a wheel-hop issue? I thought the same article said something about how BMW engineers did not want to even offer a manual with the newest M5 because it was designed to work best with SMG…eventually they caved because the “purists” in the US would chastise them if they didn’t offer a true stick. There’s a lot of mis-info out there in the “webs”, so correct me if I’m wrong.

I love driving my stick, but I will admit that there are times when an auto may be more appropriate.