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Originally Posted by richard in NC
As much as I liked manuals, the DCT is no slushamatic. It is a dual clutch computer controlled sequential manual transmission. The auto mode is as smooth as an automatic and great for around town. Yet put it in manual mode and Sport or Sport+ and shifts are lightning fast and crisp, without the head snap of the SMG. You can use the gear shift like a manual (just pretend to always go 3-4 and 4-3) or the paddles. I like the push pull arrangement. One can best appreciate the DCT paddles on a twisty road such as the Tail of the Dragon. 318 curves in 11 miles. There's hardly a straight the entire distance. Drop to 2nd for a turn, shuffle steer, power thru while unwinding the wheel, pull a paddle for up to 3rd and 1 second later, on the brakes and back to 2nd for the next curve. Never once taking your hands away from the wheel to shift. A good many stretches are 2nd gear only (30-50 mph max) and one or 2 are 3rd gear only, otherwise you're likely shifting 100 times in 15 minutes, sometime not in gear more than 1-2 seconds. I know I'm faster thru there with the DCT than I would be with a manual.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VintageBMW
you said everything I wanted to but better
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alan64
had lots of standard cars over the years, this dct is absolutely brilliant. A manual cant even compare, and feels dated by comparison. I would never go back to manual. The dct does everything manual does, but faster, more exhilarating, and drops down to an easy pleasure to use when in traffic. Its a no brainer. Get the dct.
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I agree with all you guys. IHMO, the problem is partly perception and finding the proper definition that people can sink their teeth into. Sources like Kelly Blue Book, and car magazine wacko's writing articles are already labeling dct's an automatic. I think for some it's confusing when you read a car's spec's and even BMW dealerships lists the DCT as an automatic.
Automatics today are far better than the ill reputed "slushamatic". My dad bought a DeSoto to keep as a pet: man - talk about slushy. On the other hand, when applied to a dct I don't know if the word "manual" strictly applies either, because we don't physically control the gear changes with a shift lever.
There is a very big difference between a fully automated transmission with a torque converter, that utilizes planetary gearsets with fiction clutch packs vs fully synchronized cut gears with electro-hydraulic actuation and a dual 'wet" clutch. Hmmm. . . not sure if either of those blow my dress up.