Man, I love this car

[patten]

So I've owned my 07 335i coupe (manual, sports) for a couple of months now, and I'm just now starting to really get into it.

I've learned to heel-and-toe (perfect spacing between brake and accelerator), learned to compensate for the darned throttle and clutch lag for smooth shifting, and started to trust the car dynamics a lot more during maneuvers.

This car is simply amazing. I've never driven a coupe that has this much precision and predictability in its dynamics. And that torque. That torque! My god I've never had a torque curve that is flat from 1.5k to 5k RPM. HOLY CRAP IT'S AWESOME. And it does it in such a calm and unflappable manner.

Anyway, sorry for being a newb. But this car leaves me with a stupid grin every time I finish a trip, even if it's just driving 15 minutes to work. The more I drive it, the more I want to drive it again.

Just thought I'd share :)

[manoosie]

care to expand on this heel-to-toe thing?

[mryakan]

care to expand on this heel-to-toe thing?
Heal and toe is technique used mainly when downshifting. Wikipedia explains it very well:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heel_and_toe

P.S. It is not easy if you have big feet/shoes.

[primedomain]

So I've owned my 07 335i coupe (manual, sports) for a couple of months now, and I'm just now starting to really get into it.

I've learned to heel-and-toe (perfect spacing between brake and accelerator), learned to compensate for the darned throttle and clutch lag for smooth shifting, and started to trust the car dynamics a lot more during maneuvers.

This car is simply amazing. I've never driven a coupe that has this much precision and predictability in its dynamics. And that torque. That torque! My god I've never had a torque curve that is flat from 1.5k to 5k RPM. HOLY CRAP IT'S AWESOME. And it does it in such a calm and unflappable manner.

Anyway, sorry for being a newb. But this car leaves me with a stupid grin every time I finish a trip, even if it's just driving 15 minutes to work. The more I drive it, the more I want to drive it again.

Just thought I'd share :)

I can relate to your experience..Only difference ...mine is 2010 328 I. Sometimes on a hot clear day, I just take it for a spin in one of those smooth, curvy Germany back roads. Up and down shifting is pretty smooth after you get used to it.

For the thrill and adrenaline rush, I hop on the Autobahn.

[manoosie]

I drive a automatic, so it looks like the heel to toe thing wont work for me. Too bad.

[mryakan]

I drive a automatic, so it looks like the heel to toe thing wont work for me. Too bad.
There is no need for it since the computer usually takes care of the rev matching for you on an AT (not sure if this is available on the 3 series AT, I know it was on a 5 series AT I testdrove).
However, another advanced technique that is used in high performance driving is left foot braking: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-foot_braking. However I should warn you it is very difficult to get used to if you've been driving the traditional way for a long time. It can also be very dangerous if you are used to driving a manual and have an occasional brain fart where subconsciously your brain reverts back to thinking the left foot is operating the clutch pedal :embarrasm.

[mdt67]

And to add....my 2007 335i AT shifts sooooo smoothly into each gear it's just unbelievable. Does have that small lag but i can deal with that.

[Shieldze1025]

My feet are a little big to heal toe, but the pedals are spaced perfectly that I can do inside/outside of my foot/shoe and it works perfectly. My friends are all shocked when they find out I'm rev-matching, not the computer lol.

On another note, I also love driving my car every day. I've had it for about 10 months now and I smile every time I hit the throttle. There's just something about it...

[patten]

I use the term "heel and toe" loosely. I too "rock" my foot to rev match during downshifts. You can't heel and toe on this car anyway, because the accelerator pivot is on the floor.

Other things I've learned:

Third gear is your workhorse. This is the gear that takes you from 30 to 80 without breaking a sweat. I'm still occasionally surprised at how short the 1-2-3 ratios are, but 3-4-5 is made for haulin' and cruisin'. I don't use 6 unless I'm just cruising on the highway for long distances.

I haven't been able to break the tires loose no matter how hard I turn. I must not be trying hard enough! Maybe one day I'll take this car to the track, get some real instruction, and learn it's limits.

It's difficult to launch effectively with the manual. The amount of clutch input is finicky, because there is lag in both the clutch response and the throttle response. But I'm getting better.

[mryakan]

I don't use 6 unless I'm just cruising on the highway for long distances.

I use 6th around town all the time. There is enough torque to get you going in most situation unless you want to pass quickly. Being in the highest gear as soon as possible and for as long as possible will improve your mpg, if you care about that.

[RonNSoCal]

For those with the auto trans, the sports mode works very well in the mountainous curvy roads. I just got home from a trip to Oregon and came down hwy 1 out of Leggett, into Ft. Bragg and then through Big Sur, with many 20 and 15 mph posted curves. I first tried to take advantage of the paddle shifters for up and down shifting but it was tough to reach the paddles in the middle of some of the hairpin turns and I discovered the sports mode did a very good job of holding a gear and shifting when needed, so it was not really necessary to use the manual mode. My wife felt the sports auto mode resulted in smoother driving, from the passengers perspective, and she said it made her a lot more tense, watching me frantically flipping the paddles.

[Blue330i2006]

. It can also be very Hilarious if you are used to driving a manual and have an occasional brain fart where subconsciously your brain reverts back to thinking the left foot is operating the clutch pedal :embarrasm.

Fixed^^^

I hate it when I do that. But have never done it exiting a corner w/ and upshift. Only when slowed back down to highway speeds.