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      05-29-2009, 08:46 PM   #70
RPM90
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Drives: 340i M-sport AT
Join Date: Mar 2006
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BK View Post
^^ All very good points. Also, I want to add that I never understood the "Acura MT is the greatest" or "BMW MT is so rubbery" opinions you see posted here from time to time -- even see that DenverJayhawk has that opinion about the Acura, and he's obviously a man of good taste and judgment, since he drives a 330i.

I disagree. I guess I need to spend more time with the Acura MT to appreciate it, but I test drove the 2006 TL with a 6MT and it didn't feel like anything special. FWIW, neither did the 6MT on the G35 or VW Jetta GLI or GTI or Mazdaspeed 6 or other cars I drove. None of them were "bad" but none were particularly memorable -- well, I should add that the MT on the Mazda 3 I tested was notably more rubbery than the MT on the other cars.

OTOH, when you drive a Mazda Miata, you immediately notice that the transmission feels great. I suspect the same could be said for the S2000, but I've never driven one.

The Acura TL 6MT was better than average, just like the BMW 6MT is better than average. I wouldn't say the Acura MT felt any better than the BMW.
The Acura MT, in the previous gen, was an excellent manual in performance and feel. I'm speaking strictly on how the manual functions, not the whole car. In the previous gen it was FWD only and the power was too much for the FWD setup. It is a great touring car, but it's not very sporty in terms of sport sedan.

The manual feels very much like the S2K, except the S2K has shorter throws. Acura manuals have excellent clutch feel, nicely lightly weight with progressive engagement, very linear. The shifter has well defined gates that just let you "snick" right into gear. It's so nice in action that it almost feels like something is guiding it or sucking it right into the gate.
You always get a positive feeling that you've got the gear nothing vague.

BMW manuals are always nice and proper. You rarely, if every, will miss a shift. But, gear engagement always feels soft, with vague gates.
It goes into gear nicely, very smooth, but you just don't get that exacting feeling. And, the clutch is sometimes odd in engagement point.
BMW and Audi have a lot of "dead space" before the clutch actually engages, lots of wasted travel. It's' much better in the new 3 series in regards to the clutch. The friction point has better feel and the pedal travel is straighter now without that odd "arc" that the E46 had.

For me, that's the only way to describe it. I actually prefer the manual action in my A4 compared to my E46 325i. Even my new 135i doesn't feel as exact as the A4, but just slightly. BMW manuals have always been smooth and correct in gear engagement, just the feel is more soft and more "vague". A bit more "gate" or a bit of "notch" would help it's feel, because it's actually gear selection execution is always right on.
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