[chris3g]

A major annoyance for me, and i know for many others, is the lack of ability to change to the M Sport view automatically when activating the m1/m2 presets. With iDrive8, BMW has made this even worse, by making it impossible to toggle to M Sport view directly from the button - the system now requires pressing "m mode" and then interacting with the screen or the idrive controller to select the "sport" view. Even worse, there is also a small delay in the screen appearing, which many times means the first rotation of the idrive wheel is not accepted If you're like me this means that every time you get in the car there is a whole annoying process of button pressing before you can start driving anywhere.

Finally there is a solution created by a company in South Korea. I saw this product and decided to take a bit of a chance with it and now that i can confirm it is legit, wanted to share the details. Just to be clear - i'm not getting anything for this, i paid full price for the item and quite a bit on top of that for express shipping from Korea.

This is a plug and play box that installs in a few minutes with a single harness underneath your center console gearbox module ( for idrive 8 cars. apparently idrive7 cars require a little additonal wiring.) Once installed, your car will automatically switch to m mode sport whenever m1 or m2 is selected -

If your m1/m2 preset requires a double press because of MDM settings, no problem, it works just as well -

What if you occasionally you want to use m1/m2 but NOT be in sport view? Also no problem, can toggle back to road mode as normal -

Currently afaik this can only be ordered directly from Korea and it's a bit expensive especially when adding in the shipping, but it works perfectly and spending some money for little quality of life improvements like this is well worth it to me. If you're interested in getting one, contact @simracer_kos137 on instagram for the details.

Lastly, here are some photos of the install

The module and wiring harness

Remove center control trim, knee pads, 4 screws to pop out the gearbox module. Large connector removed temporarily for some room to work.

The maroon connector is where the module will connect

module connected

find a spot to place the box, there is plenty of room, i used a little velcro

reinstall the gearbox module

reinstall kneepads and trim, done.

[mcsquared]

Good stuff! Any idea if the module applies to both auto and manual vehicles? I’m sure the person on IG knows, but just wondering if u had that info.?

[chris3g]

Originally Posted by mcsquared

Good stuff! Any idea if the module applies to both auto and manual vehicles? I’m sure the person on IG knows, but just wondering if u had that info.?

Best to check with them directly but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work on the manual also.

[mcsquared]

Will do. Thanks!

One more question…do the gauges stay in the last known position once the car is turned off, and on again?

[chris3g]

Originally Posted by mcsquared

Will do. Thanks!

One more question…do the gauges stay in the last known position once the car is turned off, and on again?

When you turn the car off for more than a very short time , it will no longer be in m1/m2 when you turn it back on, so the display will also be back in road mode. What this box is doing is automatically triggering sport view when m1 or m2 is activated. The next time you press your m1/m2 button, sport display mode will automatically be selected again.

[mcsquared]

Originally Posted by chris3g

When you turn the car off for more than a very short time , it will no longer be in m1/m2 when you turn it back on, ….

Good info. I figured that may be the case, so, appreciate the confirmation.

All in all, good find! Thanks for sharing and enjoy the one less headache/annoyance!

[Needsdecaf]

Interesting. How much is this little doo-dad? And does it come with instructions on how to disassemble the console?

[Berzerker]

This looks pretty cool.

Just to clarify, this doesn't allow an option, but will always switch to Sport if either are pressed?

[chris3g]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

This looks pretty cool.

Just to clarify, this doesn't allow an option, but will always switch to Sport if either are pressed?

correct there are no options, sport becomes your new default when using m1/m2. you are still able to manually change it, so you retain the option of being in road (or track) + m1/m2.

[chris3g]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

Interesting. How much is this little doo-dad? And does it come with instructions on how to disassemble the console?

afaik i'm the first person outside of korea to get it ,they just started selling these. it doesn't come with any instructions currently but it's mainly just pulling out some clips and 4 screws. reach out to the IG contact i mentioned for pricing and install questions im sure he will help you.

[echtors]

Looks sweet! chris3g does the m button still work on the console?

[chris3g]

Originally Posted by echtors

Looks sweet! chris3g does the m button still work on the console?

yes still works exactly the same as always.

the product seems to be very well implemented. it does not create any weird behaviors, it doesn't get confused by various methods of changing modes, etc. I've tried whatever i could think of to trip it up and it always works perfectly so far.

[jimbethesda]

Does this work for ID7 and ID8?

[chris3g]

Originally Posted by jimbethesda

Does this work for ID7 and ID8?

Yes, but ID7 cars require a little additional wiring. ID8 just one plug and play harness to install.

[EatThatLunchBaby]

Great find, this is definitely still one of the biggest head scratchers for ID8. No idea what the thought process around M Mode was for this gen. Maybe it got overlooked? Maybe the Germans always want to press extra buttons on their touch screens?

Hopefully BMW fixes this in a simple software tweak, but either way this is a good solution to a silly problem! Thanks for sharing

[BIGW0RM]

How much?

[forcefed]

Originally Posted by BIGW0RM

How much?

$200 + $90 shipping

[kos137]

Thank you for the good reviews!

[TheFwed]

It's crazy we need a box and harness to get this feature. Switching the M mode manually is very annoying. This shouldn't be difficult to link it in SW with the M1/M2 preset. It's a mystery why BMW has decided not to implement it.

[M_Postr]

On a side note if I may. How do you guys get back to default drive mode settings from either M1 or M2? I'm normally quite techy and I've read that a single press takes you back but that's not my experience with ID8. My work around so far is to either press cruise control or Lim button on steering wheel . Also when it does go back I'm noticing that some M1/M2 settings carry over and overwrite the default settings. MDM/DSC Off for example cancel but Chassis stays in Sport Plus rather than going back to Comfort...?

[dmr]

Originally Posted by M_Postr

On a side note if I may. How do you guys get back to default drive mode settings from either M1 or M2? I'm normally quite techy and I've read that a single press takes you back but that's not my experience with ID8. My work around so far is to either press cruise control or Lim button on steering wheel . Also when it does go back I'm noticing that some M1/M2 settings carry over and overwrite the default settings. MDM/DSC Off for example cancel but Chassis stays in Sport Plus rather than going back to Comfort...?

If in M1 mode, pressing M1 again takes me out, same for M2.

[M_Postr]

Ok. Pressing M1/M2 button one time when in that M1/M2 mode does bring you back to default settings but not every time...? Seems that what instrument cluster (M Mode button:Road/Sport/Track) you have displayed affects it somehow....? It's a little weird. I've been paying attention to the 'small' setup widget/screen and whilst a single M1/M2 press will take me out of eg:4WD Sport back to 4WD I've noticed that Engine and/or Chassis for example will stay in Sport/SportPlus...? Still trying to decipher a pattern