[OF Hero]

All this talk prior to delivery about how buttery smooth the ZF was and at low speeds in sport/+, I can still sometimes get it to jerk when puttering around a parking lot, etc. I'm not necessarily complaining, reminds me of the DCT.

Or should I mention it at the break-in service?

[zambarossa]

in 1st? I do get some jerkiness in 1st when applying the gas abruptly sometimes. I drive in sports+ engine mode almost exclusively.

[OF Hero]

Originally Posted by zambarossa

in 1st? I do get some jerkiness in 1st when applying the gas abruptly sometimes. I drive in sports+ engine mode almost exclusively.

Yup, exactly as you describe.

[spdandpwr]

I don't have issues with jerkiness, I think it could be how I drive in first gear...I'm really light on the throttle. The old DCT was jerky even with relatively delicate throttle inputs.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Its your right foot thats jerky. You hit the gas then car will respond. To most that is good news. A light touch on the throttle will give you a light movement in the car.

There is no real slop in the ZF to absorb a heavy foot. It will respond as though it has a manual clutch instead of a torque converter.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by OF Hero

All this talk prior to delivery about how buttery smooth the ZF was and at low speeds in sport/+, I can still sometimes get it to jerk when puttering around a parking lot, etc. I'm not necessarily complaining, reminds me of the DCT.

Or should I mention it at the break-in service?

You're driving the car in sport+ in a parking lot.... are you really expecting it to be buttery smooth? Sport+ isn't meant to be smooth, it's meant to be aggressive.

Switch to comfort mode and tell me it's not smooth.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by OF Hero

All this talk prior to delivery about how buttery smooth the ZF was and at low speeds in sport/+, I can still sometimes get it to jerk when puttering around a parking lot, etc. I'm not necessarily complaining, reminds me of the DCT.

Or should I mention it at the break-in service?

The smoothness I always mention is referencing at high speed, not low.

[2011ninja]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

You're driving the car in sport+ in a parking lot.... are you really expecting it to be buttery smooth? Sport+ isn't meant to be smooth, it's meant to be aggressive.

Switch to comfort mode and tell me it's not smooth.

Same for 6 speed…

With my past F80.

If the car was in sport+ and you were trying to be smooth; that's not happening.

Put the car in efficient, and it felt like it had the CVT transmission from Nissan.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by 2011ninja

Same for 6 speed…

With my past F80.

If the car was in sport+ and you were trying to be smooth; that's not happening.

Put the car in efficient, and it felt like it had the CVT transmission from Nissan.

Another solution: full wot all the time!

[ZeroFx]

If you put the ZF in Sport plus its too aggressive for slow driving. middle setting is fine.

[brava09]

Yeah, more aggressive tuned than in the M5, which I like 👍

[LuxemburgBMV]

I experience this as well that this car does not like what I call in town driving. That stuff where you are going 25-30. Mph and stopping every couple of blocks. It does not do this smoothly. I figured it's just trying to harness the beast. And I think it may be more in the down shifts.

[ZeroFx]

Originally Posted by LuxemburgBMV

I experience this as well that this car does not like what I call in town driving. That stuff where you are going 25-30. Mph and stopping every couple of blocks. It does not do this smoothly. I figured it's just trying to harness the beast. And I think it may be more in the down shifts.

Its fine in comfort or sport. No issues around town for me.

[playswcars]

Originally Posted by LuxemburgBMV

I experience this as well that this car does not like what I call in town driving. That stuff where you are going 25-30. Mph and stopping every couple of blocks. It does not do this smoothly. I figured it's just trying to harness the beast. And I think it may be more in the down shifts.

I noticed the same thing and I thought I was going insane. I commute a lot and I keep the car in D1 80% of the time while daily driving and commuting.

It seems to me the car doesn't like small applications of throttle, like just keeping a steady speed between 40-50 kph driving around town. There is noticeable jerk under the car every time you even go near the throttle, almost like it was expecting you to mash it but then you don't.

I find this strange, because now that M switched to a torque converter, the around town stuff should be perfectly smooth and not jerky.

Spirited driving however, is a non-issue. The car responds instantly and feels like an angry bulldog in S3 mode.

I'm curious to see how the xDrive car will perform.

[kjx]

If you've driven a ZF based 6 cyl BMW before extensively, you'd know there are a few things here:
- this is expected based on how some people drive their car (it's not a G8x "special")
- the people experiencing it can stop experiencing it through some mindfulness

Some things about the BMW ZF implementation:
- if you keep pushing your car before the engine and transmission has warmed up fully, this jerkiness will soon become a near permanent feature of your car. When the car is new it will tolerate this abuse but starting as early as 3000 miles, you may start to notice the behaviors being described. It will only get worse.
- if you're driving in stop and go traffic, always use the gentlest transmission shift settings.
- throttle modulation is important. If you are expecting to lift off the throttle at lower speeds and not expect a jerk, you have misplaced expectations. Your driving technique must be to have a very very slight accelerator input where you'd usually fully lift off. Drive gently in slow traffic - anticipate the traffic flow instead of adding to the stop and go yourself.
- if most of your driving is less than 20 mins at a stretch starting with a cold/cool engine/transmission, you'll see this more. You must have extended drives often and then the shorter drives will be fine.

[TitanNut88]

I was going to start a new similar topic, but I will comment on this one instead. I have done around 1300km in my new M3 Competition xDrive. For now, the car is an 8 out of 10 (I guess it will become a 9 after the running in period as I won’t have to care about the limits) but there are some issues that annoy me - one being the impossibility of having the Sport Plus engine sound without the throttle sensitivity increase for example (please enlighten me if it is possible) - but I will focus on the ZF transmission behavior.

In all the reviews I watched before picking up the car, they commented on the gearbox, of course. Most of them said that the ZF was not as sporty as a DCT but it was good enough for an M car and it made the car more livable as a daily… Sorry but I don’t agree at all with the second part of the statement. I was expecting it to be less sporty than my previous RS3’s DSG, no issues with that. I was mentally ready to forgive it for the usability but man, the ZF is super jerky for me at low speeds (specially when the engine/transmission is cold) and no matter what engine mode. I was really hoping they would have improved that since my F21 M135i and/or the fact of it being M-tuned. Might it improve after the running in? Maybe but, honestly, I have nearly no hopes.

This is my major concern with the car. The DSG was not perfect but was far better than the ZF8 in BOTH sportiness and refinement. Parking manouvers are hard with the ZF (I think it also has something to do with the sensitivity or calibration of the auto-hold system). Gears are randomly hold for too long on D1 and changes from 1 to 2 (and 2 to 1) are too noticeable most of the times. While in highway, no issues though.

Summarizing, it is a pitty because that S58 engine matched with the xDrive and the DCT would have made an stellar car.

[somer]

This page and thread on the F90 forums gets into the weeds about the lock-up clutch that was implemented there first and then carried over to the G8x that may glean some insight on the situation.

https://f90.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1398298&page=7

"The new 8-speed M Steptronic transmission with Drivelogic has been strictly geared towards high-performance duty while the wide ratio spread helps to optimize fuel efficiency. The transmission has been engineered so the torque converter lock-up clutch fully engages once the car has pulled away, proving instantaneous response." - F90 Press Kit.

[Rotherd31]

Originally Posted by BEAR-AvHistory

Its your right foot thats jerky. You hit the gas then car will respond. To most that is good news. A light touch on the throttle will give you a light movement in the car.

There is no real slop in the ZF to absorb a heavy foot. It will respond as though it has a manual clutch instead of a torque converter.

^^^^^^^ What he said!

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by TitanNut88

I was going to start a new similar topic, but I will comment on this one instead. I have done around 1300km in my new M3 Competition xDrive. For now, the car is an 8 out of 10 (I guess it will become a 9 after the running in period as I won’t have to care about the limits) but there are some issues that annoy me - one being the impossibility of having the Sport Plus engine sound without the throttle sensitivity increase for example (please enlighten me if it is possible) - but I will focus on the ZF transmission behavior.

In all the reviews I watched before picking up the car, they commented on the gearbox, of course. Most of them said that the ZF was not as sporty as a DCT but it was good enough for an M car and it made the car more livable as a daily… Sorry but I don’t agree at all with the second part of the statement. I was expecting it to be less sporty than my previous RS3’s DSG, no issues with that. I was mentally ready to forgive it for the usabilty but man, the ZF is super jerky for me at low speeds (specially when the engine/transmission is cold) and no matter what engine mode. I was really hoping they would have improved that since my F21 M135i and/or the fact of it being M-tuned. Might it improve after the running in? Maybe but, honestly, I have nearly no hopes.

This is my major concern with the car. The DSG was not perfect but was far better than the ZF8 in BOTH sportiness and refinement. Parking manouvers are hard with the ZF (I think it also has something to do with the sensitivity or calibration of the auto-hold system). Gears are randomly hold for too long on D1 and changes from 1 to 2 (and 2 to 1) are too noticeable most of the times. While in highway, no issues though.

Summarizing, it is a pitty because that S58 engine matched with the xDrive and the DCT would have made an stellar car.

my extended test drive with the m3x gave me a good feel for the ZF8... it was my least favorite part of the car outside of the weight

I will say, it is far more smooth than the DCT... at pretty much all speeds however it doesn't perform remotely close to the DCT... the Zf8 is also a limiting factor in how high the S58 can rev vs an S55.

[Aalfred]

Originally Posted by ASAP

my extended test drive with the m3x gave me a good feel for the ZF8... it was my least favorite part of the car outside of the weight

I will say, it is far more smooth than the DCT... at pretty much all speeds however it doesn't perform remotely close to the DCT... the Zf8 is also a limiting factor in how high the S58 can rev vs an S55.

Im about 4500 miles in and I really hate this transmission. Its soo erratic and jerky in low speeds that I cannot use this car in stop and go traffic without high revs and slower shifts. I start shifting manually in D1 mode to override this and make it worthwhile. I get it that its an M3 and needs a high performance engine but could have made the transmission a bit smoother. Coupled with squeaky brakes and stuttering/Jerky low speeds, I feel like Im driving a beater of a car. My M40i with the B58 engine and 8 speed transmission gives me the smoothness and power when I need it and its more smoother at slow speeds and stop and go traffic. Granted its 180 hp less than the M3 but Im glad I kept it when I got the M3. The only area where the ZF shines is in high speed after 3-4 gears and has a linear acceleration when you are putting pedal to the metal. In slow speeds, you are better off buying some neck pillows !!!

[davidmct-M3]

No issues for me very smooth in all gears and box settings in comfort throttle. Gets more aggressive in sport/sport+ but nothing like above. Only small complaint is mibing off from stand still when there is slight lag before it catches up with the light throttle input to move in traffic.

[skyline408]

Originally Posted by Aalfred

Im about 4500 miles in and I really hate this transmission. Its soo erratic and jerky in low speeds that I cannot use this car in stop and go traffic without high revs and slower shifts. I start shifting manually in D1 mode to override this and make it worthwhile. I get it that its an M3 and needs a high performance engine but could have made the transmission a bit smoother. Coupled with squeaky brakes and stuttering/Jerky low speeds, I feel like Im driving a beater of a car. My M40i with the B58 engine and 8 speed transmission gives me the smoothness and power when I need it and its more smoother at slow speeds and stop and go traffic. Granted its 180 hp less than the M3 but Im glad I kept it when I got the M3. The only area where the ZF shines is in high speed after 3-4 gears and has a linear acceleration when you are putting pedal to the metal. In slow speeds, you are better off buying some neck pillows !!!

Your M40i has the same ZF8 gearbox.

Maybe BMW programs them differently for usage. My X5M has the ZF8 and other than the gearbox being boooooring, it's quite smooth even at sport+. Of course the motor is completely different than the S58 so maybe I6 vs V8 takes away some of the jerkiness..