NAIVE Question for new owner -'02 X5 4.4i

[watchurself]

Hello folks - I have an '02 4.4i X5 with the shiftable Automatic tranny

i have never driven nor do i know how to drive a manual transmission

my brother in law gave me a demonstration on how to use the Manual Sport mode -at it does look like fun BUT

i am concerned

since i've never driven one before - a couple of questions

he says that once you are in gear - you will "FEEL" the car asking for more (power) to shift up etc etc

well just how exactly would i feel it??? LOL

if i play around with this feature - can i damage the tranny/car in any way

like say if i dont know when to up or down shift??

i sure would love to learn how to use this feature but dont want to risk any damage to the vehicle etc etc

so far -in auto mode - its alot of fun to drive - mainly because its been 20 yrs since I've had a V8 to drive - lotsa power under the hood

please feel free to educate a newbie!!

thanks in advnace

[TwinTurboGTR]

Nahhh, you wont damage the tranny. The logic within the software shifts out of danger so will rarely almost never reach a danger point. There are 3 modes (And someone correct me if I am wrong because this is how I understand "SportMode") So you first have Automatic; throwing it in drive will react the same way as an auto tranny should. Slap the stick to the left, it initializes Sport mode. It changes the shift points of the tranny and engine reaction. Not shifting out until all the power has been sucked out of that power band. Then Manual mode is you control the shifts. Well fugazzi control. If you don't shift, you are sport mode and the car will shift for you.

Now can you feel the car? It depends. If you just drive regular in manual mode, you can use the same shift pattern as in auto. For example, in auto 1st gear, you reach 2800-3100 rpm then it shifts. You can do the same thing in manual mode. Or you can just take it to just before redline and do it that way.

Now does this put more stress on the tranny? If you drive to redline all the time yes, but normal? No.

Give it a shot, you won't break anything.

[watchurself]

OH so you're saying if i flip it to M mode and dont shift myself it will shift by itself

or i have the option to shift up & down myself - interesting -i gotta check it out didnt know it did that -

thanks Y

[TwinTurboGTR]

Yeah I mean that is how I understand sport mode. I've done it in my 4.4 too. Like if I forget I am in sport and I am at a light, I'll go and by the time I realize I am not in auto but in sport, it is too late and the tranny shifts to second. The logic won't let it redline.

[watchurself]

sounds good - this is useful cause i can use it in sport mode and learn how to "feel" it shift into another gear -this way i can learn and maybe progress into using the shifting myself

sounds like fun - now i gotta move to where there's more open road cause on Staten Island there is way too much traffic to play!!!

Thanks again