I know this has been discussed before, I have seen them, but I couldn't find anything about it when doing a search. All I want to know is if anyone has any info on if and when the 8 will get a 6 Sp AT, cause that's what I am kind of waiting for, but I would hate to pass up these rebates they have right now if it's not gonna happen or not gonna happen in the 2006 model.

 

Well the rumours are that it will be a 5spd auto and 6spd SMG unit for 2006--perhaps Gord could shed more light on that.

 

SMG? I seek enlightenment. So many acronyms, so little time.

 

Semi-Manual Gearbox.... basically the benefits of an automatic with a real clutch controlled electronically

 

Guys,
This is a little long...but good.

BMW's SMG Transmission in Depth

Since Ralf Schumacher’s successes at the WilliamsF1 BMW power-house interested drivers have known that changing gears in the international superclass of motor sport is no longer done by means of a shift lever but, instantaneously by operating so-called rocker switches on the steering wheel.
Whereas the driver of a conventional car moves his shift lever in a classic H-type gear shift pattern to select the desired gear, Ralf Schumacher and his Formula 1 competitors just briefly pull two butterfly-type rocker switches behind the steering wheel, the so-called “paddles” – pulling the right rocker switch causes the gearbox to shift up, pulling the left one will produce a downshift.

At the same time, the driver can keep his foot on the accelerator pedal: The most advanced engine electronics interrupt the engine’s tractive power for just milliseconds, the control unit effects the gear change electrohydraulically and opens and closes the clutch; the clutch pedal has disappeared.

The preliminary stage of this sophisticated system, which has long become a standard feature in Formula 1, was used by BMW in its successful race-tuned touring cars as long as about a decade ago. With this system, albeit with a central shifter, gear changes are carried out in a rank, i.e. sequentially, as in the case of a motorcycle: For upshifting, the driver – without operating a clutch – just pulls the shift lever backwards, forward for downshifting. This system provides extremely short gear shift times on the one hand, and prevents possible shift errors on the other.

BMW is the first car maker to offer this type of gearbox.
In close collaboration with the companies of Getrag and Sachs, BMW M has transfered this motor sport experience into applications for every-day road use, and developed a new high-performance driveline concept which, in its second generation, is now arriving on the market as a “sequential M gearbox” (SMG II) in the M3.

It was as early as 1996 that BMW M, as the world’s first supplier of an all-automatic manual gearbox, took centre stage and went on sale with the SMG exclusively in the M3. This system established itself very well and guaranteed that, with the M3 predecessor model, almost every other car featured this progressive driveline concept.

The second-generation SMG, which was significantly upgraded from the first variant, and is technically identical with the regular manual gearbox of the M3 with six forward speeds, is not only operated by means of a selector lever, as in the past, but also offers the driver two rocker switches on the steering wheel. The driver thus has the choice of how he wants to shift gears. It is, above all, shifting by means of the rocker switches that contributes to increased active safety, as the driver can keep his hands on the steering wheel at all times.

“Formula 1 feel” when shifting on the steering wheel. This new SMG gearbox which combines both the option of sporty sequential shifting and the ease of automated shifting offers many benefits,

the driver can choose between two shift modes at any time – the sequential (“S”) mode or the automated (“A”) mode;

the “drivelogic” allows the driver to individually match the SMG’s shift characteristic to his preferred driving habits in eleven driving programs;

when downshifting, the engine will automatically double-declutch;

operating the clutch and consequently also the clutch pedal are therefore no longer necessary and, unlike an automatic gearbox, there is no energy-consuming and performance-degrading torque converter either;

there is a markedly increased pleasure of shifting, as the SMG in the sequential mode can be up and downshifted instantaneously and thus produces a realistic “Formula 1 experience”;

as compared with a manual gearbox, there are slightly better and, above all, fully reproducible ride performance values;

the fact that the driver no longer needs to concentrate on gear changing with this gearbox makes for precise, safer and more relaxed motoring;

with the sequential M gearbox, it is easier to benefit from the high power reserves of the M3 through selection of the optimum shift point with so-called “shift lights” (LEDs in the cockpit indicating the optimum shift point on the tachometer).

Source..... ask.com


- Irish

 

DSG would be great ...

 

Did hesay it would be the2006 model Rx8 or in 2006? If its the former then itwould probably come out around September of this year andwe would all hear about it (goinginto production) by May or June.

I have my doubts that theyll have these new trannies out this year - but if it endsup coming true this wouldbe yet another deterrent for turbo charging a 2004 or 2005 automatic Rx8.