Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us
Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network
HomeAnnouncements
Discussion Groups
By Brand
BMWChevroletDodgeFordGMHondaLexusMercedes-BenzNissanPeugeotToyotaVolkswagenOther Brands
By Topic
4x4 CarsRVsDrivingMaintenance & RepairCar AudioCollectible Cars
Country Specific
Australian ForumsUK Forums
ArticlesAuto InsuranceBuyingCars & TechnologyMaintenanceMiscellaneousSafety
DMV Resources
Related Topics
MotorcyclesBoatsMore Topics ...

Car Forum / BMW Cars / September 2006

Tip: Looking for answers? Try searching our database.

1987 325i dial on the console

Thread view: 
Enable EMail Alerts  Start New Thread
Thread rating: 
chewb40 - 26 Sep 2006 01:39 GMT
Ok let see if i can explain this. I have a 1987 325i with auto trans. in the
middle of the console i have a dial
that state S/E/123 i think  E stands for Sport / E for economy and the 123
is probably for manual.
now my question is shoul I be using E when in the City and S on the highway,
or the other way around...s
David Matkin - 26 Sep 2006 19:20 GMT
You are right.

S stands for sport - this means that your engine changes up a gear at
higher revs; with your foot down it will nearly red line before upshifting.

E stands for  economy the engine upshifts much sooner - even with your
foot down it does not go above 4500 revs.

3.2.1 means you can select your gear manually as you say.

The problem is that "Sport" setting will never select 4th gear and hence
  always seems to be in one gear too low when you are not racing
around. "Economy on the other hand is hopeless if you are trying to race
around at some pace as you always feel in a gear too high.

If you are racing around choose sport. Otherwise choose economy for
driving anywhere it is much more economical and more relaxing. In
addition above 53 mph 4th gear locks up ( it feels like another up shift
but isn't ) This removes the torque converter from the equation and
increases the economy still further.

Also for reasons that I can't understand you are not allowed to select
4th in 3.2.1 mode either.

Dave M
> Ok let see if i can explain this. I have a 1987 325i with auto trans. in the
> middle of the console i have a dial
> that state S/E/123 i think  E stands for Sport / E for economy and the 123
> is probably for manual.
> now my question is shoul I be using E when in the City and S on the highway,
> or the other way around...s
Dave Plowman (News) - 26 Sep 2006 20:15 GMT
> E stands for  economy the engine upshifts much sooner - even with your
> foot down it does not go above 4500 revs.

But surely kickdown still works?

Signature

*If you think this van is dirty, you should try having sex with the driver*

   Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                 To e-mail, change noise into sound.

David Matkin - 26 Sep 2006 22:15 GMT
>> E stands for  economy the engine upshifts much sooner - even with your
>> foot down it does not go above 4500 revs.
>
> But surely kickdown still works?

Absolutely.

I find the transmission changes down before the bottom of the pedal
travel - then it can change down again as the kickdown button is
depressed. In sport this can be quite scary!

The best way to get used to it is just to choose a setting and drive
around in it for the day - see what it does.

Another thing that I noticed is if you start the engine in sport or
3.2.1 mode it automatically changes to economy - watch the switch as you
do it - peculiar.

Having said all this I still prefer a 5 speed manual.

Happy motoring

Dave.
John Burns - 26 Sep 2006 22:21 GMT
> > E stands for  economy the engine upshifts much sooner - even with your
> > foot down it does not go above 4500 revs.
>
> But surely kickdown still works?

Yes. But in economy mode it changes up a gear at lower rpms than if you
are in sport mode.

Signature

Who needs a life when you've got Unix? :-)  
Email: john@unixnerd.demon.co.uk, John G.Burns B.Eng, Bonny Scotland
Web  : http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk - The Ultimate BMW Homepage!
Need Sun or HP Unix kit? http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/unix.html
www.Strathspey.co.uk - Quality Binoculars at a Sensible price

Dave Plowman (News) - 26 Sep 2006 23:44 GMT
> > > E stands for  economy the engine upshifts much sooner - even with
> > > your foot down it does not go above 4500 revs.
> >
> > But surely kickdown still works?

> Yes. But in economy mode it changes up a gear at lower rpms than if you
> are in sport mode.

The last box I had with this feature changed up at the correct speed in E
- and too high in sport. I dislike a transmission that hangs onto low
gears unnecessarily. In other words, in sports mode it would rev too high
on light throttle. On near full throttle there wasn't much difference. Of
course later boxes adapt to how the car is being driven and come much
closer to the ideal.

Signature

*The older you get, the better you realize you were.

   Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                 To e-mail, change noise into sound.

R. Mark Clayton - 26 Sep 2006 22:26 GMT
> You are right.
>
> S stands for sport - this means that your engine changes up a gear at
> higher revs; with your foot down it will nearly red line before
> upshifting.

Or even above the red line - ooh er.

> E stands for  economy the engine upshifts much sooner - even with your
> foot down it does not go above 4500 revs.

Not necessarily, especially if you kick down, however it was an
embarrasingly long time before I discovered just how tough the spring was on
mine to make it happen!

> 3.2.1 means you can select your gear manually as you say.
>
> The problem is that "Sport" setting will never select 4th gear and hence
> always seems to be in one gear too low when you are not racing around.
> "Economy on the other hand is hopeless if you are trying to race around at
> some pace as you always feel in a gear too high.

It will select 4th eventually, but probably not much below 100mph.

> If you are racing around choose sport. Otherwise choose economy for
> driving anywhere it is much more economical and more relaxing. In addition
> above 53 mph 4th gear locks up ( it feels like another up shift but
> isn't ) This removes the torque converter from the equation and increases
> the economy still further.

Correct, although it is more like 55mph.

> Also for reasons that I can't understand you are not allowed to select 4th
> in 3.2.1 mode either.

Because it is the same as D, unless you have more gears in the box (like my
740i) when you can.

> Dave M
>> Ok let see if i can explain this. I have a 1987 325i with auto trans. in
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>> now my question is shoul I be using E when in the City and S on the
>> highway, or the other way around...s
chewb40 - 29 Sep 2006 01:38 GMT
thanks for all the replies..much apprecited..

>> You are right.
>>
[quoted text clipped - 41 lines]
>>> now my question is shoul I be using E when in the City and S on the
>>> highway, or the other way around...s

Rate this thread:






 
Sign In
Join
My Latest Posts
My Monitored Threads
My Blog
My Photo Gallery
My Profile
My Homepage

Start New Thread
Enable EMail Alerts
Rate this Thread



©2008 Advenet LLC   Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.