How do bmw paddle shifters work

You may think that this is a feature best suited for high-performance sports cars, but paddle shifters are ever more frequently found in hundreds of seemingly ordinary new vehicles as well as in crossovers, minivans, and SUVs.

Automakers such as Acura, Honda, and Nissan have adopted the system in many of their cars over the years. Early paddle shifter-equipped cars were from the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini. They only used one clutch because they were, for all intents, manual transmissions with electrically operated clutch pedals.

Later, an additional clutch was added to form what's known as a dual-clutch transmission sold under names such as DSG, Direct-Shift, and others to smooth out the jerkiness of earlier systems but still offer quick shifts with paddles. With the adoption of automatic transmissions with six, seven, or as many as 10 gears, automakers added paddle shifters to many cars to give drivers more control than before. Newer models with push-button or rotary shifters, too, necessitated the change.

That's why they're seen on types of cars that wouldn't necessarily be considered performance models. While inspired by racing, paddle shifters have different uses in road cars. Instead of changing gears using a clutch pedal, paddle shifters allow the driver to select gears.

It overrides what the automatic transmission is programmed to do, well, automatically. In most setups, this changes the gear while the shifter is in D rive. Changes happen one at a time, but how quickly each change can happen depends on the model or transmission. To cancel this override, hold one of the paddles usually the right, upshift, paddle shift for a couple of seconds, after this, the transmission will return to a fully automatic mode.

Some models from manufacturers such as BMW and Porsche use two steering column-mounted paddles that can perform both up and downshifts. Other vehicles might use a toggle switch on the gear shifter that accomplishes the same effect as a paddle.

The fail-safe mechanisms in most of these systems will immediately override this simulated manual condition and prevent the vehicle from remaining in that gear if the computer senses any risk of powertrain damage occurring from over-revving or exceeding the engine speed for the car. In some cars, mostly performance models, the engine is allowed to redline in one gear before automatically upshifting.

In a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission, the driver is expected to move the shift lever to drive and move forward only by operating the accelerator and brake pedals. For Reverse, move the selector accordingly.

Apart from occasional L or similar gear patterns to manually select lower gears, there isn't much choice. Even though modern automatic transmissions often try to judge responses based on driving history and even the way the driver operates the accelerator pedal, paddle shifters can more deliberately make the car more responsive in certain situations. With paddle shifters, the driver can toggle through all available gears and override the standard programming.

That's a bonus when more power is quickly needed. Cornering: When you need to rapidly slow down and tightly turn a corner, using the left paddle to lower your transmission down by a gear or two as you turn provides extra torque to maneuver quickly.

Towing downhill: During downhill towing, using the left paddle to downshift your engine to control the load's weight better. That prevents excess wear and tear on your brakes, which can otherwise rapidly overheat. Some paddle shifters let you start in second gear instead of first, reducing the torque sent to the vehicle's drive wheels. That helps to prevent wheel spin from achieving and maintaining good traction in the snow.

For performance driving, paddle shifters can do the opposite for cars that usually start in second or even third gear. This is to ease torque to drive wheels and prevent wheelspin if your car has a Snow driving mode it will do that automatically when selected. You can easily engage manual shift while the transmission is in Drive D , regardless of what gear the car is in.

This is good when you just want to be hands on for a short time, such as when overtaking. This allows for more driver control, with the transmission electronics stepping in should you rev too low or high. If you want to return to full automatic mode, simply flick the gearlever back to Drive.

Similar to driving a manual car, you can shift gears between to RPMs for normal driving, though if you want to deploy its full power, take it up to the redline, rev-limiter permitting. Same rules apply with gearlevers that allow for manual shifting. A lot of cars have a forward upshift, the thinking being that you would push the gearlever forward to go faster.