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re: <M3> miss-shift experiment!

I'd be interested in knowing if there's any sort of pattern to the
misshift problems. Do they always happen in a turn? Left or right? While
blipping the throttle to rev-match? What about up-shifting, although
there would be no damage, has anyone noticed a problem there? 

The reason I ask goes back to Barry's problem with his 318ti. He claimed
the softer transmission mounts used in the ti allowed the tranny to move
laterally, causing a misshift. I'm interested because I'm still planning
to buy a 318ti soon. (now that my low life bum of a renter has paid his
back rent and I no longer have to sue him!)

I have a question and a theory. Does the engine in a BMW rotate the same
direction as American cars? Silly question, I know, but here's the
theory. If the output shaft turns counter-clockwise as viewed from the
driver's seat, then the whole engine and transmission assembly will try
to turn clockwise when you hit the gas. With a tight patterned shifter,
a small rotation of the gearbox clockwise might get you into trouble. If
the effect is combined with a high G turn, and a bit of help from the
driver, I can see a disaster happening.

That's why I want to know if the driver blipped the throttle during the
shift, and if a corner was involved. That may also be why 328 owners are
not having trouble. Less torque, less cornering grip, less track time.
There may be a special combination of g-load, engine torque, and a
slight human error that ends up in a dead engine. The amount of human
error may be somthing very slight that is normally tolerated by the
tranny. That could be why experienced drivers who have an over-rev are
sure that their M3s are faulty, and other experienced drivers are just
as sure that there's nothing wrong.

If this is the case, is BMW liable? Hmmm... I've always felt that
anything that happens at the track is not a warrenty issue unless it's
obviously not related to racing. I've raced cars that were my sole
source of transportation on several occasions. I always hoped I had
enough monet to cover a blown engine/wrecked vehicle. Does the BMW
warrenty imply that the M3 is covered while heel-and-towing down to 3rd
during a 100mph sweeper at Willow Springs? You would EXPECT an M3 to
perform this flawlessly, but is that what the car was sold for, and
intended to do by the manufacturer? Or is the M3 sold as a street car
that has some performance characteristics of a race car?
- -- 
Ron Katona  [email protected]