Re: NEED HELP 540i vs 540iA

[John Edward Miller <jem@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I'm a new subscriber to the bmw digest and I am beseeching the list for
> some advice.  I'm 53, live in a populated area of central PA and am
> bored with my current vehicles including a '98 M-B E320.  I am seeking
> new adventures with a fun sport sedan.  I have driven the 540i with 6
> speed and find it amazing as a total performance vehicle.
> Unfortunately, I have been told that the 6 speed may be tough to drive
> in congested traffic conditions and I'm concerned that it will become
> tedious to drive over time.  I have not had the opportunity to drive the
> Steptronic as no regional dealer has one in stock at the moment.  Any
> comments regarding either automatic version of the 540iA would be
> greatly appreciated particularly with reference to the 540i 6 speed in
> terms of a mid-life crisis fun vehicle.

We've got a '98 540iA w/sport package.  We bought the automatic largely
because my wife was commuting in traffic at the time (she's since become a
Tech Burnout and is attending culinary school full-time right now - her
first mid-life crisis.)

I can't speak for the '99s, which reputedly have (in addition to
Steptronic) a lower rearend ratio, looser torque converter, and double
VANOS for more low-end torque, but ours is a little sluggish under anything
but full-on flogging.  It doesn't really appear to be the engine, or the
gearing, but largely the calibrations of the transmission itself.  Compared
to, for instance, the automatic E36 M3 where, by the time your foot
finishes moving 3/4 inch on the gas pedal, it's already completed its
downshift.

I'm still hopeful that Jim C. will come through with some sludgeware
improvements for it.

John.

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