Buying an E34 5 Series

Is that because you shift it into a restricted gear or does it do it iself?

Rubbish. I assume you're referring to an E34 525i auto in particular. Fair enough the car is quite heavy, but the engine is far from gutless. 190 bhp from an NA 2.5litre engine can hardly be called gutless. As far as RWD is concerned, very few would dispute that dynamically it's superior to FWD, and IMO it's more predictable in the wet than FWD. Of course the rear end will let go if you're too enthusiastic with the accelerator, on a wet roundabout, or fast corner, but unless you've really overcooked it, at least it's controllable with the s/wheel and throttle.In the same circumstances, a FWD car just goes straight on.

I don't know what sort of RWD auto's you've driven, but that's not my experience at all. I've never had an auto change down unexpectedly. If you're driving hard, it will always change down at peak revs, so why should it be unexpected?

I suppose

What are you on about? IME it's just as easy to balance an auto on the throttle as a manual.

And I do often wonder what the extra

Personally I believe an auto has an easier life. For a start you can't overrev the engine. You can't, unless you really try, abuse the transmission, g/box, diff, drive shafts etc. There's no clutch to burn out on racing starts. Some years ago I heard of a mini-cab company that replaced it's manual cars for autos, making significant savings on repairs to transmissions. Clutches and g/boxes in particular. Mike.

The message from snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk (SteveH) contains these words:

I select a low gear. Can't expect automatics to do /everything/ for you.

May as well have a manual, then.

The message from snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk (SteveH) contains these words:

For the once or twice a week I need to do it, I'll keep my lazy auto.

;-)

If only the E39 was as good as the SD1 with both in perfect working order.

But I hanker after my P6 handbrake on the disks which gave over 50% on the tester. ;-)

Yup.

I like a handbrake that works full stop. ;-)

Ie, one, which if applied hard at say 10 mph actually slows the car. ;-)

That's total bollocks. It's the brakes which stop the car and has nothing to do with the transmission.

You don't with a decent auto either.

You've been driving slushomatics too long, then.

See above.

I drive an Auto Fiat Panda and a Manual Escort. I CAN beat the Fiat gearbox on economy and driveability if I use maunal mode.

I prefer Manual except when driving in London.

You really need to think about the laws of physics if you think the retardation provided by the engine - either auto or manual transmission - has any effect on the minimum braking distance with a modern car.

If after *actually* thinking about it get back to us with your proof.

Given that choice I might agree. :-) I can't imagine that the auto box on a Fiat Panda is a particularly nice box. Those on cheaper cars tend to be a bit primitive. Mike.

The E34 h/brake seems very good. Must say, I was never impressed with the h/brake on my SD1. Even when it was working as well as it could. The cable layout means one side always works better than the other. I hardly ever used mine, so prior to every MOT, I had to go underneath and lubricate all the linkages and the cable guide on the diff. Otherwise it would fail the h/brake test.

I can't recall what they were like on the 2 P6's I had. A 2000, and 2000TC, They both had Girling brakes. I remember that much. In fact I have a pair of rear calipers, and a pukka Girling piston retracting tool somewhere. I never did like fitting rear pads to those things. Dunno whether the Dunlop system was any easier. Mike.

Scariest thing I ever did was try and pull out onto a busy road with a Merc E220. It spent a good second deciding what gear to get into, then shot forward into a gap that wasn't there any more...

The message from "PC Paul" contains these words:

Ah, I remember doing that with a hired Merc many years ago. Either I've improved or autoboxen have improved.

That's a good second best. :)

I remember those, ...dimly :(

A

I refer you to the answer I gave above.

The message from snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk (SteveH) contains these words:

Minimum stopping distance is governed by the grip from the tyres[1]. How the retarding force that /uses/ the grips is generated is neither here nor there.

[1] Assuming you can lock the wheels. Of course, things like dampers can affect how much of the grip is actually avilable.

You must have a different E34 to the one I had. ;-)

Will it lock the wheels at say 10 mph when coasting?

It will, when in good condition.

Only if faulty.

Me too, with the E39. So plenty of rust on the drums helps. ;-)

One in good condition is ideal for handbrake turns. No chance with the tiny handbrake drums on recent BMWs.

The Dunlop system used separate handbrake callipers. Not sure how well it worked as I've not owned an early 2000. But the Girling handbrake was the best I've known.