Hey everyone, I just wondered if you had any info on the above title. It is found here. I sent Randy a PM and hope to hear back soon I find it very intriguing and wondered if it was at AMVIV.
Thanks,
Chris.

 

It was at AMVIV in an R53 and R56

 

Ok guys, Randy just PM'd me and will keep us updated as time goes by. I cannot wait for more pics and info

 

I saw on MU it was $3600 . I like the idea but not that fact I still need to use the clutch for that price. I also don't like the idea of having that big box in the trunk area.

I'm waiting for some one to do a sequential shifter. When/If that comes out my wallet will be open.

Longboard

 

it was a pretty cool setup tbh. The m7 guys are pretty open about the fact that this thing is only meant for .01% of mini owners. Not having the clutch integrated into the system seems like a real downer but once you play with it a bit it's not that big of deal. you can stack 1 or multiple gears with each pull on the paddle and it will shift as soon as you hit the clutch. So it's not as awkward as it sounds.

I was pretty impressed by it actually. I won't put it in my car for cost reasons and i like my standard H pattern, I also have my doubts about how fast you can shift this gearbox without trashing it (however i'm no where even close to an engineer so how would i know, besides they can program a delay into it to slow it down from the default 200ms if that's something you'd be worried about)... but still it's a pretty cool system. Unique among the mini after market community.

 

Here is a link to some more info and a couple of pictures . More details will be put out as we have them.

Randy
M7 Tuning

http://www.m7tuning.com/parts/produc...roducts_id=123

 

The car in the pictures on the M7 site is mine.

I have been driving it for about a week now including to AMVIV and back.

It is amazing how fast you adapt and don't reach for the stick anymore.

minimusprime and Longboard, we all live pretty close together and you are welcome to a ride anytime you would like.

Even if you are not in the market for a mod like this, it is certainly fun to take a drive and play with the paddles.

And you are welcome to bring your own "Big Gulp" for the new cup holder.

Bill

 

That's how the paddles on the Auto tranny should be.

 

Saw it, not sure I understand the point of buying a stick, making it an auto for 6k, and still having to use the clutch . Doesn't seem like the shifts would be all that much faster, and like other's, i'd worry about the transmission. The cable shift mechanism isn't all that durable.

Big box in the trunk certainly detracts from it.

I'd be concerned on the track trying to figure out how to rev-match downshift and heel toe using this system.

 

We have arranged to meet with some potential customers for test drives this sunday at VCR .For those of you in the So Cal area come on by and take a look and feel for yourself. As mentioned earlier it is not for everyone but that is one of the things that makes it special. We may also have an " option " for it on display as well.

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

I think it's kinda cool technology wise. What will that crazy M7 come up with next?

 

Seems like a crazy product to develop, let alone buy, but that's what M7 is all about!

 

It is no different to rev-match on the downshift with this system. Remember the only thing that has changed is that instead of changing gears with the stick you are just doing it with the paddle. Rev-matching for heel and toe shifting is done with the foot, not the hand. The hand is still selecting the gear, just in a different location, on the steering wheel where the hand should be.

I think of it as the ultimate "short shifter" only about a 1/4 inch of travel

Bill

 

Still, it's awkward to slip the clutch out and blip the throttle while braking and flipping a paddle. You've turned a manual transmission into a more complicated manual transmission. The actual time savings between shifts is null, because you still have to use the clutch to make the shift (Human element).

 

How can you say it is awkward when you have never done it ????????????

There are only two cars around with this system and I am pretty sure you haven't driven either one of them.

You may imagine that it would be awkward, but many things fall into that category until you are actually doing them for a while.

Nobody gets into a manual transmission vehicle for the first time and is able to easily execute a heel and toe shift, heck many people who been doing it for years still can't get it right.

So lets be a little careful of judging something you have never tried, I think we have had this conversation before.

Bill

 

how many paddle shifter cars have you driven that still have a clutch... don't you think you should try it before you go telling everyone how awkward it is?

 

Thanks for the offer Bill . The next time I see you at cars and coffee I will take you up on that offer.

Longboard

 

I am not going out on a limb and say that there no other vehicles that have paddle shifters and clutches, but I sure can't think of one either.

Bill

 

You are welcome to a drive anytime you like, and that goes for anybody else in the Orange County area of So-Cal.

I'm not sure about this Saturday as it is the monthly SCMM breakfast in Malibu and it takes a while to get there.

But next Saturday, which is the SCMM breakfast in Seal Beach usually starts of with a meet-up at the Cars & Coffee.

 

However awkward or unawkard it is, it's still pointless in my mind if you have to use the clutch . No need to get your panties in a bunch, if you like it, enjoy. I'd rather spend 6k making my car faster .

 

This bit of info just in. As an option this bump shifter will be available. It will come in two lengths , the low version as seen here and taller DTM / WRC style as well.

Randy
M7 tuning

 

As we will have to agree "pointless" is in the eyes of the beholder

And you are welcome to a drive anytime our paths cross, I wish you would have come up and introduced yourself while you were looking at our cars in Vegas.

Bill

 

I have to agree.

The whole point of sequential shifters, by and large, is no need for a clutch. Once a clutch is brought into the element, any siginificant time savings are made irrelevant by the continued inclusion of the human factor.

I'd like to know more.

- Matt

 

I don't recall telling anyone how awkward it is, I was merely speculating that based on my disinterest in driving even a true clutchless manual design, this isn't likely to be something that many people have interest in (Especially because it doesn't eliminate the timely clutch depression).

Everyone has a different goal with their car, some people spend thousands on sound systems, others on body work, I'm focused purely on things that make the car go fast. Eliminating a few hundred MS off a shift at the expense of driver involvement doesn't do it for me.

As I said, if you drive it, and like it, then enjoy, it's your money to spend. I can think of a lot of things I'd rather do to my car for the money over this, things that increase power by quite a bit.

If you like it, great!

 

Well another minor point, the computer never misses a shift, a claim I don't think we can make about "The Human Factor", at least not on my end, I don't think I have ever met anybody that does a lot of spirited driving that has "never" missed a shift, and it usually happens at the worst time

Bill