whats the A and M buttons on the tranny for??

[suprabman]

what is theA and M buttons on my 318is for? can some one help?

[elchicano]

A is for automatic mode and m is for manual mode.

[SDKmann]

Actually they stand for "Awesome' and "More Awesome", I suggest trying the "More Awesome" button.

[thesk8nmidget]

hahaha

more awesome for the win!

search and you can find out exactly how manual mode works

[elchicano]

I still havent tried the m mode hmm i think im gonna try it out.

[SDKmann]

I actually never use it, sport mode FTW. For the OP sport mode is when you put the selector in the 3 position while not pressing the "M" button. You will see improved throttle response and it will shift at a higher RPM. Once you drive it in sport for a while you will become addicted. Just remember to put it back into "D" or economy mode at higher speeds so you dont hang out at a higher RPM than necessary.

[Phil Marx]

Doesn't anyone have an owner's manual?

You don't need to touch the A-M button to enter Sport mode. I know that's what SDKmann meant but it wasn't clear. Just put the gear selector in "3" for Sport mode. The "M" mode means the transmission will stay in the gear you select and not up-shift or down-shift. If you put it in "M" and 3 it will try to start from a dead stop in 3. You don't really want that. Simply putting the selector in "3" will get you quicker downshifts, higher up-shifts, and it will keep the transmission from jumping back-and-forth between 4th and 3rd since it won't use 4th at all until you put it back in "D".

[SlowIC]

Amen! Phil is right. Although tooling around all day in 3rd will zap your MPG! I treat 'D' like an OD. If I'm in town and never going to exceed 45 or 50 I leave it in 3, on the Freeway I spool her down a little and slide it up to 'D' on the on ramp at about 6 grand.

By the way, the Dinan chip in these automatics makes them ALMOST bearable!

[ATF]

+1 to addictiveness to leaving my car in 3rd (Sport Mode).

Also, I wonder why my car isnt shifting when I get on the highway... oops

[Marv17]

Originally Posted by SlowIC

Amen! Phil is right. Although tooling around all day in 3rd will zap your MPG! I treat 'D' like an OD. If I'm in town and never going to exceed 45 or 50 I leave it in 3, on the Freeway I spool her down a little and slide it up to 'D' on the on ramp at about 6 grand.

By the way, the Dinan chip in these automatics makes them ALMOST bearable!

what you mean "almost bearable"?? like is that a good thing or bad thing? whats your responses and reactions like with the dinan?

[SlowIC]

Bearable in a great way. Meaning slushbox versus Getrag 5 speed.

Now remember, the 318ic is my wife's play toy. I drive an '88 325ix and a twin turbo Volvo. But we caught Dinan during a sale and basically got the engine and trans chips installed for a steal, trying to help out her four pot.

The only other mod was to fog the intake. She's slow to get off the line, but once the RPM's come up the engine is like a smooth hornets nest.

The trans chip raises the shift points, increases the firmness of the shifts (but not to the point that they bang) and lowers the line pressures. Dinan also says the lower line pressures help reduce torque converter temps (can't vouch for that).

Not sure if it'll shorten the tranny's life or not. At about 110k on the car, I'm now worrying about changing the fluid. Sure it's never been done and understand it's a bit tricky as this is one one of those models with the 'lifetime' fluid in it.

What does everyone here do? Change or no?

[bmwpelican]

ok so my car is automatic and i have this feature also.

so if i put the selector in the 3 do i have to shift in anyway somehow? my friends infiniti is automatci but he has that thing called tiptonic or somrthing, where its like a video game and you just shift up or down when you get to a high rpm.