This is what I think about the paddleshift for the steptronic X35.
1. It does not look pretty on the eye especially the top part that is visible.
2. It is not very natural and intuitive to use because you have to use your thumb to downshift. Most of the time I found myself pulling on the paddle on the left and forgetting to use my thumb for the paddle on the right. Terribly confusing, the older you get. :=):
3. Only the right or left hand side of the paddleshift will ever be used, which does not instill a "racing" driving feel when using the paddles.
In comparison the M3 DCT (e90) paddles are just awesome. You can convert the M3 paddles to the 335 for a plug and play installation. See the DIY in the sources at the end of this review:
Here is another aftermarket version of the M3 paddles. Very good looking indeed:
So I started thinking about the M3 paddles on my car. Cost wise it would be around R4,000 for the paddles excluding labour. However, I came across a number of reviews of 335 owners that have done this conversion and even though it is an easy plug and play installation the following problems were reported which made me re-think this option:
1) Some cutting behind the steering wheel is required even though "no one is going to notice it anyway, and you can't really feel it because the gaps are in places that your fingers never naturally are."
2) " The upshift paddle is too close to the windshield wiper stalk. - for someone with big hands/fat fingers, you're going to end up being annoyed by this, as the paddle is directly in front of the stalk, and your fingers/hands naturally place themselves in the area where you'd hit it if you're used to there being a lot of room back there."
Now if you compare the above M3 conversion on the X35 with the stock pedals (below) you will see the stock pedals look better and provide sufficient movement and freedom for your right and left fingers:
Also the stock peddals provide adequate space behind the steering wheel for your fingers to (rest) when you are not using the peddals without accidentally activating the paddles:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="
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Decisions - Decisions
Having weighed up the pros and cons, I decided to find a way to convert the stock peddals to work like the M3 pedals - Pulling on the left pedals will shift downwards and pulling on the right pedals will upshift. This is how the paddleshift function should have come from the factory.
I found a simple guide for this conversion. See the source acknowledgement at the end of this review.
"Diagrams of paddle connector wire functions:
Left Paddle Connector
_______
3-------|<--downshift (press)
2-------|<--ground
1-------|<--upshift (squeeze)
Right Paddle Connector
_______
1-------|<--downshift (press)
2-------|<--ground
3-------|<--upshift (squeeze)
1) Release the airbag module and rest it on top of the wheel between the column and rim - TAKE REQUIRED PRECAUTIONS
2) Remove the wheel trim piece held on by 3 Torx T20 screws.
3) Remove the paddle shifter connectors from the radio/phone button modules by pulling firmly on the connector body with pliers.
4) Remove the shifters held on by 1 Torx T20
The left and right connector pin numbers have different functions because the connectors are flipped from left to right. The numbers are small but visible, pin 1 is always next to the tab as shown.
5) Remove the pin 1 wire and pin from each connector by unclamping the small connector hinged piece and pressing the exposed pin release tab. Do not remove the pin 2 and pin 3 wires.
6) Connect the pin 1 wire to the pin 3 wire on each paddle. This gives left downshift only and right upshift only on both movements of the shifters. I cut off the pin and spliced the wires using solder with heat shrink tubing for insulation.
As an alternative to splicing the pin 1 wire to pin 3 on the same connector, you could cross-connect the pin 1 wires from the left and right connectors (see original post diagram). This would also connect the left paddle pull function to a downshift terminal and the right paddle push function to an upshift terminal. The wires are too short for this so you'd need to rig up a harness with connectors and pins compatible with the existing setup. There is room next to the existing harness to run this across."
(Please note this thread is not a DIY. See DIY source below)
The two connectors behind the steering wheel airbag look like this and their pins have to be swopped around as in the diagramme above:
So I took the car to Donford BMW (today) and asked them to do the tweaks to the connectors and to reset the airbag code after they have completed the conversion.
I collected the car a couple of hours later and simply love the change. Upshift using the right paddle and downshift using the left. Pushing the paddle with your thumb is now de-activated and does not work anymore...which is simply not required.
A truly simple modification that gives me such pleasure. I highly recommend this:
:ty:
Sources & Further Reading:
* DIY Retrofit paddleshifts on cars that dont have them
* Installing The M3 DCT paddles on X35
* DIY To remove the paddleshifters completely
* Wiring diagramme source
* DIY Steptronic paddle shifter modification
1. It does not look pretty on the eye especially the top part that is visible.
2. It is not very natural and intuitive to use because you have to use your thumb to downshift. Most of the time I found myself pulling on the paddle on the left and forgetting to use my thumb for the paddle on the right. Terribly confusing, the older you get. :=):
3. Only the right or left hand side of the paddleshift will ever be used, which does not instill a "racing" driving feel when using the paddles.
In comparison the M3 DCT (e90) paddles are just awesome. You can convert the M3 paddles to the 335 for a plug and play installation. See the DIY in the sources at the end of this review:
Here is another aftermarket version of the M3 paddles. Very good looking indeed:
So I started thinking about the M3 paddles on my car. Cost wise it would be around R4,000 for the paddles excluding labour. However, I came across a number of reviews of 335 owners that have done this conversion and even though it is an easy plug and play installation the following problems were reported which made me re-think this option:
1) Some cutting behind the steering wheel is required even though "no one is going to notice it anyway, and you can't really feel it because the gaps are in places that your fingers never naturally are."
2) " The upshift paddle is too close to the windshield wiper stalk. - for someone with big hands/fat fingers, you're going to end up being annoyed by this, as the paddle is directly in front of the stalk, and your fingers/hands naturally place themselves in the area where you'd hit it if you're used to there being a lot of room back there."
Now if you compare the above M3 conversion on the X35 with the stock pedals (below) you will see the stock pedals look better and provide sufficient movement and freedom for your right and left fingers:
Also the stock peddals provide adequate space behind the steering wheel for your fingers to (rest) when you are not using the peddals without accidentally activating the paddles:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="
Decisions - Decisions
Having weighed up the pros and cons, I decided to find a way to convert the stock peddals to work like the M3 pedals - Pulling on the left pedals will shift downwards and pulling on the right pedals will upshift. This is how the paddleshift function should have come from the factory.
I found a simple guide for this conversion. See the source acknowledgement at the end of this review.
"Diagrams of paddle connector wire functions:
Left Paddle Connector
_______
3-------|<--downshift (press)
2-------|<--ground
1-------|<--upshift (squeeze)
Right Paddle Connector
_______
1-------|<--downshift (press)
2-------|<--ground
3-------|<--upshift (squeeze)
1) Release the airbag module and rest it on top of the wheel between the column and rim - TAKE REQUIRED PRECAUTIONS
2) Remove the wheel trim piece held on by 3 Torx T20 screws.
3) Remove the paddle shifter connectors from the radio/phone button modules by pulling firmly on the connector body with pliers.
4) Remove the shifters held on by 1 Torx T20
The left and right connector pin numbers have different functions because the connectors are flipped from left to right. The numbers are small but visible, pin 1 is always next to the tab as shown.
5) Remove the pin 1 wire and pin from each connector by unclamping the small connector hinged piece and pressing the exposed pin release tab. Do not remove the pin 2 and pin 3 wires.
6) Connect the pin 1 wire to the pin 3 wire on each paddle. This gives left downshift only and right upshift only on both movements of the shifters. I cut off the pin and spliced the wires using solder with heat shrink tubing for insulation.
As an alternative to splicing the pin 1 wire to pin 3 on the same connector, you could cross-connect the pin 1 wires from the left and right connectors (see original post diagram). This would also connect the left paddle pull function to a downshift terminal and the right paddle push function to an upshift terminal. The wires are too short for this so you'd need to rig up a harness with connectors and pins compatible with the existing setup. There is room next to the existing harness to run this across."
(Please note this thread is not a DIY. See DIY source below)
The two connectors behind the steering wheel airbag look like this and their pins have to be swopped around as in the diagramme above:
So I took the car to Donford BMW (today) and asked them to do the tweaks to the connectors and to reset the airbag code after they have completed the conversion.
I collected the car a couple of hours later and simply love the change. Upshift using the right paddle and downshift using the left. Pushing the paddle with your thumb is now de-activated and does not work anymore...which is simply not required.
A truly simple modification that gives me such pleasure. I highly recommend this:
:ty:
Sources & Further Reading:
* DIY Retrofit paddleshifts on cars that dont have them
* Installing The M3 DCT paddles on X35
* DIY To remove the paddleshifters completely
* Wiring diagramme source
* DIY Steptronic paddle shifter modification
raise:
