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<E36><E30>Auto Transmission Care/Driving Issues - Part II

It may or may not be obvious, but I forgot my final rules of auto
transmission use -

- -Do not abuse them - nothing I said in my previous post constitutes abuse,
just driving them within their design limits. The following "abuses" should
be avoided if you want your autos to last and still enjoy them to the fullest
performance possible.
1. Do not try hole shots or drag racing or basically any full throttle starts
from standing stops. Nothing could be harder on autos. Since there is no
great practical advantage to be gained by stomping on an auto from a dead
stop do not do it. Get the mass of the car rolling before engaging in full
throttle accleration. This is not a problem in just about any driving
situation short of a drag race. If you try and drag in an auto you will lose
against many cars at least in the first 1/8 or 1/4 mile and you will wear out
your trans - buy a five speed for that. In practice you start from a stop
once and drive the twistys for a few hours without stopping - dont do full
throttle accelerations from a stop.
2. As you experiment at manual auto shifting or more frequent interaction
with the auto - watch your downshifts - you can overrev your engine/put
extreme stress on drivetrain just like a five-speed.
3. Be careful with your fluid levels if you change your fluid and filters
yourself - In my opinion it is worse to overfill your auto than underfill to
a degree. E-36s are pretty easy because you pump fluid in till it starts
flowing out. E-30s are a little more tricky and you must have the auto very
hot to get a good reading of what the level is for operating conditions.
Early E-30s should be retrofitted with newer dipsticks, my 90 has the proper
- - longer one.

I will forever shut up on this issue - I promise - no flames are necessary.

Hoods Up