Q: I've read that with the E60 M5 with 6-speed manual, the traction control management systems cannot be fully disengaged. My question is, how much of it cannot be disengaged? Can you wheel spin off the line, can you burn out, can you doughnut, can you drift? if you can drift, how much will it let you drift? And also if anyone knows, with the Dinan aftermarket software, can the electronic stability control systems be completely turned off? Thanks for any advice. Please only answers from people who KNOW what they're talking about, not people that THINK they know what they're talking about Thank you for your response, but I don't feel you understand fully that the traction control does not fully disengage with the 6-speed manual, go here for clarification http://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/27/m5s-traction-control-off-switch-nixed-for-a-reason/ . So my question still stands, how much are you able to do in MDM with the 6-speed manual? Thanks
A: You are right that during the start of production, M5's with 6 speed manual trannies do not have the provision to disengage the DSC/DTC. But things have changed since then. Starting MY'08 (actually 09/07), the DSC OFF function had already been made available in both M5's and M6's that have the optional 6 speed manual trannies. So I will no longer answer your original question of what with the DSC active you can do or you can not do. With the DSC disengaged, (fully this time), only the ABS is still active so only the releasing of the brakes and pumping to prevent lockup are holdovers. No stabilizing intervention is available with DSC off. You can do whatever you want that the car is capable of doing (including some very serious situations). For those cars that have the optional 6 speed trannies but no provision to turn off the DSC, a software update (retrofit) is available to make turning off the DSC also available. No hardware changes are needed. When updated, the MDM button in the center console has 3 settings: 1) default is with DSC on 2) short press turns MDM on (with green indicator on cluster) 3) press and hold turns off the DSC (with yellow DSC indicator in the cluster and a check control message appears on the display). I do not want to touch on the Dinan software for an M5 for to me it is an utter waste of time (and money). PS: Allow me to congratulate you on your fine taste. While SMG 3 is slightly faster than manual during acceleration, I also firmly believe that the driver interacting with a manual transmission is a better experience and gives more "joy" to owning a car and driving it.