Regarding transmission chain, still a little suspicious why the manual Plus Four has engine mapping that significantly reduces torque compared with auto version.
I recall something said along the lines that the clutch and gearbox cant take the full torque of the engine, whereas the autobox can. I may be wrong, but it stuck in my mind.
Yes I read the same Peter but the explanation seemed a little too convenient. Why would BMW offer a manual gearbox that had so little torque handling in reserve that a reduction was required from the engine, especially in such a light car. Surely they had a manual box in their arsenal that could cope with that engines torque and more.
Reminds me of a Cobra replica I was building many years ago. I queried whether the supplied ZF gearbox could cope with the torque from the Ford 350 cu in. V8. The answer was it should be fine as the light car would break traction before the engines full torque was transmitted through the box.
