M3 smg gearbox e46

[cosmagedon]

Anyone got one? whats it like to drive and are they really as unreliable as people like to tell me

And why are there only a few white ones about? Were they limited edition or something?

And any common fault with the cars i should know check before buying one?

Gaz

[frst silver]

when i bought my 1st M3 convertible it was SMG, was ok, but when i sold that and bought another M3 a few months later which was a manual, i couldnt believe how much better the car was,

i said to myself, ill never buy another SMG M3 again, unless its a bargain

also with the SMG it seemed to never changed down gears quick enough when coming in to corners / round abouts etc etc

[M88RT J]

my bro had one, only problem he had was the gearbox went into limp home mode once in the bad snow a few years back as it was spinning all the time , part from that was a sweet car, sounded awsome on full chat too






mart

[Dan Le Moignan]

Sign upto m3cutters site!
Check rear sub frame for cracks, noisy vanos units check there is plenty of life in the disks and pads. Pre face lift ones tend to use abit of oil aswell.
Also load the car up in a low gear if you can hear a metallic rattle like marbles in a tin it's a good sign the head gasket is on it's way out, there will be no other signs, can happen at Any mileage.

[Dan Le Moignan]

Also check clutch as it uses a dual mass setup so clutch and flywheel need doing at the same time.

[Dan Le Moignan]

Oh, also rust on front arches and bottom swage line of wings, between boot and rear bumper and under the plastic clips where the door latch is

[cosmagedon]

Cheers, i think ill look for a manual box then I quite like that blue, is it the laguna seca one? Looks good. Cheers Dan Is there any way to check clutch wear through the computer? Im looking for a 04 on wards car with fairly low miles so im hoping to not have to many issues.

[Dan Le Moignan]

Leguna seca is the colour I wanted, but didn't like the leguna seca interior most of them have. Steer clear of the grey interiors they are hard to sell on. With the clutch I think the only way to tell is clutch slip or slight vibration through the car on idle. Be aware the clutch can slip with fast gear changes as they have a clutch delay valve as standard which I think was designed to protect the drive train.
Just as a side note low milage cars arnt exempt from the issues, cars with 30k have had head gasket issues, just take your time and drive a few cars so you can tell a good one from a bad one. Go armed with as much info as poss, well worth looking on m3cutters site at the buying guide

[Turkish]

Im on cutters as i have a CSL and its very good using the buying guide. I have an SMGII gearbox and have had loads trouble with it and the DMU. But when its working and im buzzin round the track nothing beats that box in my eyes!

[Dan Le Moignan]

A sapphire black csl is the only e46 I would go back to! They are awesome cars, the sound is emmense!!

[Loader]

A CSL at full chat in s6 is a sensory pleasure overload

[cosmagedon]

Thanks for all the info Ill just look out for one now thats the spec i want.

[rstoughy]

I have one and love it

The E46 SMGII is sooo much better than the E36 version.

Best advice I can give is go take both versions out for as long a test drive as you can get away with.
Drive the SMG one around town as thats where mine lets it's self down.

[Turkish]

Ur rite round town is a bit pump in it, however with the gearbox settings down and in sequential mode with some of the legend TIFF's fair words of a slight lift up between gears its actually very drive-able, reversing parking can end in tears tho if not careful. Its a proper drivers car cause u have to actually think about it, it doesnt do it all for you.

[adamescortcosworth]

ive worked on these cars for the last 14 yrs as a bmw specialist, m3 smg in my opinion is not really a normall driving gearbox !! its good flat out but around town is very jerky and as someone has already said it dosnt change down quick enough at roundabouts ect .... go manual there again some people love em !!! but very expensive if it goes seriously wrong hope this helps, any questions send me a pm i will try and help out