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Q: SMG with supercharger ??

5K views 33 replies 12 participants last post by  _Calle_ 
#1 ·
Honestly did a search and did not find anything useful exept some of smg owners have had qlutch problems.

How does the smg tranny handel SK1 kit comparing to manual and auto?? do I need and can I upgrade a stronger qlutch??

Thanks
Rainer
 
#2 ·
raine24 said:
Honestly did a search and did not find anything useful exept some of smg owners have had qlutch problems.

How does the smg tranny handel SK1 kit comparing to manual and auto?? do I need and can I upgrade a stronger qlutch??

Thanks
Rainer
You would probably just have to upgrade the clutch.
 
#3 ·
Well I guess I am the one with SMG who had all the clutch problems...

I'll give you my feedback on what I had to do to make it work.

At first, when I was chosing between SKI and SKII I was hesitating on how much power the SMG tranny can hold, so in the end I went with SKI to be sure.
After the install I could really feel the difference in car's performance, but i noticed a serious problem in gear changes. The clutch was slipping bad. So bad that it took all the fun from driving a S/Ced car.
I was speculating on what the problem could be and it took me awhile to undestand what had to be done.
I've also searched this forum for someone who installed S/C on 330 with SMG but didnt find answers. At first I thought that the control unit of my SMG was programmed for stock engine torqe. Thats why it didn't realesed the clutch and allowed for clutch slip. I asked many dealers and tuning companies in Moscow if they can reprogramm the SMG unit. they all said "NO"
I was desperate and was ready to remove the supercharger... :(
Later after another extensive search I learned that all 330Ci original clutch has a new "SAC" (Self Adjusting Clutch) design. That was probably the cause of my problems (you can learn more about it at http://www.uucmotorwerks.com)
I've decided that uprgrading the clutch was my best bet. Unfortunatly for me (I live in Russia) we dont have any tuning companies who offer clutch upgrades for e46 so I had to oder it from uucmotorwerks. (I went with Lightweight flywheel and clutch combo with organic clutch)
After the install the problem was gone!!! but another problem emerged...
the car was very jerky everytime i started rolling...it felt like the clutch was released to soon, so I had to throttle up to compensate. As a result the car was jumpy and traffic was a nightmare. Again I was dissapointed :(
This forum helped me in solving this problem :bow: . I went to a dealer and asked them to update the SMG control unit software and also to reset the control unit so it goes into learning mode (actually they do this everytime you change the clutch). After that I felt like the car was trying to adapt to a new clutch. It took 2 days for it to adapt...Now I can definitely say that the car is amazing. It has the performance of a S/Ced car and is a daily driver. :woot:

bottomline: heres what you need to do
upgrade the clutch --> update SMG cotrol unit --> let the car adapt to a new clutch

hope it helps. Good luck!
 
#7 ·
You can try just updating the control unit software. Dont know if it'll work... I changed the clutch to eliminate SAC system in the stock clutch which I think is the main reason why the clutch was slipping
you dont need another control unit...you just need to reset it so it goes into learning mode.
 
#8 ·
emm.. my smg + sk1 slips very badly.. went to dealer, and they said the plate still has plenty of thickness in it. they reset the control unit to learning mode.. so i guess it's not a mechanical issue.. must be the software..

problem solved!! but only for a couple of weeks..!! :(

now the problem becomes more apparent.. can hardly rev up without the clutch slipping.. but funny, if i stop by the roadside and restart the car, it'd be back to good.. that made me conclude that the software is the issue..

all this take away the joy of driving the car.. :( sigh..

any smg owner (non-M) checked if we have the CDV on the car? anyone tried removing it?
 
#12 ·
Yup I did! My GB was giving me a hell of alot of problems. Periodically from a stop I had to revv it up to 2000rpm then the clutch would catch and then slip and it would be almost impossible for me to change gears. send it back to BMW countless of times finally they changed the whole GB
 
#19 ·
hey....got the car back from the dealer...
A good thing is that the S/C wasn't damaged
the bad thing: the clutch is slipping bad and im still not sure how to fix it :dunno:
i am starting to think that the software in the control unit is to blame...but im not sure if you can reprogramm the software (not just reset it)
 
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