Reasons to love SMG

ive had my smg since october now and had an e46 330ci sport package before my m3. and i have to say i love the smg m3. ive driven many manual m3s at my job and actually wanted the manual over the smg at first. but now that i drive my smg every day its so much better and so much fun. love it

I got my '02 M3 coupe in September with no one but the seller and his mechanic in favor of the SMG M3s (NOT very comforting)! The naysayers included my son, his mechanic (BMW specific) in Gainesville, my tech wizard (BMW pro) shake his head back and forth like a rag doll each and every time I mentioned the three letters SMG before I made my final decision to get one, so I've been very much the loaner in my choice of SMG over a manual! I will say that if you aspire to get the best out of these cars, you HAVE to treat them with much more attention than any automatic OR manual (once you can drive a car well )...it's almost like it's alive and always changing and you as the driver are forced to work WITH it! Like a thoroughbred she's edgy almost moody and almost bad mannered at times but if you can take the time to get to know how the SMG system works in each of its settings and combinations then tap into the monster within, there is hardly any greater reward! THIS CAR IS A BLAST TO DRIVE

I agree the SMG is a blast to drive , learning the sweet spot to shift at the right RPM, every one is bashing the SMG but lets do a comparison if you don't know how to drive a standard you can do more damage to the transmission than a SMG , a clutch and stripping the gears is way more costly to fix .
Maintenance is key change transmission fluid ever third oil change , it is cheaper to change transmission fluid than engine oil on a smg , there is a soft ware up grade for the SMG the shift is a lot smoother ,they do it at the stealers, if you have an up to date shop they can do it a lot cheaper I spoke to my to the mechanic another thing to do is change the ball and spring for the pump the spring gets week and the ball get away and damages the pump , one more thing when parking on an incline put your hand brake on before you put it in 1 mode to park,when you are ready to restart you can hear the transmission struggling to shift into N I love the SMG.

Originally Posted by TramRam

it's almost like it's alive and always changing and you as the driver are forced to work WITH it!

This is so very true. I remember the first time I went up a really steep drive. I turned into the driveway in third gear. Half way up the car decided that it needed to be in second to avoid stalling. Scared the **** out of me when it paused to shift. I was going pretty slow.

Knowing when to downshift was the main thing I had to get used to. Like if you're coming to a complete stop it's okay to let the car take care of all the downshifting. If you're just coming to a rolling stop often times you'll be in too high of a gear.

It's not a fault, though. The car only downshifts when it may stall. Optimal downshifting is left up to the driver. The only thing I really miss about a stick is having complete control over the clutch. But I think the benefits of SMG really make up for that. I do enjoy driving it. I could have bought a manual M3 easily. But I can buy just about any car in a manual and I've owned a ton of them. I wanted something unique.

Originally Posted by scca_ziptie

Paddle shifters are quicker shifting than manual, which is nice.
No chance of over rev if you click down too many times, which is nice.
Don't have to operate a clutch pedal in stop and go traffic, which is nice.
Clutch lasts longer than a manual (most of the time), which is nice.
Launch control, which is nice.
Hill assist, which is nice.
Very rewarding once you get used to driving the SMG, which is nice.
The look on people's face(s) when they see paddle shifters, which is nice.
Able to brace yourself more consistently at track days, which is nice.
Able to adjust the ferocity of the clutch actuation, which is nice.
You don't wear out your left shoe sole from operating clutch, which is nice.

What movie is the quote, "which is nice" from?

Caddyshack. "So I got that going for me...... which is nice" Pitchfork in hand.

I like my SMG, came from a 996 C4 Porsche, 6 SPD. Sometimes I do miss the clutch and the control of the manual, BUT, once we get familiar with the SMG, it is a really fun transmission, and yes, the downshift blips are alot of fun!!! Especially with an exhaust

Originally Posted by ImSoFreaknWhite

insert key, turn a bit to turn on battery, put in neutral, press brake and turn key the rest of the way.

Hear the beautiful sound of bmws high revving 330 hp inline 6 S54 engine start up!

pretty much the exact way you start a manual except pushing the clutch in, is neutral for manuals.

Threw it in auto to get road dome today. Nice feature to have for things like that.

I recently bought a 2004 BMW 330ci SMG and loved it until one day the car would not shift into gear

Bought SMG because illestminimike had it.

Originally Posted by lemieux2281

I recently bought a 2004 BMW 330ci SMG and loved it until one day the car would not shift into gear

Lost me?! As a previous owner of a 330ci, I wasn't aware that a 330ci had an SMG option...smh

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Bimmer App

Yea when I first looked at car thought it was a 6sp manual but looking farther I noticed the paddle shifters and the smg on the gear knob and yea have the original window sticker from deal ship and it was like a 2500 added option to my car believe that car was 46000 in 2004.. It's now parked on my garage and wanting to fix it ASAP myself can't afford the dealership.

Originally Posted by ImSoFreaknWhite

Bought SMG because illestminimike had it.

I fvcking love you.

Originally Posted by lemieux2281

Yea when I first looked at car thought it was a 6sp manual but looking farther I noticed the paddle shifters and the smg on the gear knob and yea have the original window sticker from deal ship and it was like a 2500 added option to my car believe that car was 46000 in 2004.. It's now parked on my garage and wanting to fix it ASAP myself can't afford the dealership.

Sucks, but the SSG/SMG on your car is a bit different from ours. Even from a different company.

Originally Posted by steve bettencourt

I spoke to my to the mechanic another thing to do is change the ball and spring for the pump the spring gets week and the ball get away and damages the pump ,

Are you referring to the compression springs? I recently had mine replaced and definitely felt the shifting got smoother.

Yea I noticed that and is very hard to find any DIY for fixing or troubleshooting my problems. Do any of you know where I can find help with my SMG problems?

Originally Posted by Westrace

Are you referring to the compression springs? I recently had mine replaced and definitely felt the shifting got smoother.

Is the spring on the pump? is it possible to replace it when i do the clutch plate and DFW change together?

Originally Posted by Hi-LowBlow

Is the spring on the pump? is it possible to replace it when i do the clutch plate and DFW change together?

The compression springs are on the transmission housing. I guess you can do a quick search for them but the transmission has to be lowered to have access to those springs. I had a shop did that for me. Mine were completely broken so I had to have them replaced. Before shifting on mine always felt metallic and jammed in, but afterward, it does feel more positive and there seems like there is an extra layer of isolation so the shifting harshness before now is less. Engagement from neutral to first is a bit crisper as well.

Originally Posted by Westrace

The compression springs are on the transmission housing. I guess you can do a quick search for them but the transmission has to be lowered to have access to those springs. I had a shop did that for me. Mine were completely broken so I had to have them replaced. Before shifting on mine always felt metallic and jammed in, but afterward, it does feel more positive and there seems like there is an extra layer of isolation so the shifting harshness before now is less. Engagement from neutral to first is a bit crisper as well.

Okay, thanks for the detailed info!!

Hi everyone,
Let me please ask one question to you guys. I had an opportunity to drive an SMG M3 the other day. His was '04 and mine is '06, but it felt like his smg shift a bit quicker even the mode that i use was the same (S4). He said that he had to replace the smg pump about a year and half ago, do you guys think this could be the factor that the smg shift a little faster? Is there any other factors that make the difference for the shifting speed with the same mode? (S4 vs S4, or S5 vs S5)

Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by illestminimike

Threw it in auto to get road dome today. Nice feature to have for things like that.

I always enjoyed resting my forearm on her back whilst shifting TBH, but to each his own