E46 Fanatics Forum banner

411 on SMG

3K views 25 replies 19 participants last post by  kaput 
#1 ·
Guys,

I have read the in's and out's about the SMG transmission. Now that I am really considering purchasing an M3, I would appreciate if ONLY owners of SMG transmissions could chime in for me.

Have all the owners had to replace or toss crazy amounts of money at your transmissions? Is the SMG really engineered to fail? No matter what? I am only speaking about the SMG in the E46 M3...no other design.

I plan on driving the vehicle as a DD with the occasional spirited driving. I will not be tracking the vehicle or performing launch controls.

I would love to hear how many miles some of you have on your current trannys. I will most likely buy one with 60-80k miles.

Thanks in advance.
 
#5 ·
OP don't fall for the hype on the SMG. Keep in mind when reading online forums that people tend to only post when they are having issues and not when things are all good with their cars. Of course its a good idea to take the steps and be thorough when buying the M, and getting into a car that has a well documented history should be a top priority. I would try to find a one owner E46 M that is adult owned. This will usually weed out the cars that have been flogged as there's a better chance you will get an unmolested car from the adult that paid big money for the car new and maintained it rather than the kid that bought it second hand for cheap and whooped the snot out of it. Good luck and make sure you drive the SMG first before making a final decision. I love the trans myself and prefer it over a manual, but its definitely not for everyone.


Sent from BimmerApp mobile app
 
#18 ·
It's a great tranny and I really like the versatility it offers. Don't go crazy with launch controls b/c it puts too much stress on the SMG. My compression spring broke and I had the stealership replace it under warranty. It's a $.50 part (marked up to $20) but with a $1900 labor. I had them replace my clutch and flywheel while they had the tranny out and taken apart. Other then that, 86K miles and still running strong.
 
#22 ·
2002 SMG, 91K and driven daily. Original everything except relay, and no issues with the pump. I have I believe 2 broken compression springs (happens on manuals as well) that I want to replace, but I don't really need to as it still drives fine for DD purposes, I just can't beat the ever loving snot out of the car, or it will fail to shift into 2nd and 3rd at WOT/redline.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top