smg

I just bought a 2004 m3. My first BMW! I did not get the car yet(on order). I ordered the car with smg gearbox. Just wondering about the pro's & con's and if they can be trouble?

Shouldn't you have figured out the pros and cons before you bought the car?

First, what are you going to be doing with the car? Are you just going to drive it around, or will you be modding it?

With regards to generic pros and cons, you should already know them. With SMG, you lose total control over your car (that you would have with a manual), but you gain faster shifts and easier driving. Be sure to read your manual. There are several features you'll never find if you don't read up on it.

You don't loose total control. You just can't do a couple things:
- Rev up the engine and drop the clutch for flying off the line. The SMG is 4.9s to 60 versus 4.7s according to road and track.
- Heal and Toe - This is not necessary since the SMG will automatically blip the gas for you when you downshift.

The only real downside to the SMG II in the M3 that I have noticed is that it clutch breaks at times that you were not trying to stop all that hard, thus throwing your body forward from the sudden slowdown. This is not an issue under hard driving, etc.

Having SMG at the track is GREAT! You never have to take your hands off the wheel to shift and you don't have to worry about heal and toe, just drive like hell. F1 style!

Dont know what the worry is, I have just bought an M3 conv SMG and its just had its first service and I find the SMG ideal for driving in London, auto mode first easy setting, I get 25mpg commuting and when I want I flip the lever to manual or simply ding the paddles on the steering wheel and its in manual at stage 5/6 and an awesome racer. The gearchange is smooth in auto mode, a lot more responsive in sport setting for getting in and out of junctions/roundabouts but a bit fierce full throttle in manual at the extreme setting but that just adds to the fun. I have been a BMW owner for a while and this is the first M3, wanting a bit more fun and fresh air after a 5 series saloon, although I nearly bought an X5, but common sense prevailed when I found a cancelled order with every extra on it going...........long live the M3!

You might try searching at M3forum.com there are probably 40 LONG threads there on the subject! For the track SMG rules, for fun I am a three pedal car man. I drove them both on the street and track and ended up with a manual clutch version, I didn't wanna give up the satisfaction of a heel/toe shift when I spent so long getting good at it.

Vandy

i have driven an SMG and I havent noticed any problems, and I have heard that the SMG is faster depending on who is driving it, and how much margin of driving error the driver has.