Debating a Manual Conversion. Thoughts?

[0-60motorsports]

I have an SMG car I bought with full intent of the 6MT conversion. Recently concluded I won't be for a few reasons:

1. Cost. It's not worth the $6,000 or more it takes to do this at a reputable place. I don't have the tools or the know-how to do the work. It also doesn't help that I was under the impression it ran about $3,000.
2. Not wanting to modify an all original car that extensively. At the rate you see this mentioned on the average e46 m3 conversation, SMG cars will be non-existent in 10 years.
3. SMG is an enjoyable drive. I have been impressed with the feel of it, I was expecting some horrendous experience. The criticism is far overblown.

I still have the itch to row gears, but I'll would just sell my SMG car and buy a 6MT.

Every now and then i wake up and say I should convert my car to 6MT but 2 seconds im like Nah F that.

I know exactly how to drive the SMG superbly and Im not going to suffer in our horrendous traffic by converting to 6MT. HAHAAHAHHAHAH

If the car ends up coming to the States to live I might consider it one day......But like you said at that point if i want a 6MT i'll buy another BMW with that gearbox.

Love the SMG and all the sounds that come along with it.

[332]

I'm a 5 speed swap guy, cheaper, better, lighter IMHO

[///Marecki]

I still think 6MT is the one to own long term since in theory this should be a weekend car. All I'm saying is I'm done with obsessing over the conversion.

Found the cleanest car I could get and it happened to be SMG. I'm just glad I didn't pass it up based on that.

[M3fanatic580]

My friend has a SMG and he loves it. I've been in it and it shifts great. Having said that if I had a choice I would go full manual.

[Jarvis]

I’m on my second e46 m3 and have swapped them both. Here’s my take. My first e46 m3 ever driven came with a super harsh SMG system that clunked, jerked and felt pretty horrible. After swapping that car, it felt like the biggest upgrade possible. It was a no brainer to have swapped that car.

fast forward to when I purchased a newer spec with only 78k miles. That car drove like it was new off the lot. The SMG system was butter smooth, no jerking or clunks or kicks when shifting. 2 years into that ownership and I got the CSL tune. This was a game changer and made me feel like I was driving a DTC. The downshifting and rematches were absolutely insane. After swapping this car due to a no start issue that I couldn’t resolve, I really feel like I downgraded this car. You simply can’t shift as fast as a CSL tuned HEALTHY smg car. It’s obvious that the only reason people hate SMG cars is because they’ve driven horrible examples like my first one. I thought if every smg drove that way, why did they ever introduce it? But that wasn’t the case. It’s wear and tear. It’s not only the cost but the headache to properly trouble shoot the SMG system once it starts to fail. I find myself regretting the swap all the time. And it’s way harder to revert lol

[maw1124]

Every now and then i wake up and say I should convert my car to 6MT but 2 seconds im like Nah F that.

Funny!

The only time -- and I mean ONLY time -- I think about a 6MT swap is when the issue comes up on a forum.

But the guy who wrote the thread on how to get rid of the clunk is a national treasure. I think that's on this forum.

Sort the system, get it healthy, tune it and have a nice day.

maw

[silverfox]

I bought my 2002 E46 M3 SMG four years ago with 42k miles on it. It now has 61k miles. The car is mint. I love the SMG. It’s can be the most rewarding experience. Nothing bad to say about it. Mine has the stock tune. Isn’t clunky at all. Shifts lightning fast and smooth. But, last summer when it was 98 degrees out and I was driving for over an hour, the SMG pump got hot. The car went into limp mode. I pulled over and let it cool down for 5-10 minutes. Tried starting it again, and no dice. Waited another 5-10, and it started. That’s the only time it’s ever done that. The real problem with the SMG isn’t that it shifts like an F1 style race car- that’s bad ass- the real problem is that it’s located against the exhaust manifold at the lower part of the engine. It can get extremely hot and just boil that pump. I never want to have issues with it again. My car is at AMS right now getting a manual swap. I’ll let you know how it goes.

[sapote]

the real problem is that it’s located against the exhaust manifold at the lower part of the engine. It can get extremely hot and just boil that pump.

Hot exhaust is on the R of engine, and the pump is on the L; they are not next to each other.

[1000hp]

I think he's confusing the SMG pump with the VANOS accumulator. Maybe that's why it limped.

Either way, congrats on ditching the SMG BS.

Couldn't wait to get rid of mine. The best thing about it was that it reduced the cost of the car enough that it was significantly cheaper to buy it that way and (DIY) convert over the weekend it than to buy a car that was originally a proper manual.