DIY: SMG to Manual accelerator pedal. No more kick-down.

[liam821]

My car was originally an SMG but was converted to a 6spd. The previous owner left the stock SMG accelerator pedal which had the kick-down to go full-throttle. Basically, to go full-throttle you have to push through that resistance at 90% throttle. Turns out the SMG and Manual accelerator pedals are basically the same and it's an easy fix.

Remove these screws. You'll need a security T8 torx to do it. I got a set off Amazon for $10.


Here is the inside. The kick down just slides in (left of this picture)




You can see there is a little level that pushes against the piston - that is what makes the resistance for the kick-down.


Pull that thing out (just slides in) and put the whole thing back together.


Super easy.

[thegenius46m]

Can you link the screwdriver you used? I have tried two tr8 screwdrivers and they each are rounding the screws.

[PowerSax]

Is this recommended for an still SMG'd ride?

[jet_dogg]

Can you link the screwdriver you used? I have tried two tr8 screwdrivers and they each are rounding the screws.

The only precise ones are wiha and wera, don't bother with amazon garbaggio.

[thegenius46m]

Lol I ordered some Amazon kit for earlier. If it’s shit I’ll just return it. One time use for an experiment anyways. This isn’t for the m3 btw 😉


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[liam821]

I used this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0744BTGJ8

They're a super cheap crappy set, but they did the job for me. Perhaps I just got lucky.

[liam821]

Is this recommended for an still SMG'd ride?

Up to you, really. I guess its nice to have the kick-down if you have a SMG as you'll know when you get to that point in the pedal. But it makes no difference to anything else. I just removed it because mine was an SMG converted to a manual so there was no point in having it.

[maw1124]

Up to you, really. I guess its nice to have the kick-down if you have a SMG as you'll know when you get to that point in the pedal. But it makes no difference to anything else. I just removed it because mine was an SMG converted to a manual so there was no point in having it.

Me, over here pondering the pros and cons of skipping the kickdown resistance in this car. Might be a ton of fun without it. I wonder if the computers are responding to the kickdown switch at all, or purely pedal position. In most automatics that kickdown switch triggers a solenoid in the valve body. But SMG being essentially a manual run by computers, I’m not sure.

maw

[maw1124]

Yeah I can totally see that. Same for Auto mode probably too. Of course, then the car would scare the shit out of anyone driving it but me. I often let my kids (late teens, early 20s) use this car on vacay. But I might give it a whirl for kicks. It’s just a pedal. Most tunes are just playing with some of those same throttle by wire parameters anyway.

maw

[oceansize]

Order the white piece in the floor board where the pedal connects. I had a heck of a time getting mine out and the plastic was brittle and it broke.

[Maxhouse97]

These screws are a pain, I even got the Wiha tool. Still a great mood after I got it done.

[liam821]

These screws are a pain, I even got the Wiha tool. Still a great mood after I got it done.

I know, I had a hell of a time getting it apart even with the right tool. Worth it though!

[Jimbo85281]

My car was originally an SMG but was converted to a 6spd. The previous owner left the stock SMG accelerator pedal which had the kick-down to go full-throttle. Basically, to go full-throttle you have to push through that resistance at 90% throttle. Turns out the SMG and Manual accelerator pedals are basically the same and it's an easy fix.

Remove these screws. You'll need a security T8 torx to do it. I got a set off Amazon for $10.


Here is the inside. The kick down just slides in (left of this picture)




You can see there is a little level that pushes against the piston - that is what makes the resistance for the kick-down.


Pull that thing out (just slides in) and put the whole thing back together.


Super easy.

Great post! I need to do this to my 02 SMG M3. Can you do it with the pedal on the car? It seems like everything is perfectly accessible. I need to do this because the kickdown is so annoying!

Btw, I looked at my screws and they're 5 point stars. So you should be using a TS10 bit.

[maw1124]

Order the white piece in the floor board where the pedal connects. I had a heck of a time getting mine out and the plastic was brittle and it broke.

Did you do this mod in an SMG? How do you like it? Does it help low RPM response?

maw

[liam821]

Great post! I need to do this to my 02 SMG M3. Can you do it with the pedal on the car? It seems like everything is perfectly accessible. I need to do this because the kickdown is so annoying!

Btw, I looked at my screws and they're 5 point stars. So you should be using a TS10 bit.

Taking the pedal off is actually really easy, it's just held in with a clip. But I guess you could pop the cover off with it still being in the car if you can get in there.

Did you do this mod in an SMG? How do you like it? Does it help low RPM response?

maw

It won't change any response or anything, it just removes the kick-down part of the pedal pressure.