e46 M3 SMG - any good as a commuter in start/stop traffic??

[daveknott5]

I'm after an auto performance car next year (fed up with a clutch as I spend 75% of my commute in stop-start traffic). Can anybody give me their experiences of using an SMG E46 M3 day-to-day? Does the gearbox work well in this context? or do you have to "learn" how to drive an SMG in this environment?

[0836whimper]

I think the slightly abrupt engagement might get a bit annoying after a while. And having an M3 in traffic when it really wants to be screaming at >7000 revs on the open road would also be frustrating. Might as well use a micra or Ka in traffic.

[Alpinestars]

I think it would be fine. Put the gearbox down to one of the gentler settings and it should be no problem at all.

[LJTS]

Owned my E46 M3 SMG for 4 years now & clocked up 90K miles in it so far

Highly recommend it as a commuter but don't expect more than 21mpg in start/stop traffic

Always glad to get back in to it after driving other cars

[thehos]

put it in A1, and it will pull off in 2nd, therefor no gear changes in traffic

[NickXX]

It's great in stop start traffic.

[M3RMS]

NickXX said:

It's great in stop start traffic.

It's absolutely superb for this.

But be careful using A1 too much in stop/start though as it rides the clutch a bit starting in 2nd and can cause excessive wear (well... it did for me anyway & it's a big old bill).

[Spartikus]

I see the rationale for A1, but can't be ideal pulling off in second every time. I find A2 is fine in traffic. Just need to remeber not to pull off too fast else you get the lurch as it goes first to second. Don't want to sound negative with that though as in slow/town traffic it works really well.

Remeber, there are a lot of people giving their opinions and advice on SMG who don't really understand it. It really is a very effective system.

[daveknott5]

Thanks all for your replies chaps. The E46 SMG M3 has just gone back to the top of my potential car list!

[mat205125]

If I was constantly in stop start city traffic, I'd want to have a proper auto, rather than a manual, or automated manual.

Maybe look away from the E46, and towards an Alpina B10 ......



....... or maybe a 645



Neither will reward on that small percentage of your driving time when you eventually find an empty piece of A or B road for a thrash, but if that percentage is less than 5% of your time / mileage, I'd take the Alpina or 6' any day.

[Spartikus]

I think the OP is in a similiar to position to a lot of people, myself included. You want the M3 but can you make it workable in some unfortunate real-life situations as well (e.g. slow traffic). SMG lets you do this, but that's only a secondary advantage of the system. Primarily its there as a performance tool. Gives you the best of both worlds really, unlees you really want the interaction of a manual clutch.


Anyone after a full-auto probably wouldn't be posting in this forum (meant in the nicest possible way).

[Rawhide]

I live in central London and used to commute in heavy traffic with the SMG M3. It's absolutely perfect.

I sometimes use A2 if I'm really lazy, but more often use S5 so I can change up to second a bit quicker. It just takes a one finger press on the upshift. I don't bother with downshifting.

My wife only has an auto licence and she gets on with it fine too. She loves it in fact.

[NickXX]

Rawhide said:

I sometimes use A2 if I'm really lazy, but more often use S5 so I can change up to second a bit quicker. It just takes a one finger press on the upshift. I don't bother with downshifting.

Same as me. Usually in S5 as even in stop-start traffic it's hardly any hassle with the automatic downshifting.

A2 if I'm feeling really lazy, or very stuck on the M25

[Spartikus]

Does anybody find that on the later models S5 is smoother? I had a 2003 and thought that there was a tendancy for the diff to 'slam' sometimes. Doesn't seem to happen in a 2005 model though. Maybe a later SMG software revision.

[Rawhide]

I get some slam if I don't lift in the lower gears 2/3rd shift. Noticed this at a track day recently. In the higher gears it doesn't seem to do it.

My car is a 2002 model.

[Jon101]

I think it's a fine car for driving in traffic, although I don't bother with the auto mode. Even in manual mode it will change down for you when it needs it and changing up is only a pull of your finger. My wife drves it in the auto mode and finds it easy around town.

If you want a performance car that can cope easily with commuting traffic then a M3 SMG is about as good as it gets.

[Nords]

Spartikus said:

Does anybody find that on the later models S5 is smoother? I had a 2003 and thought that there was a tendancy for the diff to 'slam' sometimes. Doesn't seem to happen in a 2005 model though. Maybe a later SMG software revision.

Not sure when but the CSL had a 64 bit processor and they fitted the same (with CSL software) to the latter M3s.