Haha, I thought my G was good...

MrElussive

MrElussive

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#1
Hey,

My friend got an M3 with SMG recently. Most of the options except for navi, he also got the 19" M wheels. Anyways, he wanted me to show him some things of the M3 (smoother upshifts and downshifts, hill start control, and launch control) as well as manual driving techniques and such, and he let me whip it around.
I cannot state how amazing the car is. The engine sounds great (as does the exhaust tone) and it makes the car hustle beyond belief. I love how it sounds so great at high rpm's and it just pulls sooo hard. The handling and steering are superb...the steering wheel is so thick and tight, the steering feels great, it's just "point and shoot." Extremely precise steering and the handling works with it so well. There is more body roll than my car, but the handling is just way better and far more predictable...there is
SO
MUCH
GRIP!!!!!!!!!!!
The brakes are great and definitely work well to keep this freaking rocket in line. They are really strong and have a nice, progressive feel to them.
The SMG transmission works extremely well....I would strongly consider SMG if I were getting an M3 now. For normal driving I prefer a regular manual because it is easier to make it smoother, particularly because the driver can engage/disengage the clutch as he/she pleases, as well as the engagement/disengagement speed. The downshits for normal driving are a bit slower than a traditional manual but it still works pretty well. Passengers will like the SMG better as upshifts (on disengagement) are smoother, and there are no mistakes on upshift/downshift timing.
The car feels like a normal 3-Series for regular driving around as the ride quality is great, the visibility all around is great, the engine is nice and smooth between 2K-3K rpm's, and the car as a whole is just so easy to drive, which I expected from a German car.
The only kind of weird thing is the Sport button. I bet it's great for whipping around on a track, but as others have mentioned, it can easily be too aggressive for the streets as the throttle response is just crazy - when you have to modulate the throttle gently, it becomes more difficult as the accelerator is just so much more sensitive. The accelerator is also just begging you to go fast.
Overall, I loved how the car is just a nice and comfortable luxury-sport coupe that turns into an amaaaazing sportrs car instantly. I may have to beg BMW to produce the car for a few more months than as what they planned just so I can get my hands on one when the lease of my car is over. [:p]

Thanks,
MrElussive
 
///M SPEED

///M SPEED

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#3
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#3
I see! Now you get it. Figures.....

Never take the word of someone who OWNs an SMG equipped car.....

BTW, once you "learn" to drive an SMG equipped car the shifting is no different....
 
MrElussive

MrElussive

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#5
Supposedly 3-6 months from now. They take a year off and then release the brand-new M3.

M Speed, the SMG was a really nice transmission, but once I was back in my car, I enjoyed the full manual so much more. Not that I was whipping it hard or anything, but the level of control and the deeper interaction with the car makes it more enjoyable. I think the SMG transmission is great, but I am still definitely in the position to enjoy the experience of manual as opposed to its higher performance during aggressive as well as the convenience for everyday traffic. I also prefer regular manual downshifts as opposed to the SMG's where you feel the whole process but have no part of it. I felt like my manual downshifts were much more instant. Even considering all this, I have much more appreciation for SMG and what it can do for those who opt for this transmission.

I must say, I was not too crazy about the hill start control. I can do normal 800-rpm starts in my car using the e-brake as opposed to the way the M3 goes to like 1,500rpm's to feather the clutch to get you started on a hill. Even when I was driving it around, I was using the e-brake technique to start on hills like a normal manual.

Also, the small gauges of the M3 are scary. It makes you go so much faster than you think you're going and it keeps you more in tune with the car itself, as opposed to worrying so much about speed (which I was always in excess of), gas mileage, etc.
 
B

Beekbmwm3

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#6
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#6
I echo your thoughts...except I get to feel that power every day.

The SMG is incredible, with sport mode it's out of this world, exactly like you said, "it's begging you to go faster."

I love my car...sexy as hell and even faster!!
 
Chesty Bonds

Chesty Bonds

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B M W said:
I dont agree with your about the engine and exhaust tones. I find them terrible and very non-BMWish.
Click to expand...
I guess each to their own and all that but your opinion sounds like sacrilege to me!

I love the sound of the M3 six - it growls and screams and pulls like there is no tomorrow. I really like the rasp in the exhaust too.
 
G

gpoints

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Chesty Bonds said:
I guess each to their own and all that but your opinion sounds like sacrilege to me!

I love the sound of the M3 six - it growls and screams and pulls like there is no tomorrow. I really like the rasp in the exhaust too.
Click to expand...
I'm going to have to second this. [burnout]
 
MrElussive

MrElussive

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#10
B M W said:
I dont agree with your about the engine and exhaust tones. I find them terrible and very non-BMWish.
Click to expand...
I thought the raspy exhaust actually stays true to BMW. The engine sounds pretty good, but I wish BMW would make the M3 sound more like the M3 CSL.

Also, I've been thinking about this for quite a bit and I think the SMG really waters down the experience. It is pretty cool in terms of practicality and performance, but I would rather row my own gears, blip the throttle myself on downshifts, and have control of the clutch to engage/disengage when I want at low speeds.
 
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B

B M W

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#11
Nah that rasp is just new in the e46 M3. Every BMW before and every other BM now has a great exhaust tone. Nice and deep, even when ont he throttle. If you sit in a e36 M3 you mgiht notice a more amplified yet similar refined exhaust tone in the z4 3.0. The 3.0 sounds friggin amazing, and even my mom thought it was a bit loud. Im glad she said that because she isnt exactly the sports car type.


Previously I believe the "clicking" adn clanking sounds the e46 M3 makes int he high rpm was due to the exhaust. I geuss it must be in the exhaust closer to the engine or int he engine itself. My buddy is on his 2nd exhaust ont he car. The Eisenmann wasnt very loud an was heavy. He just got a gruppe M a few weeks ago and it's ridiculously loud. So obnoxiously loud that he wants to sell it already, but at least it helps mask that terrible clicking sound!
 
MrElussive

MrElussive

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#12
Really? Dude to me, all the BMW's pretty much have no exhaust note. Even the M3's raspy exhaust was very subtle for my taste....you don't hear anything until around 4K+ rpm's or so. I had no problem with the M3's engine (or the exhaust note, really), I just wish it sounded more like the M3 CSL. The 3.2L I6 engine itself sounds amazing from the outside.
 
D

deutsch100

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#13
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#13
There are times when I think my car sounds awesome when I am hard accelerating, and I have the windows open. There are also times when I think it sounds "tin canny", whiny and rattley. I am in love with my baby, but I think the exhaust note could be deeper and more of a growl. I guess it is the "white trash" in me, but I think a Mustang GT 5.0 and the Vette have a hot exhaust sound. That would be awesome on an M3.
 
MrElussive

MrElussive

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#14
Yeah, I can understand that. I guess the sounds are okay by me because the engine is really just a high-strung 3.2 liter I6. Mustang and Corvette both pack big, rumbling V8's under the hood. But then again, Subaru managed to get a really mean, tough guy sound out of their 2.0 liter boxer 4 engines.
 
Chesty Bonds

Chesty Bonds

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#15
MrElussive said:
Dude to me, all the BMW's pretty much have no exhaust note.
Click to expand...
I think with some BMWs - say the 5ers and 7ers - you're probably right about them having no exhaust note, but only at idle. I've had my dad do a few standing-starts while I stand next to his car and OH MY GOD does the 740 crank out some serious exhaust noise. It has a real blood-and-thunder soundtrack that you really wouldn't expect from a car of that character. But sure, at low engine speeds (anything below 2K) there is hardly any noise at all.

But our 325i has an absolutely insane exhaust note. When you first start it up it growls and pops and just sounds, well, really beefy and mean. Like the 7, I've had people do some standing starts with the 325i and the noise is just incredible. It starts off quite gruffly and then, presumably when the vales open up at about 3K, it just screams with an urgenccy that you wouldn't expect of a small sedan. And this is done with the standard BMW exhaust system. There is a more free-flowing system offered by BMW at free fitment on purchase of the car but my dad didn't want to get it [chair] lol. In any case, the car sounds just sensational.

I guess what I'm trying to say, Emile, is that not all BMWs have 'no exhaust note', and that you might be quite surprised to notice the ones that are actually quite loud (like our E46). Oh, and have you heard the new 120i? Now that has a beefy exhaust on it.
 
MrElussive

MrElussive

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#16
BMW's have an exhaust note, but it's the kind of exhaust note that won't annoy the neighbors when you punch it down a street, and for the driver in the vehicle, it's more about engine noise. Every time I run with a 3-Series, my car completely and utterly drowns out any exhaust note the car may have. But this is the point of a BMW, I guess, as they are luxury as well as sport.
But the M3 is completely fine with me. The engine sounds good and the exhaust has a nice rasp to it when you punch it.

You guys are just too used to the smooth I6 motors. Chesty I'm going to take a short video of my car starting up when the engine is warm and I'll PM you the link for it.
 
brahtw8

brahtw8

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#19
Don't forget that you guys are talking about two different exhaust systems on the E46 M3. The US models have a more restrictive exhaust that produces a strong rasp and eats up about 5 horsepower in the process. (The other 5 being the difference between SAE and DIN hp measurements)

The mid-pipe is the culprit on the US cars, and can be replaced by something like the UUC rasp-X pipe to eliminate the issue. I'm leaving my stock mid-pipe for now, but the stock exhaust is going to be replaced by the Borla cat-back (a true dual exhaust).
 
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