BMW SMG

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
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160,211
Has anyone driven an SMG fitted non M3 BMW?

If so.... did you find it irritatingly jerky? Took one out today expecting it to be amazing and was... well, underwhelmed. Wondering if it was either broken, I was a noob at using it, or its just a naff system?
 
I'm assuming SMG is the tiptronic style gearbox whre you nudge the stick forwards and backwards? If so, I've driven a 330Ci with that gearbox. It wasn't as smooth as the full auto box but I wouldn't have called it incredibly jerky. I found it quite nice actually as it had the benefits of auto with a bit more flexibility.

Maybe its the way its supposed to be driven. IIRC when I was driving the 330, the dealer told me to lift off the throttle very slightly but not too much when changing up. It was over a year ago so I can't really remember what I did.
 
No, it is NOT the BMW Steptronic system with manual over-ride for the gearbox.

It's a sequential manual box with paddleshift on the steering wheel. It's quite rare and was found on 325i, 330i and a more advanced SMG-II on the M3 I think.
 
[TW]Fox said:
Has anyone driven an SMG fitted non M3 BMW?

Wondering if it was either broken, I was a noob at using it, or its just a naff system?
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obviously my exprience is form the M3 but in my experience ( SMG2 ) the answer would be the 2nd one ( noob ;) ), it was like that when I first had mine and took about a month to really get to grips with it properly. In the more sporty modes then it will be jerky solely due to the speed of the changes , in normal driving then it changes smoothly at the correct revs or you can just lift the throttle very slightly as you chabge and it will be perfectly smooth

I don't have any experience of SMG1 but thougth I would add my comments anyway :p
 
Its pap in anyform of the E46 AFAIK...although for some reason you can retro fit the paddles to the Step box...quite why any Americans (sorry, 'body') would want to do this is beyond me apart from 'bling' factor
 
wasnt the smg2 a huge step forwards from smg1? did you take a smg1 car out or smg2?
also, have heard lots of drivers say the same as Rotty, its one of those things that takes some getting used to first
 
My next door neighbor had a manual E46 M3 (04 reg) and then an SMG E46 M3 (05 reg) and he hated the SMG one so much he sold it after less than 3000 miles. Strangely he now has a paddle-shift 997 Carrera and loves it, so must be the BMW system he didn't like.
 
Fox, i'm not sure thats right, i'm pretty sure they changed SMG models with the pre facelift, but I could be wrong..

I'll check on TIS now for you
 
SMG II has a 'SMG II' badge close to the gear lever IIRC. Also SMG II has about 5 gear change settings (oval button near the stick) whereas the SMG only has 2 I think.
 
Fox, this is getting totally confusing, but i'll keep it accurate for you.. ;)

Right...........SMG doesnt exist on the E46, it did exist on the E36 M3 however.

In addition, all BMW E46 Ms are called SMG II

SMG = Sequential M gearbox fitted to E36 M3 OR Sequential manual gearbox fitted to E46, Z4, 5er and 6er OR Sequential M Gearbox fitted to E46 or M5/M6 if the speaker forgets to add 'II' or 'III' suffix.
SMG I = Sequential M gearbox fitted to E36 M3
SMG II = Sequential M gearbox fitted to E46 M3
SMG III = Sequential M gearbox fitted to E6x M5/M6

In addition, the non M SMG is actually called SSG, but renamed SMG over here (dont know why)

So, i'd take it to be normal SMG not SMG II as its a non 'M' model

HTH ( a little!)
 
F355 said:
SMG II has a 'SMG II' badge close to the gear lever IIRC. Also SMG II has about 5 gear change settings (oval button near the stick) whereas the SMG only has 2 I think.
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mine just says SMG ( smg2 ) just says SMG by the gearlever , altogether it has 11 modes ( 5 auto and 6 manual )

oh and the button is rectangular not oval :p
 
My friend who has an M5 absolutely hated the SMG on the M3. He hasnt tried it on other models, but he said it was jerky. He had been told by others that it was bad too. :(
 
you cannot judge SMG on a test drive it takes a couple of thousand miles to get used to it , read opinions on BMW forums very few folks who have given it time would go back to a manual
 
Rotty said:
you cannot judge SMG on a test drive it takes a couple of thousand miles to get used to it , read opinions on BMW forums very few folks who have given it time would go back to a manual
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But thats the problem and it's what I said to the dealer when he said the same thing - takes a few thousand miles to get used to it.

But what if after a few thousand miles you still hate it? You are stuck with 5 figures worth of car with a gearbox you hate.
 
[TW]Fox said:
But what if after a few thousand miles you still hate it? You are stuck with 5 figures worth of car with a gearbox you hate.
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yep :p , most folks grow to love it though , I took the gamble and don't regret it one bit


though I very nearly did after a week when , in a car park , I went to put it in 1st/drive ( or whatever it's called ) and put it on reverse :eek: , it's a good job Von Smallhausen threw himself behind the car or it could have been nasty :p
 
Fox,

Only the M3 has SMG-II.

The implementations on other models were a totally different system. Early ones were called SSG, and they later renamed it to SMG. Manufactured by different companies - IIRC the SSG were Magnetti Mirelli systems (as per Alfa, Ferrari etc), as opposed to the Seimens systems on the M3.
They are totally different. I have experience of a 330 Clubsport fitted with SSG and it was absolutely horrid. VERY rough gearchanges and very unreliable. They have a nasty habit of giving you neutral instead of 3rd.
It felt similar to SMG-1 from the E36 actually.

I would avoid at all costs - it's absolutely nothing like the M3 implementation, which is fantastic.
 
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