E36 M3 Evo SMG - I bought one, and I like it.....!!
Discussion
You might remember me from my recent posts about all things M3 and more recently, about an E36 Evo SMG I was considering....
The sale of my E30 Sport Evo still hurts and it left a big hole, not only in my garage, but my life. A Left hand drive road-going touring car was not really a sensible winter daily driver and with a new baby even less sensible.
I had an 840Ci as a stop gap but that was just a itch I have needed to scratch for a long time. So with that gone too pastures new also, I needed a new steer; My company 116i was not doing it for me (obviously).
Common (financial) sense ruled out an E46 as was the original plan so I set about sourcing an E36 Evo.
I was very well aware of the much publicised pitfalls of the SMG and was initially hell-bent on not having one. However, I came across one which had had a recent complete SMG system replacement (box, clutch and hydraulics) with an associated bill from a dealer for just over £5K, that, along with a complete dealer service history and other dealer bills on top of the SMG work coming to £6K in the last 18 months saw me driving the 90-or-so miles to see the car....
I'd never driven an SMG before and I was surprised at how easily I got used to it even on the 15 mile test drive on some nice twisty NSL roads.
To cut a long story short I agreed a price for the car, ( significantly less than had just been thrown at the SMG alone) and now it's mine.
She's a '98 Techno Violet with Sunflowers and silver leather, totally and utterly standard, even with the OEM tape head-unit. Non-Sunroof.
20 dealer stamps and ALL bills. Bad points include a scabby boot-lid and the tell tale signs of some rear bushes needing replacement. Other than that it's great.
I went out to tax it the day it was delivered (a 1 mile trip) 80 miles later I was smitten; the SMG box is far better than I had ever let myself believe it could be in the face of the bad press they've no-doubt received.
The auto mode is a bit 'jerky' when given some onions, but to be honest in manual mode it's fantastic, lift off for a change and you get a gentle, almost un-notiecable, up shift, keep you boot in and it 'knows' you're pressing on and delivers a more enthusiastic change but no more violent than a spirited manual change would be.
You can also double flick the leaver and skip gears up and down which is obviously useful too. Another thing I like about it is when for example you're in 6th on a dual-carriageway and have to slow from for example 70.0 MPH to say 10 MPH for a roundabout, you invariably find that the car has already selected 2nd, or whatever other gear is appropriate.
I have read that it is a 'flawed system' and it is of course true that it doesn't have the range of settings found in the E46 SMG-II system but It has exceeded my expectations and what I would say is that the SMG-II system must be bloody fantastic !!
Oh and it has launch control too !!!
If you're still awake thanks for reading!
Cheers - Nick (who is praying his SMG doesn't go wrong whilst being fully prepared for the fact that it might do but still wouldn't be that bothered as he would just convert it to a manual, which would be a shame as he likes the SMG...)
The sale of my E30 Sport Evo still hurts and it left a big hole, not only in my garage, but my life. A Left hand drive road-going touring car was not really a sensible winter daily driver and with a new baby even less sensible.
I had an 840Ci as a stop gap but that was just a itch I have needed to scratch for a long time. So with that gone too pastures new also, I needed a new steer; My company 116i was not doing it for me (obviously).
Common (financial) sense ruled out an E46 as was the original plan so I set about sourcing an E36 Evo.
I was very well aware of the much publicised pitfalls of the SMG and was initially hell-bent on not having one. However, I came across one which had had a recent complete SMG system replacement (box, clutch and hydraulics) with an associated bill from a dealer for just over £5K, that, along with a complete dealer service history and other dealer bills on top of the SMG work coming to £6K in the last 18 months saw me driving the 90-or-so miles to see the car....
I'd never driven an SMG before and I was surprised at how easily I got used to it even on the 15 mile test drive on some nice twisty NSL roads.
To cut a long story short I agreed a price for the car, ( significantly less than had just been thrown at the SMG alone) and now it's mine.
She's a '98 Techno Violet with Sunflowers and silver leather, totally and utterly standard, even with the OEM tape head-unit. Non-Sunroof.
20 dealer stamps and ALL bills. Bad points include a scabby boot-lid and the tell tale signs of some rear bushes needing replacement. Other than that it's great.
I went out to tax it the day it was delivered (a 1 mile trip) 80 miles later I was smitten; the SMG box is far better than I had ever let myself believe it could be in the face of the bad press they've no-doubt received.
The auto mode is a bit 'jerky' when given some onions, but to be honest in manual mode it's fantastic, lift off for a change and you get a gentle, almost un-notiecable, up shift, keep you boot in and it 'knows' you're pressing on and delivers a more enthusiastic change but no more violent than a spirited manual change would be.
You can also double flick the leaver and skip gears up and down which is obviously useful too. Another thing I like about it is when for example you're in 6th on a dual-carriageway and have to slow from for example 70.0 MPH to say 10 MPH for a roundabout, you invariably find that the car has already selected 2nd, or whatever other gear is appropriate.
I have read that it is a 'flawed system' and it is of course true that it doesn't have the range of settings found in the E46 SMG-II system but It has exceeded my expectations and what I would say is that the SMG-II system must be bloody fantastic !!
Oh and it has launch control too !!!
If you're still awake thanks for reading!
Cheers - Nick (who is praying his SMG doesn't go wrong whilst being fully prepared for the fact that it might do but still wouldn't be that bothered as he would just convert it to a manual, which would be a shame as he likes the SMG...)
Edited by NicoG on Tuesday 27th October 18:18
Edited by NicoG on Tuesday 27th October 18:20
They are terrific value and it sounds like a nice car, I had a similar spec one and enjoyed it till it broke down. The mk1 SMG in manual mode is quite good fun, not so good in auto though.
If you do have any problems with it I recommend Tecnosport in London to sort the problems out.
http://www.technosport.co.uk/mpower.html
George at Tecno Sport was the only person I could find in the UK who really understood how to repair them (forget asking a main dealer they will charge you £150 for a diagnosis and then tell you it needs a new gearbox - when it wont).
Its a shame the first SMG wasnt very reliable because in some ways its nicer to drive than the E36 evo manual which had the worst ever clutch and gearchange BMW have ever created.
I hope who ever was in charge of transmission design on the BMW E36 M3 evo was fired once they realised what a mess they'd made of an otherwise great car!
If you do have any problems with it I recommend Tecnosport in London to sort the problems out.
http://www.technosport.co.uk/mpower.html
George at Tecno Sport was the only person I could find in the UK who really understood how to repair them (forget asking a main dealer they will charge you £150 for a diagnosis and then tell you it needs a new gearbox - when it wont).
Its a shame the first SMG wasnt very reliable because in some ways its nicer to drive than the E36 evo manual which had the worst ever clutch and gearchange BMW have ever created.
I hope who ever was in charge of transmission design on the BMW E36 M3 evo was fired once they realised what a mess they'd made of an otherwise great car!
Edited by rallycross on Thursday 29th October 18:12
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