Hey guys,

I'm in the process of looking for an E46 M3 to purchase and shortly after wanting to take it to Horsepower Freaks for a Stage 3 kit. I'm having a hard time in deciding what transmission i want and which will be the best for the kit. I'm leaning more towards the manual transmission just because I think it would be more fun with the power that this kit puts out Although I've seen how fast the SMG transmission is and thats definitely appealing to me! I don't know if you could shift as fast as the SMG but I would think that I would have more of an experience and raw feel of the car with the manual transmission. If any of you have any advice or experience with these kits from HPF and what transmission you have I'd really like to hear how you like it! Thanks!!

-Curt04

 

stick shift !

 

I would worry less about which will be quicker with the kit, and I would worry about which one you would enjoy driving more.

-Will

 

The E46 is one car where the shift action isn't really that great. That's one reason I went with SMG when I had it. A lot of people knocked it, but I genuinely enjoyed it. I sold it before the market went crazy with high-hp options. I would still do SMG today, though.

 

I agree!

 

How did you like using the SMG in manual mode?

 

Have any of you guys installed a short shifter kit on your M3? If so, how do you like it?

 

Manual for sure.

 

What is the car used for? Will it be a daily? or weekend/track only type of car?

If it's not a daily, I'd stick with manual for sure.

 

Well I would like it to be my daily although it might not be driven everyday. I do want to drive it whenever I can and I would like to take it to the track maybe two times a month. I don't mind manual at all for daily driving I just haven't experienced a SMG.

 

In that case, you probably should avoid the SMG. Given your location and the possible track use, you may encounter one of the SMG's weaknesses, which is a propensity to drop out of gear in high heat situations.

 

Yeah I have also heard that the SMG's clutch sticks when it gets hot. I believe Horsepower Freaks offers an upgraded clutch for the SMGs which seem to be working fine.

 

My E34 is a manual, and it is quite a bit slower than my 335.....but it is significantly more fun to drive, because paddles just aren't the same as a clutch pedal and shifter.

Just my .02

-Will

 

Manual. SMG on the E46 is crap.

 

Yeah I hear you! I'm still leaning towards manual at this point just because of the experience and how it will hold up with the power that I'm gonna be running. I know I wont be as fast as SMG but I just want to make sure I'm making the right choice.