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      01-09-2020, 10:17 AM   #1
Mani59
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BMW's greatest M car - BMW M3 CSL with *manual gearbox* review (Autocar)

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What a fantastic review of what is in my opinion, one of Munich's greatest cars

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      01-09-2020, 10:22 AM   #2
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e46 used to be my favorite m3 but the interior has aged poorly for me :/

prefer the e90 m3 these days
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      01-10-2020, 09:57 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mani59 View Post
What a fantastic review of what is in my opinion, one of Munich's greatest cars

Bad idea to replace the transmission of a classic car.
The value can only drop. The CSL was designed for many
reasons with the SMG II.
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      01-10-2020, 10:13 AM   #4
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      01-10-2020, 10:56 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lnwlf7 View Post
Bad idea to replace the transmission of a classic car.
The value can only drop. The CSL was designed for many
reasons with the SMG II.
I guess you haven't driven an e46 with a SMG. They are shit.
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      01-10-2020, 11:15 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lnwlf7 View Post
Bad idea to replace the transmission of a classic car.
The value can only drop. The CSL was designed for many
reasons with the SMG II.
If anything I would think this drives the price up, I mean, most enthusiasts would want a Manual in the CSL anyways, that was always the biggest caveat of the CSL, the SMG was sh*t. So now this extremely rare car has an even better transmission, hell, I'd probably end up paying more for that!
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      01-10-2020, 11:44 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slowcar View Post
e46 used to be my favorite m3 but the interior has aged poorly for me :/

prefer the e90 m3 these days
Really? I think the E9x is so much worse. Materials were downgraded and most people opted for the utterly useless navigation which cannot be easily replaced like in E46 such as a Dynavin unit. The center console faces the driver less and in my experience with my E92 there are way more rattles. Otherwise both cars have pretty useless seats.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lnwlf7 View Post
Bad idea to replace the transmission of a classic car.
The value can only drop. The CSL was designed for many
reasons with the SMG II.
Normally you would be right in most cases, but that does not apply here. The SMG is in no way sought after and is a liability more than anything. Outside the CSL, values can double in like-for-like cars based on the manual transmission.
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      01-10-2020, 12:03 PM   #8
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I agree with the e9x interior being much worse especially with the idrive. Even compared with my past e36 for the time its components and interior dated much better than my e90. Lessons learned though. When searching for older gen bimmers now, id opt for the most basic ones when it comes to tech
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      01-10-2020, 12:06 PM   #9
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Viva la E46
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      01-10-2020, 12:14 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Haywood View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by lnwlf7 View Post
Bad idea to replace the transmission of a classic car.
The value can only drop. The CSL was designed for many
reasons with the SMG II.
I guess you haven't driven an e46 with a SMG. They are shit.
I've owned 4 E46 M3's. I disagree. In aggressive race style driving it was very effective.
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      01-10-2020, 12:20 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NYAWE60 View Post
I've owned 4 E46 M3's. I disagree. In aggressive race style driving it was very effective.
I would not disagree that there are advantages with paddles vs. a stick on the track, but the daily livability with SMG was just horrific.
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      01-10-2020, 12:33 PM   #12
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SMGII on the E46 M3 was one of my favorite transmissions and also a total joy to drive with left foot braking and even in daily traffic. It got a bad rap partially due to people not knowing how to modulate the throttle properly to feather and blip between shifts and partially due to people enjoying repeating the 'SMG sucks' meme.
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      01-10-2020, 12:48 PM   #13
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Fantastic, how cool is that! BMW perfection at its pinnacle (most likely for all times).
The CSL was anyway to have a stick before it came out, but marketing insisted on paddles for the sake of BMWs F1 involvement at the time...

Last edited by Dr.Sommer; 01-10-2020 at 01:20 PM..
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      01-10-2020, 01:26 PM   #14
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Didn't the E46 suffer from cracked sub frames?
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      01-10-2020, 01:29 PM   #15
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I had a 2003 E46 M3 with SMG and is sucked big time. It was so inconsistent on how it changed gears. I kept it ~8 months before trading.

I bought it for the SMG and sold it because of the SMG!

Loved the rest of the car. Would love to have a CSL with manual gearbox
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      01-10-2020, 02:02 PM   #16
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SMG = TRASH

The CSL should have came with a 6MT in the first place. I say well done!
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      01-10-2020, 04:21 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VisualEcho View Post
SMG = TRASH

The CSL should have came with a 6MT in the first place. I say well done!
I agree 100%
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      01-10-2020, 04:55 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Haywood View Post
I guess you haven't driven an e46 with a SMG. They are shit.
No they are not, they are awesome on the track, you have no idea
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      01-10-2020, 04:59 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by arashir View Post
SMGII on the E46 M3 was one of my favorite transmissions and also a total joy to drive with left foot braking and even in daily traffic. It got a bad rap partially due to people not knowing how to modulate the throttle properly to feather and blip between shifts and partially due to people enjoying repeating the 'SMG sucks' meme.
Well said, if you know how to drive a manual, it is MUCH easier to learn SMG transmission.
People who had no manual background or refuse to learn the car often says (or people who never driven one) SMG is shit.
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      01-10-2020, 05:01 PM   #20
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Sounds like Chris Harris might disagree with the title of this thread:
https://www.1addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1684699
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      01-10-2020, 05:17 PM   #21
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I'm old school I'm afraid. I do love a stick and frankly have zero interest in driving any kind of auto transmission other than my daily for sitting in traffic. I'd have got a stick in that if I could have.

I know all the new double clutch trannys can shift faster than me but where's the fun in that. I think this is a very cool mod for a car that is likely way more enjoyable for the upgrade.
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      01-10-2020, 05:17 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 530iDriver View Post
Didn't the E46 suffer from cracked sub frames?
and rod bearings, VANOS issues, door seals fall apart, overheating on track, etc.

Still a damn fantastic car. Appreciated even more as time goes on.
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