M3 - SMG

[ashleyp]

Hi Guys

I want to know , i own a E46 M3 SMG , when i drive it in normal mode on auto when i pull away hard the ref goes up the car goes and when it needs to change to 2nd , it doesnt do that , the refs need to drop a little and then takes 2nd and pulls and does the same thing before changing to 3rd and 4th , there is like a delay before it kicks in and pulls on.

i have tried it in sport mode and it does the same thing , any idea , i am taking the car in for a full service to Zeemax , cape town. Some say its software that can be reprogrammmed or something , other than that the car drives like a dream....
2nd question , want to do a software upgrade plus decat and maybe something else , but what power gains can i expect....
pleaselet me know
asle

 

[Henry330i]

Hi welcome

I'm sure someone here can point you in the right direction

 

[ashleyp]

hi yip , i hope so , dont know , some say the m3 with the smg11 boxes does that and you can fix it with the software ..

 

[jeff_denning]

Hi Guys

I want to know , i own a E46 M3 SMG , when i drive it in normal mode on auto when i pull away hard the ref goes up the car goes and when it needs to change to 2nd , it doesnt do that , the refs need to drop a little and then takes 2nd and pulls and does the same thing before changing to 3rd and 4th , there is like a delay before it kicks in and pulls on.

i have tried it in sport mode and it does the same thing , any idea , i am taking the car in for a full service to Zeemax , cape town. Some say its software that can be reprogrammmed or something , other than that the car drives like a dream....
2nd question , want to do a software upgrade plus decat and maybe something else , but what power gains can i expect....
pleaselet me know
asle

Heya ashleyp,

Welcome to the forums bud, awesome car - add some pics in the showroom section, we must have pics :inlove:

Has your M3 always done this? Excuse the ignorance, but is there a little button under your accelerator? My knowledge on M3's is a bit lacking, but my 525i auto didn't change gears either unless I tapped off.

How many km's are on the clock? Then decide about the de-cat. You won't see immediate power gains though. On am M3, just de-cat and tune the ECU, wouldn't do anything more than that

What you can possibly do, is have the SMG unit reprogrammed, otherwise run some diagnostics and pull up and error codes that might be causing issues.

 

[User0002]

from my experience, the smg 2 is a better gearbox, than the previuos smg's. Zeemax will be able to sort things out.

performance, any car that you remove the cat, will give u gains, not a lot but still u will get a gain in power. Chipping the ecu will add to the power gains. And the combo is a great thing to do on any m3.

 

[///Marksman]

weird, have you gone through the various modes? s1-s5/a1-a5/s6.. if so, are you having the same problem?

 

[M3_FTW]

Try reset the SMG yourself.

Drive about 60 to 80 and pop it into neutral then pull both paddles towards you for about 10 seconds. Then pop back into Neutral and see if it helps.

Ooops, meant to say pop it back into drive.

 

[Nic_s]

Try reset the SMG yourself.

Drive about 60 to 80 and pop it into neutral then pull both paddles towards you for about 10 seconds. Then pop back into Neutral and see if it helps.

I don't know much about M3's or the SMG box, but that just sounds dangerous. Surely there must be a better way?? I just can't see the engineers at BMW sitting in a meeting and coming up with that process. That sounds like a way to force it to reset. If it can actually be reset, then I'm sure someone with the right diagnostic tools can do it.

Take the car to BMW (or Zeemax) and have them diagnose it before you do anything. If there's really something wrong then there's a good chance it will give an error code for it. BMW might even have dealt with it before.

 

[M3_FTW]

Try reset the SMG yourself.

Drive about 60 to 80 and pop it into neutral then pull both paddles towards you for about 10 seconds. Then pop back into Neutral and see if it helps.

I don't know much about M3's or the SMG box, but that just sounds dangerous. Surely there must be a better way?? I just can't see the engineers at BMW sitting in a meeting and coming up with that process. That sounds like a way to force it to reset. If it can actually be reset, then I'm sure someone with the right diagnostic tools can do it.

Take the car to BMW (or Zeemax) and have them diagnose it before you do anything. If there's really something wrong then there's a good chance it will give an error code for it. BMW might even have dealt with it before.

That is the reset procedure, even states it in the Owners manual. I have Inpa/GT1 so I can do it the automated way but its pretty much the same thing.

 

[craigw1]

I had similar problem with my 2002 SMG box. the rev counter would need to return to around 3,500 rpm before changing gears. except in fourth where you could take it off the clock.

bmw couldnt fix it, no one could fix it. just out of motorplan, so bmw said they would match me 50-50 for a replacement box. At 90k means i was in for 45k

so i let the car go as is :-(

 

[ashleyp]

tanx guys , sounds a bit extreme with the gearbox replacement , sounds like a bmw sale person lol...

will take it in to zeemax , the see whats up.
i have the smg 11 box which is the best of the two , can take alot of punishment , so i will see what comes out of the service..

---

 

[M3_FTW]

All E46 M3 SMG models had SMG II. The E60 M5 and M6 had SMG III

Have you tried the reset procedure like a stated above.

 

[P Smit]

Hi Ashleyp, I drive a similar M3, how long have you had the car?

Please call me and we check out the problem wile you're driving the car

As with regard to the de-cat mod, read my thread under E46 M3 performance upgrade.

Philip Smit.
0832685021