lilboykorea

my friend just got a brand new m3 with that new smg auto tranny...he just finished break in period plus he chipped it so that it has european launch specs...
my god... that car is amazing
i floored to catch up he was taking a corner at about 150 km/h i was only doing 80 or 90 ish and i couldnt go faster cause the car felt like it was gonna tip and skid...

Beiruty

never try to catch the mew M3 waste of gas.... I wished the Acura's came with SMG-II and it is not an automatic... It's an automated squential manual gearbox.

lilboykorea

i am sorry

Raheel

Your prayers will be answered in 2004.. The 2004 TL will have many new features so Expect SMG II

LiQiCE

Actually from what I understand SMG is an option in the Japanese Honda Inspire aka Acura TL in the USA ... Unfortunately it isn't an option for the Acura TL in the USA. You could probably import it and have it installed but from what I understand it would cost you around $10-15K!!

ArN 2000 TL

I read about the new SMG tranny in the BMW's and I think it was motor trend that claimed its not the expensive for the hardware...somewhere in the ballpark of $2500. That however is not installed and I'm sure it would be a disaster to do it and not something you can bring by your local mechanic either

I can't see the 2004 TL having this at all. The M3 is a true european powered car. You don't see the SMG tranny on the 330, etc...

rominl

it's mostly about RWD vs FWD. there is no way our tls can hang in with the M3 in corners

Mr Hyde

or the straights, on the strip, etc, etc. We do have mpg and comfort though. :p

lilboykorea

gotta agree with the mpg and comfort
that thing shifts so rough that u probably cant have a drink with you when ur driving, each shift feels like a big bump and the trasmission downshifts automatically during corners for engine brake...pretty cool but definately not as comfortable as our cars...
ride felt pretty good considerin he has 19 inch forged rims from bmw...

STi

actually i believe they have already developed the SMGII for the lesser 3 series, but the ones on the non-M3 cars have less modes to choose from as opposed to the M3s'

EmuMessenger

Not wholly true. If you go in automatic mode 1, the shifts will be harder than ours, but certainly bearable. Not to mention, a drink is easily consumed. It is an amazing thing to drive and see.

samkws

how rich is ur friend???

damn...

crete

And about $20K+ extra bucks in the bank.

AKRY

BMW is putting SMG in 330Ci and Z4 3.0...however it's NOT SMGII, it's actually tweaked SMGI from E36 M3(Last Gen M3... YES, SMG was available on European M3 back in 1996... or was that 1997... but anyways, around that time).....

lilboykorea

hes actualyl quite loaded...has a veilside celica too...


do u think that celica is considered rice?...he wins shows with it up here, but should it be considered rice?

rominl

umm..... shifting rough actually has to do with how he shifts. i mean if he always redline the car before shifting, or he release the cluth all of a sudden, of course the car will jerk like hell.

on the other hand if he shifts when it's like 3500 or 4000rpm, and he release the cluthes smoothly and slowly, the car will shifts very smooth.

try to go out in your tls, put it in ss, floor the car, redline it, LET GO OF YOUR GAS, shift into two, and punch it again. just make sure you don't have a drink with you

power3dfx

thats one nice celica, its leaning to the rice side a bit, but ive never seen a celica with mods look that good! definately good taste.

Madgreek

Rominl,
if im not mistaken, there is no clutch in the BMW M3 SMG.

samkws

that's 19in wheel package....

rominl

you are right, no cluth, my bad. but you can still shift yourself. if he shifts at red line the car can still jerk coz' of the power of the car. i have shifted at red line on both my tls and gs4, the tls is like super rough compared to the gs4

stiletto

a) Are you running stock rubber? (I understand that the M3 comes with only the best in terms of stock tires)

b) Are you using stock suspention components? (I understand that the M3 comes with only the best in terms of stock tires)

Those two points should hint to why your car felt like it was going to tip and skid. The TL-s is inspiring on curves.. just let go and use the force, Luke.

If I had the vision to by 1 Ultra high-performance, almost exotic SMG BMW M3, i'd probably end up getting 2 quality automobiles instead... Oh wait, I did.

Watching the spped chanel the other p.m. I got a glimps of the test driving of an SMG M3. I must agree, the car IS AMAZING. When you buy one, it comes with factory offered driving course on BMW's tracks in Germany. Basically a hands on course with the BMW driver showing you how it is done right. Skid courses, Slalom, Speed, and all... Maintenance is included also in the purchase price throughout the waranty period. - Even if the engine blows once or twice (testimonials

chiawei

Couple things is not correct.

1. SMG is not offered in 330/325. The 330/325 has something that is similar but it totally different from 1st gen SMG and current SMG-II in M3. The SSG is actually based on Alfa Romeo's selespeed. Even though similar in concept, the SSG has nothing do to with 1st generation SMG.

2. The M driving course is actually hold in South Carolina not in germany.

3. The inspire does not have SMG type of transmission.

Datta540i

Real men drive real stick not smg crap although it is an interesting technology

rominl

agree totally. in fact i think bimmer made a pretty bad decision with the smg. the m3 should only be a car for real driver, not some kids who wants to drive fast but not even know how to use the clutch

Beiruty

WTF are u BSing here...

Have you seen a real Rally car tranny.. it is an SMG!
Have you seen a real F1 car tranny it is an SMG!!

Are those real men? or kids....?

Fock off... and get lost Okay!

rominl

very polite reply, you earned my respect.

yes nothing shifts faster than the computer, so what? imho the true fun about driving is when y ou have total control over it by using all your hands and legs driving a stick over the canyon. driving isn't always about speed my son. i don't need to beat people in my gs4 to have fun driving.

stiletto

My bad... the course is in cali, just saw the program again... (hehehe) Still, I agree with <B>Beiruty</B>, Real men drive SS-5 speed automatic transmissions too

agean

personally, i think the real man has a free hand for the girl, while you're busy playing with your stick :p

lilboykorea

reason he bought that car was cuz he didnt want to drive the celica in the winter ... ok?...
geez...haha

agean ur right haha..real man should have a free hand at all times hahaha!!!

neojin

Im wondering if we have the same friends....

My friend also took delivery of a TiSi Metallic M3 with SMG and 19 inch wheel package.

Since I am not worthy (still in college but making enough money), I took delivery of a TiSi Metallic 325Ci with all the fixings.

Only one thing to say: SMG or not, the M3 is a freakin monster. That thing hauls so much ass its not even funny.

SMG vs manual is apples vs oranges.

SMG - no human can shift as fast as this thing, response is immediate

manual - the "fun factor", complete control

neojin

typeSmaximum

several wrong points here:

a) SMG does have a clutch, just no clutch pedal. Its not an automatic because it has no torque converter, but a clutch that the hydraulics and computer moves for you.
b)BMWs SMGII has several shifting mods from soft (yes, you can have your drink) to race fast. How about full auto mode? 11 different driving modes.
c) 80milliseconds. No human could possibly change that fast, and no missed gears, though the full manual M3 tests still faster?
d) SMG was first made available on the Euro E36 M3 in 1997

Here is a picture that shows the shifter, and the wheel paddles.

1SICKLEX

Hell, they make a 911 TURBO AUTOMATIC. Just put it in D. WTF?

GOTHAM818

i dont think that celica can be rice if the kit cost almost $3k.

Raheel

i dont quite understand what SMG is? I thought the fastest way to shift is manual.. Like how fast does a Automatic car shift? Basically is SMG a more advanced automatic? So All you do is put the M3 in Drive and you can race fast without changing gears and using a manual transmission?? One more question why is a Manual faster than the SS in the TL? Like isnt the SS all electronic so it should be faster than Manual Hand? THANKS!

rominl

smg means sequential manual gearbox. in short it's still a stick, NOT automatic coz' there is no torque converter, and there is a clutch. but the computer will do the clutching and changing the gears for you. and no human can ever win computer when it comes to shift. even a pro track driver can hardly change gear in less than a sec every time

typeSmaximum

with SMG, you can leave it in full automatic, but for racing and for fun, you put it in race or one of the other modes, and move the little padles beind the wheel or move the shift knob up or down to shift the car.

Similar to the SS shift on the TL-S where you move a lever, HOWEVER, the TL-S is just an automatic, and has a torque converter, and the Sport Shift is just a fany way to hold each gear. A full automatic, with a coverter takes a good percent of power from your engine to work, where a stick does not rob much power making it much more efficent. Where the TL-S and many other cars just have a fancy Automatic, SMG is a fancy manual where hydrolics moves the clutch, and the computer changes the gears.

Hope that makes a little more sense.