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View Full Version : september roundel: e46m3 SMG2 review......

blackdawg
09-09-2002, 07:45 PM
did you read this? it was the most fair and best article thus far, i think. mostly because it waited for a longer period to get used to the technology.

in case you did not read it:

1. 6speeds and SMG basically a wash in straightline acceleration (AMG C36 spanked 'em both) with a slight edge to the manual for initial acceleration.

2. author loved the SMG on the track (its element)....but concluded he'd still rather have the 6speed manual if it were his "fun" car for the gratification of the act of shifting (i.e. well executed heel/toe).

3. author also brought up points we have been raising: increasing price plus increasing weight is alienating many.....he brought up the example of two people at the track who cancelled e46m3 orders for "used" 911s....

4. author points out that the e46m3 steering is still numb and worse than the retrofitted 325 steering rack for 2002.

5. author noted that brakes faded easily on the track halfway through the "session" (2 days). this fact alone reinforces two notions: hello? give the US better brakes and second, make the car lighter.

just more data for both sides of the argument.
nate
09-09-2002, 08:05 PM
http://bmwcca.org/Roundel/2002/09/FeatureStory.shtml

The brakes were very impressive until halfway through the second day, when they began to fade I suspect from glazed and overheated pads after repeated hard use.
blackdawg
09-09-2002, 08:14 PM
....because of track usage....but also because of weight. that was my interpretation. i had pretty stock M coupe brakes and never experienced fade. i had stainless lines and slotted rotors. woo-de-do.

bmw needs to upgrade the brakes, at the very least, on the M cars, and also think deeply about the "why" as well for why the brakes tend to fade.
ezsce46
09-10-2002, 08:24 AM
Pretty ironic that next to page 38 (SMG2 running on the Glen), is a BMW ad on Remanufactured vs New engines....;)
blackdawg
09-10-2002, 09:25 AM
....and will only serve to highlight the stereotype for many that SMG is for idiots.

the author and her husband waited for delivery of an SMG and she chronicle their experience with it.

with such things as, "i never learned how to heel/toe anyway, so this is great" and so forth. she also comments on getting used to the "large" steering wheel grip and how you have to get used to where the paddles are during high speed maneuvering.

i have no idea why they included that article, but it makes as old-school person such as myself cringe. i'd rather they included a writeup from a diehard track event person giving us the 411 on prolonged track events and how he/she has never blown a shift since and it's made their laptimes better and better.......
Jeff_DML
09-10-2002, 09:43 AM
Originally posted by blackdawg
....because of track usage....but also because of weight. that was my interpretation. i had pretty stock M coupe brakes and never experienced fade. i had stainless lines and slotted rotors. woo-de-do.

bmw needs to upgrade the brakes, at the very least, on the M cars, and also think deeply about the "why" as well for why the brakes tend to fade.

Not sure if I am bringing up the obvious but BMW does offer better brakes for the M3 in the European market. For some reason they do not put them on the US version. I think it is cost related. At least they should offer them as a option here.

Jeff
Mr. The Edge
09-10-2002, 09:53 AM
Originally posted by Jeff_DML


Not sure if I am bringing up the obvious but BMW does offer better brakes for the M3 in the European market. For some reason they do not put them on the US version. I think it is cost related. At least they should offer them as a option here.

Jeff

I think it's a whiny-U.S. consumer issue. The X-drilled brakes tend to be noisier.
blackdawg
09-10-2002, 01:52 PM
...so the rest of the system is fine, then? just swap out the brakes for better breathing brakes and maybe some better ducting?

just curious.