How easy? 6mt

[T89]

I currently have an e46 m3 with smg. Looking into getting an e9x m3 probably with 6mt. I went with smg in the e46 because of a rugby injury to my left knee/leg which made shifting with a clutch troublesome.

My knee/leg is more or less fully healed and since I miss shifting on my own, I was contemplating getting back into a manual car.
I heard about the usual notchiness going from 1st to 2nd so I was wondering how easy it was to get used to the way the car shifted.

How long did it take you all to get comfortable with the gear changes?

Thanks in advance.


T

[///V\3Dude]

Took me about a week:-) The shifting isn't the best but isn't the worst. The only gears that are tough are the ones you said. 1st-2nd require a little more clutch lag( hold the clutch in longer) for the shift. Other wise, i think this is one of the easier cars to ever shift:-) besides DCT of course

[RichB]

I think it is so easy my wife could do it. But I am not going to tell her that. Seriously, I have found no issues at all driving in traffic. There is that clunk thing, but I usually forgot about it until I read about it here. Very easy to drive.

[MMMorish]

Originally Posted by RichB

I think it is so easy my wife could do it. But I am not going to tell her that. Seriously, I have found no issues at all driving in traffic. There is that clunk thing, but I usually forgot about it until I read about it here. Very easy to drive.

Spot on!

[bubblehead]

My prior car to the M3 was an S2000 which arguably has one of the best gear boxes/shifters stock........with that being said, it took me all of about 10 seconds to forget about that piece of art gear box when I stepped on the gas of the E90. It isnt a bad gear box, taught my wife how to drive a stick with it.

[T89]

Thank you all for the quick responses.

What about the clutch? Any problems there? especially in traffic...


T

[jaglacs]

why don't you just test drive one and see if your knee is up to it? Also if your knee is that bad, good luck in traffic...DCT is still a manual, right

[bubblehead]

Originally Posted by T89

Thank you all for the quick responses.

What about the clutch? Any problems there? especially in traffic...


T

It's a very light 'rookie clutch', but very effective.

[duk]

it's not that hard

[signes]

I went from SMG for 5 years with my E46 back to 6MT for this car. Pretty light clutch for this car and the throws require little effort. Its a little notchy for the first few thousand miles but loosens up after that. As others have said, go take a spin and see for yourself if it would work.

[KonigsTiger]

Originally Posted by ///V\3Dude

Took me about a week:-) The shifting isn't the best but isn't the worst. The only gears that are tough are the ones you said. 1st-2nd require a little more clutch lag( hold the clutch in longer) for the shift. Other wise, i think this is one of the easier cars to ever shift:-) besides DCT of course

Yep!!!

[FStop7]

the E9x clutch pedal is at least twice as light as the E46

[chmura]

I test drove a 6MT 2010 M3 last week. Extremely easy to drive. I really liked the tranny. I do not know what people are talking about when they complain about the 6mt. Maybe lots of people on here just don't know how to drive a 6MT or are just to nit picky and drive the M3 as a status symbol and not as a true sports car enthusiast.

[McLuVan]

it's easy
in 1st it won't even let you stall
if you do it slow enough you can release the clutch with no gas and the car will just move along slowly like an automatic rolling

[osteome]

It is not as light at the manual in my "winter" CRV....but my wife can drive either one easily.

[MrAdams]

easiest clutch I've ever used hands down. it has anti stall which helps prevent stalling and hill assist to keep from rolling back on hills do it!

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by T89

Thank you all for the quick responses.

What about the clutch? Any problems there? especially in traffic...


T

Nice transmission and nice clutch. It's easy to drive. Pretty good in traffic to. I travelled to LA and was stuck in stop/go for two hours in mainly first-clutch in. The bigger question us how your knee will hold up under that repeated effort. Mine got a bit crabby...too many years of heavy squats I guess!

DCT is a big improvement on SMG but lacks the involvement of MT. I have DCT now--and think it's brilliant. But it does lack the driver involvement so many find key to fully enjoying their car. (I got DCT as my wife just couldn't master heel/toe plus brake/line/gas.)

Why not borrow/rent a MT and drive in stop/go for a couple hours over several days? A test drive isn't going to provide enough stress over a stretch of time to really see if your knee can tolerate that kind of stress day in day out. If there is any question I'd lean toward DCT.

[trendy26]

Originally Posted by bubblehead

My prior car to the M3 was an S2000 which arguably has one of the best gear boxes/shifters stock........with that being said, it took me all of about 10 seconds to forget about that piece of art gear box when I stepped on the gas of the E90. It isnt a bad gear box, taught my wife how to drive a stick with it.

THANK YOU for replying! LOL, I used to own an S2000, and that gear box was second to none in stock form...! That was my worry with going with the 6MT in the M3, but I think you just helped me make up my mind! Coming from another S2000 owner, I guess the 6MT in the M3 is good enough!

[///V\3Dude]

Originally Posted by trendy26

THANK YOU for replying! LOL, I used to own an S2000, and that gear box was second to none in stock form...! That was my worry with going with the 6MT in the M3, but I think you just helped me make up my mind! Coming from another S2000 owner, I guess the 6MT in the M3 is good enough!

S2k was one hell of a car at the track:-) Thing handles! The shifting in that car is phenomenal:-) I still like my M shifting alot though

[bunnn]

how easy? well, this is my first manual car(i did take the precaution to take lessons from driving school so i don't destroy the car)...i also had a fractured knee/shin that recovered from a car accident a few years ago...so far it's been a dream to drive..minus the issues discussed here..

[Georgeair]

Clutch is super-light for car of this type, and the hill assist is a great helper too!

[bubblehead]

Originally Posted by trendy26

THANK YOU for replying! LOL, I used to own an S2000, and that gear box was second to none in stock form...! That was my worry with going with the 6MT in the M3, but I think you just helped me make up my mind! Coming from another S2000 owner, I guess the 6MT in the M3 is good enough!

S2k was a great car, I will probably buy another one as a track/project car, but it really has nothing on the M. I think the M handles as well and has all the power stock. And I am not slamming the M gear box, it is a very good gear box, the S2k just happened to be about as perfect as you can get.