BMW 6 Series....what's your opinions??? - Page 2 - GT-R Register - Official Nissan Skyline and GTR Owners Club forum

kismetcapitan · 26th July 2008, 03:18 PM

I've been looking at 6-series since this thread came up, and in person they're not all that bad. Like most Bangle designs, they're easier to swallow in person than in pictures.

To bring it up to coolness level, all a 6-series really needs are HUGE wheels and get lowered.

M3 - The SMG, when forced into a lot of city driving, can break down prematurely. Most people buy it anyways, but I think it's pretty telling that my mechanic friend, who works on exotics, selected the six-speed manual. He says he's tired of rebuilding SMG boxes.

Faz Choudhury · 26th July 2008, 05:55 PM

are the smg's really that weak? seems many have gone for the smg option??

kismetcapitan · 26th July 2008, 07:01 PM

well, keep in mind that Seoul has horrific traffic, and the stop-and-go doesn't seem to mesh well with SMG transmissions in general. The bulk of my friend's work seems to be in SMG rebuilds, not just BMW but Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini. He's never done an Audi DSG...that might be saying something.

Faz Choudhury · 26th July 2008, 07:10 PM

how much is it to rebuild one of those smg's

I would only get an M3 if its an smg2 as after driving one I really liked it and was very similar to the M5 auto transmission

tarmac terror · 27th July 2008, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faz Choudhury

Well im thinking either a 645 modified tastefully or an e46 M3 Conv SMG2....

Tarmac Terror- as u have an M3, any advice/heads up i should be aware of?

Hey Faz, good choices there. Nothing much to speak of trouble-wise. Just had to replace a wishbone and get some front discs but other than that no great sweat. Thankfully I sourced one on the net (a genuine part) and changed it myself saving a PACKET. I would say that for servicing or work at a BMW dealership, phone around as priced vary GREATLY!!! Got quoted £750 from a couple of dealers for an inspection 2 all the way through to £1275 from other dealers! So for gods sake, phone around!!
Love my SMG M3, very entertaining. As for rebuilding loads of SMG boxes I cant say I've heard of that happening here TBH. Always been reliable although engine's a bit jerky for the first couple of mins until it starts to heat up. This is pretty much the norm for these engines so I've been told.

Hope that helps.

TT

kismetcapitan · 27th July 2008, 11:20 AM

driving conditions in England are certainly different from Asia, so I'd take my mechanic's experiences with a grain of salt. Definitely may not apply to UK owners!

Faz Choudhury · 27th July 2008, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tarmac terror

Hey Faz, good choices there. Nothing much to speak of trouble-wise. Just had to replace a wishbone and get some front discs but other than that no great sweat. Thankfully I sourced one on the net (a genuine part) and changed it myself saving a PACKET. I would say that for servicing or work at a BMW dealership, phone around as priced vary GREATLY!!! Got quoted £750 from a couple of dealers for an inspection 2 all the way through to £1275 from other dealers! So for gods sake, phone around!!
Love my SMG M3, very entertaining. As for rebuilding loads of SMG boxes I cant say I've heard of that happening here TBH. Always been reliable although engine's a bit jerky for the first couple of mins until it starts to heat up. This is pretty much the norm for these engines so I've been told.

Hope that helps.

TT

Thanks for the reply TT

I have been doing a little research on the M3 owners forum (MTorque I think its called...) anyway it seems a few have had SMG problems and also electrical faults??

I know a lot of people have the SMG and if they were that dodgy guess they wouldnt be as popular as they are. For me, the only reason I would get an M3 is I want a reliable, luxurious auto, with all the gadgets.

This might sound a stupid question (and a little silly!) but....is it me or dothe rear wheels on the later M3's stick out more, or do people shove on a pair of spacers???

Faz Choudhury · 27th July 2008, 05:06 PM

Who could photoshop an image on here? All it would consist of is colouring the wheels black and lowering the car...

tarmac terror · 28th July 2008, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faz Choudhury

This might sound a stupid question (and a little silly!) but....is it me or dothe rear wheels on the later M3's stick out more, or do people shove on a pair of spacers???

Faz, MTorque is a fabulous forum formerly called BM3W and is a great source of info with an aura not dissimilar to this forum.
As for the wheels, the rears are wider with a bigger dish than the fronts, which helps to fill those massive rear arches

.

Only problem I've heard of with SMG now you come to mention it was when some folks drove through deep standing water. Seemed to ingress into parts of the electro-mechanical g'box system causing it to go doolally.....so best avoid deep puddles. And while were at it I can also say that ExCel multistorey car park should be avoided if you have an Eibach Prokit

....

TT

Faz Choudhury · 29th July 2008, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tarmac terror

Faz, MTorque is a fabulous forum formerly called BM3W and is a great source of info with an aura not dissimilar to this forum.
As for the wheels, the rears are wider with a bigger dish than the fronts, which helps to fill those massive rear arches

.

Only problem I've heard of with SMG now you come to mention it was when some folks drove through deep standing water. Seemed to ingress into parts of the electro-mechanical g'box system causing it to go doolally.....so best avoid deep puddles. And while were at it I can also say that ExCel multistorey car park should be avoided if you have an Eibach Prokit

....

TT

Lol...yep I think any multi-storey needs to be avoided.

I'm not sure you understood what I meant regarding the rear wheels...I know they are wider than the fronts and thats why the have the more concave design to the fronts....what I meant was some M3's look as though the rear wheels are more flush with the rear arch than other ones where they are more tucked further in from the arch....and it seems to be the later models which have a more flush appearance to the rear arch??

Anyway its prob just me going mad and an easy thing to do using spacers

tarmac terror · 29th July 2008, 11:35 AM

Hmmm...cant say I've noticed TBH. You may well be correct.

As for the car parks, in all honesty since I put the Eibach kit on I've had no problems. It would seem that the angle of the up-ramp at ExCel is particularly steep and the car bottomed out slightly at the top of each ramp. I also noticed some other std looking cars having trouble too so its fair to say its the designers who have made a boo-boo.

Anyway, you made your mind up yet??

TT

Benji406V6Coupé · 29th July 2008, 12:29 PM

...RS4 with revo remap and a milltek system...that V8 sounds awesome...M3 unit just sounds plain tappety to me and pretty gutless.

My mates had electrical issues with his SMG II amongst some other mechanical issues...

We both thought it would be a better car at the start-off.

Faz Choudhury · 29th July 2008, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tarmac terror

Hmmm...cant say I've noticed TBH. You may well be correct.

As for the car parks, in all honesty since I put the Eibach kit on I've had no problems. It would seem that the angle of the up-ramp at ExCel is particularly steep and the car bottomed out slightly at the top of each ramp. I also noticed some other std looking cars having trouble too so its fair to say its the designers who have made a boo-boo.

Anyway, you made your mind up yet??

TT

I have pretty much decided on an M3 Convertible fully loaded (SMGII, TV Sat Nav, LED's etc.) ....a lot like yours!lol

For the money I think its a good buy, although I would buy an SL in a heart beat if they weren't 2 seaters.

I will most likely only have it for 2 years as I have my heart set on a 911 Turbo which should be attainable by that time....touchwood

RS4's are beautiful and love them....I used to drive my mate RS6+ a lot

But I want an auto now as I have got used to my dads car...once you have one it feels such hard work to drive a manual...im just lazy!

Benji406V6Coupé · 29th July 2008, 01:03 PM

...RS4 with revo remap and a milltek system...that V8 sounds awesome...

My mates had electrical issues with his SMG II amongst some other mechanical issues...

We both thought it would be a better car at the honeymoon of his ownership.

make sure you get the whole car checked over chap...or buy from BMW or the forum boys.

All the best with it!

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26th July 2008, 03:18 PM	#16 (permalink)
kismetcapitan GTR Register Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Seoul Korea Posts: 6,052	I've been looking at 6-series since this thread came up, and in person they're not all that bad. Like most Bangle designs, they're easier to swallow in person than in pictures. To bring it up to coolness level, all a 6-series really needs are HUGE wheels and get lowered. M3 - The SMG, when forced into a lot of city driving, can break down prematurely. Most people buy it anyways, but I think it's pretty telling that my mechanic friend, who works on exotics, selected the six-speed manual. He says he's tired of rebuilding SMG boxes.

26th July 2008, 05:55 PM	#17 (permalink)
Faz Choudhury GTR Register Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: London Posts: 1,766	are the smg's really that weak? seems many have gone for the smg option??

26th July 2008, 07:01 PM	#18 (permalink)
kismetcapitan GTR Register Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Seoul Korea Posts: 6,052	well, keep in mind that Seoul has horrific traffic, and the stop-and-go doesn't seem to mesh well with SMG transmissions in general. The bulk of my friend's work seems to be in SMG rebuilds, not just BMW but Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini. He's never done an Audi DSG...that might be saying something.

26th July 2008, 07:10 PM	#19 (permalink)
Faz Choudhury GTR Register Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: London Posts: 1,766	how much is it to rebuild one of those smg's I would only get an M3 if its an smg2 as after driving one I really liked it and was very similar to the M5 auto transmission

27th July 2008, 11:20 AM	#21 (permalink)
kismetcapitan GTR Register Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Seoul Korea Posts: 6,052	driving conditions in England are certainly different from Asia, so I'd take my mechanic's experiences with a grain of salt. Definitely may not apply to UK owners!

27th July 2008, 05:06 PM	#23 (permalink)
Faz Choudhury GTR Register Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: London Posts: 1,766	Who could photoshop an image on here? All it would consist of is colouring the wheels black and lowering the car...

29th July 2008, 11:35 AM	#26 (permalink)
tarmac terror New Users Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Hampshire, but Scottish through and through! Posts: 2,485	Hmmm...cant say I've noticed TBH. You may well be correct. As for the car parks, in all honesty since I put the Eibach kit on I've had no problems. It would seem that the angle of the up-ramp at ExCel is particularly steep and the car bottomed out slightly at the top of each ramp. I also noticed some other std looking cars having trouble too so its fair to say its the designers who have made a boo-boo. Anyway, you made your mind up yet?? TT

29th July 2008, 12:29 PM	#27 (permalink)
Benji406V6Coupé GTR Register Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 373	...RS4 with revo remap and a milltek system...that V8 sounds awesome...M3 unit just sounds plain tappety to me and pretty gutless. My mates had electrical issues with his SMG II amongst some other mechanical issues... We both thought it would be a better car at the start-off.

29th July 2008, 01:03 PM	#29 (permalink)
Benji406V6Coupé GTR Register Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 373	...RS4 with revo remap and a milltek system...that V8 sounds awesome... My mates had electrical issues with his SMG II amongst some other mechanical issues... We both thought it would be a better car at the honeymoon of his ownership. make sure you get the whole car checked over chap...or buy from BMW or the forum boys. All the best with it!