I'm not one to criticize our beautiful, fast, comfortable, ageless and affordable M3, but I will. It's the shifter that's bugging me. I remember driving this generation M3 when it was new and the stick felt nearly flawless. Easy to move through the gates, yet solid when notched into gear.
The stick in our long termer is still fluid form gear to gear, but the engagement feels a little too rubbery. You can find the gates, but when you're locked into gear there's too much give in the stick. It's a small price to pay for a car that's so great everywhere else, but if it were mine I might look into an aftermarket piece to stiffen things up a little.
Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor @ 58,421 miles
sgude says:
12:49 PM, 07/11/08
Short shift kit will fix that right up! Or maybe new bushings and linkage if you like the stock throw.
joefrompa says:
01:25 PM, 07/11/08
Is it just me, or does that interior look like it was freshly detailed and/or almost new?
I still absolutely love the interior of the e46. I think it's one of BMW's best interiors ever. Centrally mounted switches, slightly driver canted center stack, everything looks and feels good.
I also love that it actually has a cupholder. Albeit a sucky one, but pickers can't be choosers...
Joe
speeder31 says:
08:44 PM, 07/11/08
Definitely reminiscent of the e30. All the window switches in the same place, center storage in the same place, driver-tilted dash. Timeless.
kevlang says:
04:14 AM, 07/12/08
try changing the gear oil for redline synthetic. you'll be amazed at the difference it makes.
greenpony says:
10:29 AM, 07/12/08
I had the same problem in a then-11-year-old car. Slop in the shifter. (Actually you could be in fifth gear and move it all the way over to the first gear position... that sloppy). New bushings fixed this problem.
m_thrizzle says:
01:37 PM, 07/14/08
Kevlang, Redline can be hit and miss with M3's. I've tried both Royal Purple and Redline in my 2001's tranny. The RP felt really thin and I didn't like it, so I switched to Redline. Redline is very notchy when cold -- sometimes I have to double-clutch to shift UP to 2nd gear -- but is fine once warm. Before my fluid swaps, my tranny had the OEM LT1 fluid. LT2 supposedly offers better cold performance, and I will give it a try at my next Inspection. (There is now a LT3 fluid but I believe BMW does not recommend its use for E46 M3's)
Now as for the sloppy shifter, it's definitely the spherical rubber bushing that has been torn apart. The shifter in my friend's old 6-series can be wobbled about just as greenpony said. Mine is feeling a little sloppy too, but not enough to warrant a change yet.
I love the illuminated shift pattern on the shift knob -- if you get a short shifter hopefully you will be able to retain the OE knob!
brian60 says:
05:06 PM, 07/22/08
Put a ZHP knob (from the High Performance package available on the regular 3-series of that era) on there to significantly improve the feel without going all out with a SSK. It's weighted and about 3/4" shorter, but it makes a big difference.