2003.5 BMW E46 M3 SPECS UPDATE
2003.5 BMW E46 M3 SPECS DRIVER
2003.5 BMW E46 M3 SPECS MANUAL

2003.5 BMW E46 M3 SPECS MANUAL

On the street it can be as smooth as a well-driven manual and just as engaging. The ability to left foot brake is an added plus.

2003.5 BMW E46 M3 SPECS DRIVER

On the track an SMG M3 is absolutely faster, and not just because it shifts faster, but because it relieves the driver from the physical effort and mental energy of doing so, allowing more attention to be devoted to driving closer to the limit. If driven correctly, SMG II is just as engaging and rewarding as a 3-pedal manual, but it has significant advantages. If it is treated like an automatic, it will be clunky and abrupt and therein lays the human factors element. SMG is, in essence, a manual gearbox with computer controlled shifting, not an automatic. When it was released, SMG II was still criticized for being clunky and abrupt, but those complaints were due to human factors (culture lag), not the technology itself. By the E46 M3, BMW had evolved it to SMG II Drivelogic, a vast improvement over SMG I. BMW Sequential Manual Gearbox technology first appeared in the European market E36 M3 (technically speaking its not a true sequential gearbox, but I digress). Generally speaking, I still have that mentality, but I have come to prefer an SMG E46 M3 over a 3-pedal manual example. I would write off any SMG M3, clinging to my РІР‚Сљfrom my cold dead hands,РІР‚Сњ 3-pedals forever mentality.

As a die-hard manual enthusiast, I had a poor opinion of SMG for years.

2003.5 BMW E46 M3 SPECS UPDATE

A mid-lifecycle update starting with March of 2003 (2003.5) model years included several new standard features, the most notable being LED taillights. Clean, low mileage, 6-speed manual examples in rare colors and options carry the highest premiums, but public opinion has begun to turn in favor of SMG M3s. The SI B covering this replaced the faulty rod bearings with updated units. The 2001, 2002, and early 2003 model years had a rod bearing recall that was remedied by mid-2003. Even today, a well-driven E46 M3 can hold its own against much more powerful and modern performance cars. The M3 also got exclusive suspension, brakes, and wheels that gave it formidable performance. A pull to its screaming 8000-RPM redline is a smile-evoking experience that is only made better by the communicative and composed E46 chassis. The S54 won multiple engineering awards upon its release and, at the time, it produced the highest horsepower-per-liter for a normally aspirated production engine.

At the heart of the E46 M3 was the 333-horsepower S54B32 engine, an evolution of an architecture that reaches back to the original M535i and M1. The E46 generation M3 was the last of a legacy of normally aspirated, inline 6-cylinder M cars that defined the marque for a generation. Rod Bearing Recall Complied With Background Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 High Performance All Season Tires Interior: Black Leather Interior (N5SW) with Brushed Aluminum Interior Trim

Exterior color: Titanium Silver Metallic Exterior (354)

2003.5 bmw e46 m3 specs