4.4 to a 4.6is motor, oh what a thing.

[Joshdub]

I hear that excuse a lot. We probably have a similar commute (I'm near Renton up to the U-district, every morning around 8). Traffic can be brutal and the roads suck like you said. Keeps the left leg beefy.

What about SMG?

[SlickGT1]

Oh that is no excuse. Do a stick. A beast engine like that, you can easily start in 2nd all day if you wanted to. Plus you can hold in gear or clutch in for neutral at any time. I'm in NYC and if the 4.8 came on stick I would be rowing as my daily. I always wanted an e39 touring, m5 conversion. A few years back someone was selling one, but I pussied out since I didn't do the conversion myself. I sorta regret it. Big $$$$ too.

[Joshdub]

Manual swap on the e30 was the best decision of my life (not that I ever had any intentions of leaving it an auto).

[Plattus1000]

One project at a time guys. I'm not made of money and had a tight window to get this project finished. That and the costs involved to do the manual swap would have broken me.

Remember, I haven't even turned the key yet. I haven't gotten to enjoy the car as it is and we're talking about changing things already.
Patience, all in time.

[Plattus1000]

Originally Posted by Joshdub

What about SMG?

SMG COULD be retrofitted to the e39, but the question is how to control it. You'd need a totally different DME, so it could incorporate what the gearbox is doing into the information network.


Anything is possible, but this SMG retrofit idea is not practical here I think. There are several vintages of SMG. Some may retrofit easier than other's, since the electronics are more stand-alone in certain versions. The easiest retrofit would involve retrofitting the 6 cyl SMG package. This would take somebody with unusual skills &/or experience to swap a V8 bell housing onto an E46 M3 tranny & then some Electrical Engineer or BMW-trained tech expert or similar will need to graft a complete salvage SMG control package to the E39. (I could be wrong about all of this)

I would not tackle such a project because to me it's financially senseless. The more challenging & far more costly/complex retrofit would involve retrofitting a newer BMW V8 SMG system to the E39. If you could find a skilled BMW tech/tuner willing to tackle such a one-off project, expect this swap to cost around $8-10K or maybe more. You might need to add another $?K to debug an E60 SMG system swap because the DME would need swapped and workarounds re-engineered. It ain't worth it and too many opportunities for "lawn art" complications exist. Once completed, I strongly feel the investment in funds & effort would be a complete flush.

The collectibility & resale value of the car (mute point) would drop after this costly "modification". A larger number of folks owning E60 are wishing they had the manual transmission setup.

A manual swap is in my opinion, the best call but it'd be after a long list I have for smaller more pressing things on the car.

Like, what badge should the car sport now?

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by Plattus1000

Like, what badge should the car sport now?

That's super obvious. "546i"

[bcredliner]

In almost all applications an automatic transmission will be faster than a manual from a-b. I would add the Dinan transmission software when the budget allows. I have had the Dinan software since shortly after purchasing it new. Changes shift points, speeds them up, they are crisper and allows complete manual shifting

[Plattus1000]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

That's super obvious. "546i"

I like that.

[Plattus1000]

Originally Posted by bcredliner

In almost all applications an automatic transmission will be faster than a manual from a-b. I would add the Dinan transmission software when the budget allows. I have had the Dinan software since shortly after purchasing it new. Changes shift points, speeds them up, they are crisper and allows complete manual shifting

Agreed. I had a Dinan 540i and the difference was astounding from stock.

[PropellerHead]

Originally Posted by bcredliner

In almost all applications an automatic transmission will be faster than a manual from a-b.

I think that is true of modern transmissions, but at the time the E39's were rolling slushboxes vs 6 speed, the 6 speed manuals still had the edge.

The worst part about switching from my E39 to the E53 is forgetting the E53 doesn't have a clutch.