saleen01

Just sold my wifes 05 m3....ultimately the reason was the tranny...she hated the fact the car rolled back in neutral on hills and shifted in such a non-auto manner....i'm looking at maybe the e63 as a replacement car, but I haven't driven one and am curious if the characteristics of the 2 transmissions are similar, feedback is appreciated!

MB_Forever

The two transmissions are worlds apart. The Mercedes tranny is a full automatic transmission and uses a torque converter. It shifts much slower than SMG and tends to have a variable-length delay making it harder to adapt to the shifts. However, the Mercedes tranny is also much smoother and provides a more comfortable/luxurious drive even with the AMG speedshift.

In terms of the car's characteristics, the E63 is an awesome daily driver. It offers an excellent mix of sporty/luxury combo that is very addictive.

Vic55

I was not a big fan of the SMG II in my E46 M3- the SMG III in my M6 was an improvement.

And as Mo mentioned, worlds apart- what are you looking for? Speed of shifts, less DT loss, more spirited driving? Then you will miss the SMG.

You want comfort with no jerking or roll back as you mentioned and a linear response- the 7 speed is your choice.

Id take the 7 speed over the SMG but not over the DCT that is in the current M3, GTR, and few others.

citylightva

Which model year E63..??

transferred

good post...

saleen01

I'm looking for a smooth grandfather type transmission for puttering around the city with the wife, but alone with the pedal on the floor i'd like to see shifting closer to the m3...but we sold the m3 because of the roll back and hard shifts in normal city driving, got annoying..

saleen01

looking at an 07 in the autotrader...

Vic55

Then you answered your question. You need the "old man" tranny...

MB_Forever

The shifting of an 07 E63 will not even come close to the speed of shifts on the M3 whether during WOT or regular city driving. You'll still enjoy the car and have a lot of fun with it, but just don't think it'll come close (in terms of shifting) to the M3. I have an 07 E63 and I wish the shifts were as fast as SMG II/III (which I believe are 80 ms).

saleen01

I'm ok with it....smg was fun, but i rather have the grandfather tranny

citylightva

Yeah, the E63 in C mode is super smooth and buttery...It's marginally more sporty in S and M mode, but like everyone said, no where near the SMG or MCT or DCT trannies...Minus the shift speed my one complaint would be the 1-2 shift in M or S mode...It's really hard, but not really fast...

Luke_M

When you all talk about shifting speed or shifting time are you talking about the amount of time from when you click the down shift button until the time the car actually downshifts? Because as far as upshifts go it just clicks off gears like no tomorrow in my opinion. Just look at a video of an E55 accelerating and between 1st and 2nd there is no delay in the speedo moving forward. Automatics do have their advantages.

I am looking for the information now but I seem to remember that in M mode the tranny upshifts in 150ms in the E55. I would imagine the '07 E63 would be as quick if not quicker. I could be wrong though.

citylightva

Probably seems that way, but it's pretty slow...Take the 8 speed in the IS-F, cracks off the 1-2 fast enough to chirp the tires...The new 7 speed MCT on the E, watch some of those videos, it is pretty fast...In a whole different realm I was on track with an F430 Scud and that thing just makes a quick pop going up or down

It is all relative though I guess...Neither the 55 or 63 have awful trannies at all, just wish they'd go up and down a bit quicker...

Vic55

In regards to shift speed my interpretation is the time it takes the transmission to shift from gear A to gear B. To consider the paddle or gear shifting part would be to involve the human aspect which changes things even further.

And you wont see speedo loss in AMG shifts cause of the power of the car but there is a difference in shift speeds that, at higher speeds, would allow other cars to pull...

gonzales25

I went from an 05 M3 to a 07 E63 and I haven't looked back, it's a totally different car. The M3 was becoming just a little to harsh and stiff for me, the E63 is the best of both worlds power and luxury.

citylightva

You still coding CEL's..??

MB_Forever

I don't think the E55 (or the W211 E63) tranny can shift anywhere near as fast as 150 ms. When the E55 first came out, AMG advertised that their SpeedShift program increased shifting by 20% over the regular Mercedes tranny. Now, I'm not sure how fast the old 5-speed Mercedes tranny can shift, but because it is now a 10-year old technology, I would guess between 350 to 400 ms, which in turn makes the AMG version capable of shifting at an approximate speed of 300 ms. With the introduction of the 7-speed, the AMG SpeedShift improved shifting by 40%, so I'm guessing it can shift at about 280 ms. Even Mercedes' new MCT tranny can shift at a maximum speed of 100 ms in manual mode only. Sport mode is actually a bit slower.

If you compare that with SMGII, which shifts at an impressive 80 ms and is 5-year old technology, you'll see what I mean. I don't even know how fast the new DCT shifts, but from what I've seen on the track, I would guess at least 40 ms or better So, yeah.... there is no comparison in shift speed. I wish our 7G tranny could shift half as fast as SMGII

By the way, reliability is a different story all together.

transferred

You mean SMGIII....

-Rob

gonzales25

You know I was running stock filters and no charcoals with no CELs and I decided to take a chance and put the K&Ns back in 2 days ago threw one today? My car just dosent like the K&Ns

DAGREEKNYC

me too . my car was always throwing codes with the k& n's . Since we did the mods and installed the filters that come with the carbonio never a problem .

saleen01

this is exactly what I wanted to hear? how about roll back on hills? does the e63 roll back like the m3?

Zod

No roll back on any amg its an auto

pullejo

And...to further prevent roll-back...in "C" mode, the AMG actually applies the brakes unbeknownst to the driver. Absolutely NO roll back.

With my driveway (about 25 degree slope) it's actually pretty nice.

gonzales25

I have'nt noticed any type of roll back on hills.

citylightva

Mine will roll slightly waiting for the gate out of my parking garage, but only in C...Not like crazy either just a slight roll...I think it's just while the TC decides how hard to lock up to launch smooth in 2nd...