M3 csl and 360 challenge stradale, 2 cars that where crying out for manual gearboxes.

Finally, a dream combo! Wish BMW made this decision.

The execution of the swap is to be applauded. Looks fully oem

The gearstick throw must be insanely short cos every time he shifts towards him it looks like the stick is in neutral.

SMG ruined that car. If the M3 CSL came in a manual stock that would've been the best M car ever made... and now this particular is!

This guy is a hero for making the BMW M3 CSL truly manual 💪🔥

Manual M3 CSL vs 1M Coupe :)

So The best BMW is the one BMW didn't make. Fitting

I will have children so I can sell them in order to buy this car. And i'll throw one of my kidneys in just in case

imo, high reving NA engines deserve manual gearboxes, because one, you need to rev them out for speed, and you get immediate throttle response. A turbo engine gains lag every time you life off the accelerator for a shift, so an autobox would be more suitable.

E46 M3, still hitting the spot in 2020

Well done that man! Awesome machine. Manual gearboxes will never die.

My old man had the normal m3 but in this gun metal grey when I was young . Such a good car. I can still remember the sound of that straight six engine.

Mate your a legend. You made a great car perfect. Would have one of those all day.

Today I picked up modern classics magazine, with this very car in it .... 2 hours later this video drops ! RESULT 😂

That's my new year made. 💙 One of most glorious cars ever made.

I remember i when i was 16 reading about this car in Car Magazine December 2003 PCOTY edition. I just adored it. Time hasn't changed that opinion.

The SMG aged the car. I wouldn't care about it losing value, the CSL needs a manual gearbox.

This has to be the best, well everything really, bmw ever. Looks amazing, from the time their cars actually looked good, amazing engine, amazing to drive, sounds awesome, and with a proper gearbox.

Well, THIS IS THE SWEETSPOT! Congrats...

That induction sound 😍

Now to add a 4.1 diff and it really would be perfect and how M division wanted it out the factory

I have a manual e36 M3 with an S54 and CSL airbox and tune 🤙 poor mans CSL but it is simply amazing 😄

I've converted my SMG to a True manual, and it's 10000 % worth it.

"SMG gearbox" ah yes, the sequential manual gearbox gearbox.

Mines getting converted ASAP now

Another brillaint one Matt!

I had the chance to try one many years ago... the SMG was not a problem because at the time, it was a great "novelty" ! But I can understand, today, with the improvment of auto gearbox (and cars becoming more and more like computer on wheels), that the owner wants to have a more "old school" feel ! It is really a natural modification.

Analog love. Is this a slice of heaven? Thanks for this in 2020 Autocar.

amazing car, one of my all time favourites

Great video, great project. Congratulations the workshop and the owner. Thanks for you guys for sharing this amazing dream of piston heads like me...

The best M car in my opinion ;-)

Couldn't say why, but this car was/is one of my all time favorite looking cars. Proportions are just right.

Great, LOVE IT! Every serious sports car should be available with a manual!

by seeing this CSL , it always gave me goosebumps of lengendary BMW M3GTR

This Era of the M3 is a great cut off point, on where analog meets digital. Great vehicle.

I’ve had a lot of serious cars but I LOVED my CSL with the SMG . I’ve often wanted to go back and drive one to see how it stands up now . It’s in my top 3 drivers cars 16M Scuderia - M3CSL - 2014 Z 28

I’ve done 2 manual conversions on E46 M3’s It’s straightforward, even the wiring If I were to do it again I’d just buy a Locking Shifter, so the transmission does not need to be removed

Brilliant job!

Note, you have to re:chip it as there is a built-in throttle hesitation during the SMG shift. So then it is just that little bit crisper through the gear change in manual form...check it out..

What a car, made even better with a manual. I still think the e46 is the sweetest spot, not just in m form, but as a whole....still look so sleek and modern today!

If I am seeing correct and that car is on 140k plus miles, gotta say its looking pretty fresh, notice how Autocar were very gentle on the car either out of respect of it not being a press car or in fear of a big bang, in fairness if these cars are maintained right and precaution measures done, boot floor, rod bearings, HGF they are pretty bullit proof and one of the best track cars still to this day and oh so capable. :)

Pip pip cheerio David, you are now king of Camelot my good man, congratulations 🤘🏽🤘🏽 baddest fkin car on the island 👍🏽

The raspy sound -- pure therapy!!!

That's exactly what I'd do! And he's not the only hero: there is another one who fitted a manual on a 991.1 GT3 RS!

Perfection, but he forgot to mention how many pedals a manual has 🙃

140,000 mile, fair play!!

Sehr schön!! Beautiful!!!

AWESOME! 👏🏼👏🏼

An interesting experiment and review - thanks for sharing that. As an avid car enthusiast and owner of an identical twin CSL, I have a couple of things to add. Firstly the SMG and this car have the same gearbox, just this one is now three pedal and stick shift, to enable the changes. Secondly, the smg is not ‘agricultural’, hell it will shift in just 80 milliseconds if you wind it up. Yes it is harsh if you leave it to do all ‘itself’, however, and this point matters, once you have driven if for a while, you learn how to use it properly. Eg - I heal toe my SMG on every downshift. The factory computer does it if I don’t, sure, but if you own one and really know how to heal toe a manual, the smg loves it too, and it works much better than the computer doing it. I also do a tiny lift on upshift, as I would also never flat shift a manual, and voila, it is again, excellent. My conclusion is the SMG change on the gearbox is a ton better than most reviewers seems to give it credit for. My rationale for why, is simple.....they drive it for an hour or two and never learn how to actually drive it properly.......as an enthusiast, owner, successful racer of other cars etc, it’s much better than they seem to think. The e46 M3 CSL doesn’t need three pedals, you just need to learn how to drive it and not rely on the SMG computer....ie drive the SMG yourself.

CSL E46 ❤️ alongside with the monstrous E92 M3 GTS . best m3's. Treasures of bmw

Just the best car on this spec!!

Ein smg Getriebe hat auch seinen Reiz! Es ist außergewöhnlich!

Nearly got run over by one of these,I hadn’t seen one yet and was looking out for them.I was crossing the road going into Wimbledon Wetherspoons and could hear something sounding awesome coming but couldn’t see it yet! Then it was on me came flying round the corner and I leapt for my life....picked myself up and thought well there’s my first csl.

Any E46 M3 with SMG can be converted to manual. It’s the same gearbox with some modifications to bring it back to manual. What a lovely car now. I think it will be worth more than standard CSL now.

This is what driving is about: making life that little more difficult for yourself behind the wheel, so you can feel that much more alive when you nail a gearchange. It's you getting close to the limits of control over the mechanical symphony that separates you from a violent death.

When i was 15 i sat on the driver seat and i was so impressed with it. When i was 19, i bought a E36 and at my 20, i bought a 320Ci. Best car ever

Please take note, Alpine. Please put a manual 'box in the A110.

Cracking idea

Maybe the greatest ///M car combination ever! CSL + 6 MT = GOAT

I drive BMW FROM 1988 a 318IL E30 and a 320 cd e 46 from 2004...BMW for ever from ITALIA...

Ant recently did the manual conversion on a normal M3 on Wheeler Dealers, looked quite straightforward

Manual improves every car IMO. Even a lazy Kia SUV, even an S class, even a Tesla. For me at least, a manual is crucial to control over a vehicle.

What a noise - glorious !!

I have an E46 M3, and even after having 400whp STI’s, the M3 is by far a more enjoyable car to drive. Aside from a few of it’s issues such as rear subframe mounts, the car is fantastic. I lowered it on some Ohlins and did a big brake kit from Stoptech (4 pot / 2 pot), and at our local time attacks and race days (Montreal - iCar), i’ve never felt anything so planted and balanced.

A dream car over there ❤

I owner a E46 M3 track day car with CSL SMG tune, with launch control and M Dynamic mode coded. I also had a Carbon Fiber one piece lightweight driveshaft and had better race bushings all around, and something called Sprint Booster, even tho I had an Engine Ecu tune as well. I loved that car. Shift times were miles better then factory shift times and just made the car a joy in the streets or the track. I also had a Aluminum flywheel with the SMG tranny and it was even faster on shifts and even more aggressive, but it was way too much for the street so I put back the factory clutch and flywheel. I also had the same exact car but in Manual version, same color and similar suspension set up. Honestly I don’t see what the big fuss is about having a manual transmission. I guess when you don’t know how to work on the car yourself and don’t know how to improve something, manual would be better then just a stock SMG yes probably, but after I had dialed my SMG it was amazing fun. I liked it better then the new double clutch automatic, because when you down shift a SMG M3 it loads the front well and helps you turn in the corner really good, unlike a automatic transmission, because SMG has a regular Manual transmission with a regular clutch. I drove manual cars since I was a kid, I don’t miss them in heavy Los Angeles traffic at all. For the streets hands down a regular automatic is better and more relaxing, I don’t like the manual or SMG, but on the Track SMG is faster, so faster for me is always better. The only reason why so many people convert them to a manual is because they don’t want to spend money on the SMG pump to replace it after it goes bad. Cheaper to maintain. If I was to buy a E46 M3 again, I would total buy another SMG and fix it up the way I had my SMG. If you don’t own a E46 M3 or never did, please don’t respond and tell me you know manual is better then SMG. Remember to make the drivetrain lighter and SMG will be faster and more fun. Add a Sprint booster and SMG tune, to make the shifts firmer and faster. Get a Good Engine tune and the added Torque and horsepower will help.

i have year 2000 328i, still looks pretty today

Even though so many collectors are bent on originality and low mileage I wonder if this actually increases the cars value? So many people talk about the SMG-II being the CSL's only real flaw or downside, this makes the car way more desirable in my eyes and arguably very rare.

THIS is my dream car. 😍

i am the biggest manual transmission fan, and as i bought an m3 e46 with SMG i said: i will convert it. BUT. After one year / 10000 km my mind changed. i really started to like the SMG an the new challenges it gave me. It is so much more involving and emotional to drive than any modern automatic or dkg, dsg or pdk. Because so have to do the right things to get it right. You have to think ahead of it. your foot has to be in the exact right position on the throttle, your timing must be right when downshifting. And for understanding me right, i do know how to heel and toe, i was racing 7 years an manual car with an ultra short gearbox and final drive ratio. I love to shift. But the SMG has some character, you only understand if you have a car like this, and you are willing to practice your shift action with it. if you just want to flipper it up and down, you are wrong.

Yes, best bmw ever made. Been fortunate to have experienced it, it's a physical experience like in a lotus in a bigger package with a 363hp 6.

2nd best version of a perfect M3 out there. 1st goes to any s50b32 swapped e30 M3.

This is the real driver machine..👍

For some build progress and other pics you can find @cslmanual on Instagram.

A while back I wanted an M3, not an M3CSL, just an M3, I went for a manual because on the forums they said go for a manual because the robotised box was so jerky, not a smooth change, I never regretted my choice, the car put a big grin on my face every time I drove it.

Love it

Definitely!

this is a brilliant combination , BMW auto boxes have never been that good, i would only own a BMW manual gearbox nowadays , next to Porsche they make the best German manual gearboxes, thx you for this video

This car still got some very wild looks

nice I wish they came like this from new manual is never as quick . but its about the driving experience also

People have been converting standard e46 M3’s to Manual from SMG and seeing a ~£10k lift in values. Would be interesting to see the short to long term impact of the CSL manual conversion if values follows suit

The "Bitte ein Bit" Sticker got me laughing so hard.. 😂

Great upgrade to the best M car ever. Will only add immense value and appeal. In the next life I'll have one.

What?! I’ve always wondered the CSL with a bloody manual!

The best M3 of all time. Just beautiful.

why would you not do this if you have the money? The forum people can shut up

Now is Perfect 👍

I loved my 128I , manual off coarse.

Who have done changes in DME software? What company? Are you using CSL DME whit changes in software?

Now perfect with that box 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌

What dreams are made of 👌

You are absolutely right; with a manual transmission and clutch pedal, the driver is in complete control of the vehicle. In my opinion far too many of today's autophiles ogle over split second shifts and straight line speed. Control of a vehicle is much more than that. It's about rhythm and finesse with the driver as conductor as road conditions change to become challenging. Your points are well taken.

Genius!!!

Perfection.

Imho, this is the best car BMW ever created.

I wonder if this is worth more than a standard CSL SMG , cant beat the feel of shifting gears 👌

I dont care if its slower. You're doing everything yourself. 3 pedals is the way to go. Good man!

Not talking about the Z3 based M Coupe... outrageous

a dream car