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<M3> Over-rev

Wow, so much exciting discussion about M3's and the "problems" with the
gearshift.  Even an exciting lawsuit.  Only in America can all manner of
personal responsibility be taken care of by a quick lawsuit.  Small wonder many
fun things are illegal.  Gosh, if I use my toilet cleaner "in a manner
inconsistent with it's label" I will be committing a federal crime!

So to summarize, what do we have: (quoted from various digesters - names
withheld to avoid implying personal insult)

> BMW (I'm sure) is aware of the tight shift pattern in the E36 gearbox and
> engineers will solve this issue as the model evolves.  BMW has been through

The first time a tight shift pattern has been called a problem.  Please don't
force them to go with a nice safe, long throw, wide gate truck pattern.  My
Miata has a tighter pattern, shorter throws and nicer feel (and yes, I missed a
shift ONCE in 67000 miles, yes I was trying too hard to impress and no, the
engine seemed to survive - so I didn't have to sue Mazda.)  Please don't solve
this problem!

> Detent problem?

Only when in a M3 and only when at the red-line racing against a Z28?

> Transmission shifting due to load?

Mine has never shifted enough for me to notice - oh wait, this can't be a
detent issue, its the engine & gearbox mounts?

> Too easy to shift into first at speed?

I love the way ford boxes require you to STOP before selecting first, that
would be real nice for those first gear corners!  Bring on this fix!

> Gate too close spaced?

I say, close the spacing AND shorten the throw.  Possibly require a test before
selling the car, or a yellow warning label indicating that operator error can
be expensive!

> Then we have the transmission problem .. which I think is MORE than
> a simple detent thing .. there is some convincing evidence to say that
> under hard cornering and power-on the xmission shifts enough to
> make what was 4th .. 2nd .. BOOM!

Bring on the convincing evidence.  Perhaps some actual evidence other than a
few blown shifts would calm this thread.  If you have evidence, let us know and
don't do the "I'm way too more clever than all of you and I know the answer but
can't/won't tell you guys" crap.

> P.S. - The SMT will ELIMINATE all of this over-rev crap, human or mechanical
> (although the purist left-footers will probably cry foul).

Unless BMW makes it possible to push it in the wrong direction...


If the problem exists, I challenge all of you who "know it exists" to give a
simple scenario which recreates the problem.  I for one would love to know so
that I can avoid the situation.  If you can't recreate it, I can't help but put
this in the Audi problem category - unless you missed shift folks had to fix
something in the gearbox along with the engine rebuild, you should be able to
tell us how you did it!  If a problem exists, and I doubt it, I'll stand in
line to get the fix.

It seems to be time for the US to adopt a duel drivers license standard like
many other countries.  If you take your driving test in an automatic
transmission car, you CANNOT drive a stick shift without redoing the test!  It
you take the test in a stick, you can drive both.  Perhaps that will reduce
this problem, cut down on bandwidth and let the rest of us enjoy the car
without fear of it being taken away to protect us.

BTW: I'll be out of town for a few days, so won't be able to personally respond
to all the creative flames until I get back.

Brendon.
'96 M3
'93 MX-5