The money for the standalone controller is definitely $$$. But the stock TCU sucks terribly. Check the forums. I had mine reprogrammed twice in 18 months of owning it because it would behave bizarrely and inconsistently.

One time, pull away from a stop and it just nails the first few changes up through the gears. Sometimes will hang the shift, sometimes would kick on TC on the shift.

It was awesome when working correctly, but that was about a 50/50 bet on any given day.

 

The controller that Harold is running is just over a grand USD so it's actually not all that bad considering the functionality of it. That'll be what I do if we can verify it fits with a V8 and I can convince myself the 50lb weight penalty is worth it.

 

When it's behaving properly, the 50 lb weight penalty is COMPLETELY worth it.

 

Does anyone have a link to the standalone controller used? I didn't see it linked anywhere but I may have missed it. $1000 is not bad at all.

 

https://www.dkgecu.com/

These are the guys, and sorry the quote I got was 999 Euro's. So factoring in the exchange rate that's 1092 bald eagles

They have a working LS swap and plan to offer LS hardware as well.

 

That looks amazing. Really makes be want to put this trans behind a turbo K series...

 

I'd be lying if I hadn't thought about this instead of a 4 speed for the LS car.

 

Ok, I am a bit confused here. So what did you have reprogrammed? The BMW TCU or the aftermarket ECU? What is this in?

Also, who are you and where can I see this. I see that you are in OKC and so am I.

 

in my mx5 i bypassed the bmw tcu. you could see it if you want. let me know next time you are in Norway

 

This is Rick and I'm very interested in the adapter flywheel ect can you please contact me at rickburrus@yahoo.com Thanks so much for your help

 

Got my tranny, gutted the BMW TCU.

Adapter plate and all the trimmings on the way,

Can't wait

 

very nice! Can you do me a favor? Slap a tape measure on the trans and get a measurement from the centerline of the input shaft to the bottom of the pan or whatever is lowest. A few of us are trying to see what it would take to fit with various motors.

 

8 3/8” from my quick measurement. It appears the very front edge of the pan is the lowest thing on the transmission

 

You are the man, thank you

 

So here's a measurement for you guys considering an LS. I've measured 2.75" to the pan rail. I'm running a 5" kevko road race pan for a total of 7.75" from crank centerline. So we're looking at this thing hanging 5/8" lower than the pan......or just enough to concern me. I'll have to check again and see for sure how low that is in relation to the frame rails and other items that should prevent a holy trans pan.

 

I'm looking for the pin outs for a E46 M3 DCT shifter. It's a 2005 if that matters. I'm not starting my swap by buying a part a day. Although I do have a mental note to do this swap in 2021.

This is for iRacing. I've decided I want a sequential shifter controller and the good ones start at $300. Since I think a fly by wire car controller is a lever, ****, microswitches, I'll start with that. I got a E46 DCT shifter off eBay for $40. Add $10 key/joystick USB controller, I should be there.

Can anyone point me at a PDF for the E46 M3 DCT shifter pin outs?

Bill

 

My "brilliant" idea to use a E46 M3 DCT shifter to provide a sequential shifter for iRacing? I'll give it a "nice try but no" rating. I opened up the shifter and no microswitches. There's a magnet at the end of the shift lever and what I'm guessing are some magnetic sensor surface mount ICs on a circuit board below. Some BMW digital contactless something. Could a hardcore tech wonk hack a solution? Probably, but not me. I'll put the shifter in a box and save it for when I do the "real" DCT box swap on my Miata (at least a year away after I do some other mods).

I shall continue to lurk on this thread in the meantime.

PS: The connecting a switch to iRacing via USB easy. The $10 switch/joystick USB board is 100% plug/play straight into Windows. From there into any sim. Maybe I'll DIY a swanky button box instead.

 

Edit: totally missed that this was for a racing sim and not for installing into a real car
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E46 M3 uses an SMG, not a DCT. It's just a 420G gearbox with actuators and solenoids and a slightly different bellhousing. They are universally loathed for jerky shifting and common failures in the BMW community

 

The wiring diagram can be found here, but it doesn't seem like it would help much.

 

Firstly I just want to say that this is absolutely brilliant, OP you are one big balled ****. I'm an engineering student in California with a bit of a Miata addiction, or so my friends tell me.
So far I've gleaned that you're running some sort of custom controller bypassing the stock bmw tcu.
I'm curious if it would be possible to make a very bare bones controller with only manual control, no throttle blipping maybe two preset torque settings for a daily vs performance mode.
Anyway, if anyone on here has a pinout or wiring schematic for any generation of bmw dsg that would be greatly appreciated!