BMW 645i M Packet ??

[NR.Andrija]

Hi

I wanna ask you what do you think about BMW any 6 in M Packet. I love M6, it's a perfect car, but I was also thinking about buying a classic 645 or 650 in M Packet, but I'm not sure what would differences there are. I know (better engine etc.), but anyway I wanna ask you what else would I lose if I bought ; let's say 645Ci M-Packet.
I really like it, it also has a very strong engine and it's much cheaper. And it actually looks like real M6. Thx for replies.

[m630]

We did not have any M packet in the US, was not even aware that BMW offered a package for the 645. What i can say is that the 645 was a great car, i had mine for 3 1/2 years and luved every moment...however, as much as they appear similar, there are completely different cars in most every way....Different interior styling options and exterior accents like the roof and front and rear bumpers in CF, different engines, different transmission, different brakes, suspension, steering options, quad exhausts, and on and on...really, they drive very different as well. I have nothing but luv for my former 645, but a very different car from the M6

all i can say is drive both and see if in your mind the M6 commands the premium in price or not, that may help this difficult question!

[NR.Andrija]

OK, thanks. How do you mean different transmissions? I thought M6 is made with automatic only. Anyway I think the manual transmission is much more useful, it's faster, isnt it?

[Mark Carson]

Like M630, I also had a 645 (2005). I agree it's a great car and I loved having mine also (from 2005 to 2008). Lots cheaper than an M6 but there are lots and lots of reasons why.

If the power and performance of a 645/650 is OK for you, then go for it. But I would not waste my money on an M-Packet/package. Why try to look like what you are not (an M6 in this case). The 645/650 is a fine car as it is. It does not need to pretend to be anything else.

If you look like an M6, other drivers will expect M6 performance on the road (which it can't deliver). What makes an M6 an M6 is not the bodywork, its the engine, transmission and running gear.

The engines are different (v8 vs V10), Transmissions (auto, 6 speed, or 6 speed SMG for the 645/650 and SMG III 7 speed or a differently geared 6 speed manual for an M6), suspension, brakes (drilled rotors on the M6), carbon fiber roof on the M6, M Mode driving controls, more shift and shock absorber settings, the list goes on and on for differences between them.

But they are based on the same E-63 (coupe) or E-64 (cabrio/convertible) body and weigh about the same, so they do drive similarly in certain respects (parking) and share many of the same controls and switches inside. They are siblings, but not twins!

The M6 will eat more gasoline but delivers more driving fun.

The choice is yours - both are fine automobiles (the M6 is just a lot more of what makes a BMW a BMW). Again, I'd pass on the body kit. In fact, I would not want to be seen in an M Packet/package 645/650 (but that's just me). I was proud to be seen in a regular 645Ci.

Cheers.

[Tiptronicsoldier]

I loved the 545i I had before my M6, it was a great car. The only problem was that I had power envy so I always wanted an M5 in its place. I fell in love with the M6 when I first saw it online before it came out, that's when I decided I wanted one. The V8 BMWs are very sporty and plenty fast but it really depends what you want and the value for the money. I wish I still had my 545i as a daily driver but its mainly because I drive a volvo xc90 for a daily since it can carry a lot of my equipment for work and gets good gas mileage.

[Mark Carson]

Perhaps you don't know much about SMG, so here goes (and pardon me it you already know all of this):

Technically, any transmission that can shift itself is an "automatic". However to most people's minds an automatic is a torque converter, not clutch based, transmission.

The BMW SMG trannys are "manual" gearboxes in that they have clutches, just no clutch pedal. The clutch action is robotic and occurs when you either move the center shifter back and forth (sort of like a motorcycle shifter) or by pulling/pushing the steering wheel mounted paddles. There is also an "automatic" mode (just move the center stick to the right to activate) where the car will shift itself for you. Most SMG drivers don't use this mode very much. Either way, the car has a clutch, not a slush-box torque converter.

So think of the SMG as a manual transmission car with a robotic clutch. In manual mode, it shifts when you tell it to with a few caveats. It will downshift to a lower gear when a min RPM level is reached (about 1000 I think) which means that if you coast up to a stoplight, the car will be in 1st gear when the light turns green. The car DOES NOT upshift (like an automatic does) for you in manual mode. It will hang against the rev limiter, but not shift (unless you are in "automatic" mode are are using "Launch Control"). Automatic mode includes a "kick down" down shifting feature based on you sticking your right foot deeply to the floor. Manual mode, does not "kick down", just bogs like a real manual tranny.

BMW's new automatic tranmisions are getting better every year (and there is a pretty good torque converter/automatic in the X5M & X6M from what I hear) but there is still a difference at a technical level between the two.

The Double Clutch Transmission (aka DKT in German) is another manual/clutch pedal-less gearbox that currently is only available in the M3 and new Z4. It has 2 gears sets, each of which is hooked up to one of two concentric clutches. The odd number gears are in one set and the evens in the other. This allows the transmission to pre-select the "next" gear (up or down shifting) while the other set is supplying power. So the shifts on DKT are as fast as one clutch can release the other take up.

M5 and M6 have SMG III, not DKT. There is also a conventional manual (with clutch) grearbox available on M3, M5 and M6. In the M5/M6 the manual is not a very popular option as the SMG shifts faster and has another gear (but the same final gearing).

[Mark Carson]

Almost forgot to mention,

The 645 was available with SMG but different from the SMG in the M5/M6. It was a 6 (not 7) speed SMG of an earlier generation. Not exactly SMG II (which was much cruder) which was available in the older E-46 3 series, but also not SMG III as in the current M5/M6 cars.

The 6 speed SMG is no longer available in the 650. The "Sport Automatic" option in the current 650 is a torque converter gearbox. It is NOT a SMG transmission. The SMG option in the 645s (and early model year 650s) was not a very popular option but member M630 and I both had it in our 645s. It was part of the "Sport" package back in the day. It got me hooked on SMG.

[Jaff]

There is no such thing as a BMW 645/650 with a 'M-Packet'. Bmw never made it anywhere in the world. This example you have is a POSER M6 pretending to be something its not, it has the M6 front and rear bumper with some aftermarket exhaust. This car did not come like this from factory. I say buy the standard 645/650 just like Mark said its a hell of a car as it is, or if you want more and pay more go for an ORIGINAL M6. If you drive that car all will know its not a real M6 no matter how good of a copy it is, the V10 sound can never be copied