I just got a job working at a dealership as a valet. Today I drove an e46 M3 with SMG. (by drive, I mean drive about 100 feet and then park).

I was just wondering if someone could explain to me what you do when you park. I asked one of the other valets, and I don't know if he even knew for sure. He asked me if it stalled. Can you even stall with SMG? When you park, do you just leave it in neutral (or in gear like a manual)? I left the car running and in neutral as the owner was waiting to hop in anyways.

Thanks in advance.

When you come to a stop, even in gear, it will apply the clutch and not stall. It won't stall unless something is wrong with it.

When you park, the car recommends leaving the SMG in gear (I leave mine in 1).

You can also turn the engine off and leave it in 0/N, but there's a risk of the car rolling if the handbrake is dropped.

BTW, this may be your next question so here's the answer: The car will only start in 0/N, it won't start in gear.

When you come to a stop, even in gear, it will apply the clutch and not stall. It won't stall unless something is wrong with it.

When you park, the car recommends leaving the SMG in gear (I leave mine in 1).

You can also turn the engine off and leave it in 0/N, but there's a risk of the car rolling if the handbrake is dropped.

BTW, this may be your next question so here's the answer: The car will only start in 0/N, it won't start in gear.

Ok, thanks for answering my questions. I actually already knew about the starting in N, they explained that to me.

So I can leave the car in gear, but is it still possible for the car to roll, because the clutch is being applied? When you leave the car in gear, and turn it off, does it remain in gear?

Basically I'm just trying to understand, because basically it relies mostly on the ebrake to prevent it from rolling. Correct? When I park a manual, I leave it in gear so it won't roll, and also pull the ebrake just as a back up incase it somehow gets knocked out of gear.

Thanks again.

When you put an SMG in gear and park it, it is like leaving a manual in gear, becuase as other posts will corroborate: it is a manual transmission at heart.

See here for more:
http://www.m3smg.com/index.html
http://www.m3smg.com/tech_info.html
http://www.m3smg.com/diy_guides.html

Great, thanks for the links.