E6X M5/M6 Aluminum Transmission Pan - SMG/Manual

These panels are a great aftermarket upgrade for the E60 M5.

There is very little that needs to be said about the build quality, because these parts are phenomenally built. The finish work is fantastic, everything lines up great, and there are well designed provisions for the main oil pan drain and cooling ducts on the transmission.

I didn't realize the transmission guard is actually two separate pieces; one skinny plate for the narrower output-end of the transmission, and one wider panel that spans the rest of it and meets up with the engine plate.

The rear end plate went on very easily with the provided screws. Things got a tad tricky with the middle plate, however. The mid plate is meant to overlap the leading edge of the rear plate, (and same with the engine plate to the mid plate), sharing several screws to attach both. However, the provided screws simply weren't long enough to reach through both plates, and I had to get creative with some larger sheet screws and washers to make everything play nice. Additionally, the mid plate had to actually bend veeeeery slightly along the centerline of the car in order for two mounting holes further up to mesh correctly, which was a little odd; the front and rear plates simply slotted right into place.

My only other minor gripe is a bunch of leftover hardware. I had ordered both the engine and transmission plates together, and still had four zinc-plated bolts and several screws leftover, which just makes me a little uneasy. That said, I installed this on an SMG, and the 3-pedal manual likely mounts up quite different and with some of this hardware. Furthermore, some of my issue can be likely chalked up to the sheer age and mileage of my car, and it's likely not all the mounting points are still perfectly aligned after some time with no cladding at all. On a fresher car, things likely would've gone a little smoother.

Overall, no real regrets with this product!