My SMART Roadster - CLOSER LOOK

Let's have a closer look at the unusual engineering behind my Smart Roadster!
What's the background story of Smart and their Roadster?
What is so special about its design?
How is it to daily the car?
#smart #roadster #smartroadster
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[@OrlandoMGarcia]

One of my favorite cars, totally different from everything. I wish more people made videos about it.

[@i_am_terom4810]

I had never seen the glass hatch on that car, it looks so much better! Really cool livery too

[@BSport320]

Glad you like it!

[@allsearpw3829]

I grow tomatoes in mine , LOL. a really great fun car to drive .

[@schore69]

best car ever! the v6 brabus prototype was insane

[@mizutani_]

Thank you for going into depth. A lot of other reviewers missed out on points you brought up. Especially in regards to the unique mechanics of the car

[@karacop78]

Never seen so many details for a Smart on youtube. Well done.

[@BSport320]

Thanks! There is a lot to say if you daily it for years.

[@adrievankempen2054]

Thank you very very much for all the information, also the history of the Smart and all the details!

[@stepan.poluianov]

Today I learned: Smart has a De Dion rear suspension. Thanks for the video!

[@X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X]

From one German schoolboy at the time who loved the Smart Roadster to another: thank you for this detailed video! May I ask which manufacturers target which milage?

[@RConmyMind]

Ich bin damals mit meinem Roadster auch viel gefahren, ca. 30.000 km/Jahr. Bis auf den Lärmpegel und die harte Federung (Ich hatte immer Nackenschmerzen nach 550 km Autobahn 😅) war es ein gutes Langstreckenauto, da man trotz nur 82 PS sehr gut im Verkehr mithalten konnte. Die Automatik habe ich nicht benutzt sondern immer manuel mit den Schaltwippen geschaltet. Ich finde, die Automatik ist ein Sicherheitsrisiko. Wenn man schnell in ein Lücke fahren will, tritt man das Gaspedal durch, aber dann kommt halt gar nichts, da die Automatik erstmal 3 sec braucht, um die Gänge zu sortieren. Das führte dann doch manchmal zu Schweißausbrüchen 😉 Insgesamt natürlich, wie du sagst, nicht fertig konstruiert und voller Mängel. Ein jetziger Kollege von mir war früher Ing. bei Smart und hatte mir erzählt, dass sie das Auto auf den Markt bringen mussten, obwohl sie wussten, dass er nicht fertig war. Ich freue mich aber immer, wenn ich einen auf der Straße sehe, was ja doch noch manchmal passiert.

[@coolrides]

I videoed one of these at our local car show in Eustis, near Orlando Florida. I've seen the Smart Car for two but not seen this model. Thanks for the detailed video and ride along...impressive car! :) Jack

[@_hanz73]

Wow never heard about this car before and it looks amazing!! The body lines looks clean!!

[@SparkyRih]

I've seen this one often in the Roadster groups often the past 8 years since I own my Coupe😀

[@4rdF1Hunny]

I didn’t even know they existed! Pretty neat honestly.

[@gafrers]

Love Smarts and the Roadster is the Cherry on the cake

[@rjung_ch]

Love the Nürburgring sticker on the rear of your Roadster!

[@rjung_ch]

Ignition key similar to the Saab position. Love that roof as well, how slick it is.

[@z0n4l1]

hayabusa swap?

[@el_kuks]

Pretty technically detailed video. That was interesting to listen as for guy who wants to buy and build full blown racecar from Roadster. Downside what i see is that everything in this car is already so light that with mods it would become heavier while usually with racing modifications cars become lighter

[@jozsefizsak]

I can't believe I've never heard of this car before! We have quite a few Smarts around here but none of these. BTW< when you said the intercooler position is bad, I fully expected to hear how you redesigned some part of it to improve its performance. Are you just too busy to do that?

[@BSport320]

Yes, I just brought it back on the road this year but didn’t have the time yet to make improvements.

[@peterk8874]

Nice video. Now I don't know if I should be sad or glad I sold mine. Was also around 100tkm, but until then it made no problems in 12 years as my daily. I think you forgot to mention that they are notorious for getting water into the cabin. That was one reason why I sold mine. It was getting wet under the drivers seat. Shifting was OK when you did it yourself. For some reason it was much worse in auto mode. I had the small Brabus steering wheel installed. Looked muuuuch better. That was very nice with the shift paddles on it.

[@chaospxl_]

say, where exactly was your water issue, or was the source of leakage not found?

[@Brebgon]

@@chaospxl_ mine likes to leak through the door mirrors

[@pklimbic]

Like other people memorize braking points before corners, to overcome the super slow (but like you say, smooth) gearbox, with the Smart I used to learn SHIFT POINTS on country or city roads I used a lot. So that the shifts would happen when and where I needed them. 😂😂😂

[@BSport320]

I know exactly what you mean😅 Especially when you are driving fast, the delayed downshifts in the corner can really throw you off.

[@masoudhosseini9204]

Awesome content, not the best video. But thanks anyway 🙏 You are one of my favorite youtubers ❤️

[@daleipi]

Love the Smart Roadster! Any idea how to improve the air flow aft of the intercooler? As far as I understand it, the problem is that the hot air can't really escape the crammed engine bay. A water/air intercooler like the one on the Brabus version could help but will require the aircon to go in order to place a watercooler into the front...

[@mattiasmehta4665]

Absolutely love this car! Have you considered switching over to a manual transmission? Is it possible to switch out the actuators for the manual linkage from the fortwo?

[@BSport320]

I didn’t plan on changing this gearbox to a manual, I was more thinking about changing the whole drivetrain after it’s done😅

[@pedrob.2691]

​@@BSport320 hayabusa swap incoming?? I haven't heard of this car before and I absolutely loved the powertrain arrangement and how low the weight is

[@ricardojorgepacheco1717]

Designing a stand Alone ECU and mixing 2 gearbox in One to make it manual .Next year maybe on road

[@mattiasmehta4665]

@@ricardojorgepacheco1717 would love to see the result when you’re done!

[@ricardojorgepacheco1717]

Smart gearbox bellhousing mated witho forfour gearbox. Combo clutch. Speedwino ECU. Just need do figure Sam/ elétrico part

[@Moli571]

how's the steering feel with that rack?

[@andygtv]

So nice ❤

[@PebelWasTaken]

the fake cop paintjob on the tiny car is very funny.

[@288gto7]

Huh nice i didnt knew de dion was still used

[@allsearpw3829]

The roadster is smiles per mile and a Hoot to drive , like a woman ok when running right . Loving mine , 🤔 The Brabus of course .

[@bucketslash11]

can you use software to increase the shiftspeed of the smart gearbox or do you need to change to a new gearbox?

[@BSport320]

I think a swap would be the best option. Although the engine is not that bad.

[@simonn485]

Wie hast du denn die Hecklichter durch den TÜV gekriegt? Ich dachte man darf nicht mal durchsichtige Steinschlagshutzfolie an Scheinwerfer dranmachen. Hast du wirklich gar keine Isolierung auf dem Boden, ist das noch halbwegs alltagstauglich?

[@BSport320]

Für mich ist der dünne Teppich alltagstauglich😁 Die Rückleuchten bekommt man mit Gutachten und kann die eintragen lassen.

[@G4meBust3rLP]

Hab auch nen Roadster, aber nicht als Coupe. So oft ich auch immer mal wieder Geld hinlegen muss für Reparaturen und Zeit in die Suche nach seltenen Ersatzteilen stecken muss, ich will dieses Auto nicht mehr hergeben. Ich weiß das ich das bereuen würde und nie wieder so einen Spaß beim Autofahren hätte :D Ich rede mir auch selbst ein, dass ich mit dem Auto vergleichsweise Geld spare da Steuer, Versicherung und Verbrauch ja die Kosten senken gegenüber anderen Autos die vielleicht weniger Spaß machen. Eine Frage hätte ich aber dennoch zum Auto. Ich muss den Smart ab und an auch mal im Winter fahren und ich habe immer wieder das Problem, dass die Türen teilweise gar nicht öffnen. Von innen und außen. Das passiert nur bei Gefrier-Temperaturen. Habe schon versucht z.B. mit Silikonspray die Gummiedichtungen and der Tür und das Schloss zu sprayen, aber leider hat das nicht so geholfen. Gibt es hier vielleicht noch einen Tipp was ich tun kann?

[@dianestallworthy7711]

Interesting except for the 'opinion' on its life expectancy as there are many models who have done over 150K for sale commanding high prices! In Malta and other Med countries, they seem to perform/last better and longer. Again though, doesn't it largely depend on if you are driving it like a frustrated racing driver? For that kind of hammering, a Suzuki Cappuccino would be better with 4,000 more revs (12,500). I bought a Roadster Coupe yesterday with only 24, 000 miles on its 2003 clock! It is like new and cosmetically barely worn. As for the often problematic roof, I am taking mine out and replacing it with a hardtop insert which can not only be customised BUT also stored in the back as this area becomes hot with the engine beneath. For the most part, here in sunny Malta, I will be driving it OPEN! The hardtop idea is a good one as it also frees up more space and doesn't drain the battery with constant opening and closing, it stops the leaks (as many report as a problem) and provides more security if parked on the streets...BTW, I absolutely LOVED your unique car: pure class!

[@BSport320]

The life time I was talking about was the development target for components, which can be very different from car brand to car brand. Smart themselves said something around 100.000km. This doesn't mean the car will fall apart at that milage, that obviously depends on how the car was treated and serviced.

[@FranciscoBorgesDesigner]

What’s on the left side of your battery? A horn? An alarm?

[@jims6614]

Test drive this car, when it was still sold. Amazing car but the gearbox let it down. There were plans to remake the roadster under project Kimber, as an MG, but that fell through. Shame.

[@gt2limited]

Nothing independent about a de-dion axle, rear arms are just lateral support it could be a watts linkage or panhard bar still it behaves as a solid axle and the only positive is the diff is sprung weight

[@JuiceMan2255]

imagine motorcycle engine swapping this car

[@rjung_ch]

Do you think a Roadster with 200'000 km is a good deal to look into? Guess an engine rebuild isn't cheap either if you could even get one.

[@simonn485]

it all depends on how it was driven. I have on Smart Roadster Coupe (SRC) with 250.000km, its only engine related issue was a snapped exhaust bolt. Since some idiot crashed into that one I got a second SRC, which had its engine rebuilt after 150.000km and now has done another 90.000km without issues. I even talked to some people who have driven 400.000km and are still on the first engine, but that is the absolute exception. Most SRs left aren't one owner vehicles, so they likely haven't always been driven carefully, but if they are driven frequently they are usually quite resilient, it is only when they stand for a long time that things (weird things) start to brake. They won't get any cheaper (low point was pre covid) so even if you don't like it you probably won't lose much/ if any money. Engine rebuilds are relatively cheap (~1.500€ for a rebuild and ~2.400€ for a rebuilt engine) and there are multiple companies offering them (at least in Germany). I highly encourage you to get one

[@rjung_ch]

@@simonn485 wow, thanks for your details, great info. I saw one that I might have a look at. After these encouraging words, I also know what to look for. If I get one, I will write back! Cheers 👍

[@simonn485]

So did you get one?@@rjung_ch

[@dkultra77]

thank you! I enjoyed all 29 minutes of the presentation. Placing the Roadster next to the Corvette is just hilarius!! The main problem I experience with the Roadster is the scarceness of parts. How/Where do you find parts for your Roadster? By the way, I was close to selling my Roadster a lot of times because it is just a money and a time pit. I don't need it anymore as an everyday car, and I am not rich so....but every time I drive the damn thing it makes it very difficult for me to get rid of it!! I wish I'd never bought it in the first place!!

[@bobtastic2774]

Ineios grenadier is not a Landover. Completely different company, completely different vehicle from the ground up.

[@rjung_ch]

Too expensive at the time, that's a shame.