Hands Down Best E30 Automatic Transmission?

[kenika65]

Their must be a perfect automatic to bolt up to the m42 and the m20 to make them smother and more economical.

I am bolting a new T6060 Kit to my 95 5.0L because it is the best and most advanced transmission in its field.

That is why I am asking because I think if their was a automatic to bolt up to the m42 it would cruise a lot better and be just as fun!

[Hodge]

For the M20...

Getrag 260 5-speed manual

For the E30 M42...

Getrag 240 5-speed manual


Automatic 318's are just dogs.

And to be honest, 80's and early 90's BMW automatic transmissions are somewhat junk. My dad's E24 is an auto, and it has never not shifted rough (works perfectly fine, but its the nature of the ZF), and now at just under 200,000 our E34 (beater) automatic has been slowly dying for the last 20,000 miles. Not bad for a junky tranny, but it just takes all the fun out of both of the cars.

[kenika65]

How about a new automatic that can be made to bolt to the m42 or m20. There has to be a good bmw automatic transmission that can be made to work.

[renfield90]

With enough money, anything is possible. I doubt many have tried, seeing as most people prefer a stick.

One major hurdle to getting the car to accept a newer transmission is going to be the ECU...most modern autos are ECT and initiate shifts based on commands from the ECU. You could try swapping in an entire new driveline (engine + tranny) but for the price of that, you could just buy that exact same car.

[3seriesNut]

ive yet to see a auto that was decent on gas

[xwill112x]

5spd>autotragic


but maybe check into like honda, toyota, or suzuki automatic cars, they all get pretty respectable mpg numbers with auto. my sis's corolla S will haul ass, giving me a run for my money, and still retain 30mpg.

[renfield90]

ive yet to see a auto that was decent on gas

I have netted 45mpg on my automatic Celica. Long distance roadtrip, drafted someone the entire time. (Also helps keep the windshield mostly free of bugs!)

For older cars, yes, the automatics sucked. They geared them incredibly tall but that still did not help, there was just too much parasitic loss. Automatics have improved greatly over the years, especially with the advent of ECT. On newer cars it's actually easier to get great mileage on an automatic as you just lightly step on the gas and the ECU will figure everything out for you.

Last tank got me around 31mpg, and that's with no shortage of flatfooting. 35 is easily attainable. Wish I had a 5th gear though. In newer cars this is not a problem...they can have five, six, or seven gears. The IS-F has eight gears!

The automatic Jetta 1.8T was only 0.5 seconds slower at the quarter mile than it's manual brother. Both transmissions had five gears (slightly different ratios).