Man wish i had a 6 speed>>>>>

[deltaneo1]

My 1993 318i is a german spec car and it sucks to get on the autobaun and hit 170k at 5000 RPM's  wish i had a 6 speed is there any trans that can be replaced into this car without major changing thats a 6 speed??? Or a way to change the final gear ratio???

[txleadfoot]

I wonder if there is enough HP in the M42 to overcome wind resistance?

[deltaneo1]

I wonder if there is enough HP in the M42 to overcome wind resistance?

lol i dont think so...

[tjts1]

Swap in a taller differential like a 3.73, 3.64 or 3.45. I put a 3.64 diff in my car and I love it. Much much nicer to drive on the freeway and you can't tell the difference in acceleration. Actually acceleration is better than before because I don't have to shift as as much when accelerating from a complete stop. Second gear runs out at just over 60mph as opposed to 54mph with the stock 4.1 diff. I think BMW put the 4.1 diff in these cars in order to make them slower and not compete with the more expensive M20 cars of that era.
http://www.m42club.com/forums/showpost.php?p=26477&postcount=28
Good luck

[deltaneo1]

Swap in a taller differential like a 3.73, 3.64 or 3.45. I put a 3.64 diff in my car and I love it. Much much nicer to drive on the freeway and you can't tell the difference in acceleration. Actually acceleration is better than before because I don't have to shift as as much when accelerating from a complete stop. Second gear runs out at just over 60mph as opposed to 54mph with the stock 4.1 diff. I think BMW put the 4.1 diff in these cars in order to make them slower and not compete with the more expensive M20 cars of that era. http://www.m42club.com/forums/showpost.php?p=26477&postcount=28
Good luck

 Well ill try to look up some differentials ... do you know where i can find them or what bmw's cars that have 3.45 diff... (I want to go fast)  lol.. i dont care about acceleration i just want to be able to hall ass without the RPM's so high... and do you know how easy the swap of diff's are??? is it just a pull and replace??? or is there fab's that need to be done??

thanks

[JP 91iS]

here's some info in diffs:
http://www.e30eta.com/ecdiff.htm

[tjts1]

Diff ratios might be different in cars sold in Europe as opposed to the US. 3.45 small case diff (all 4 cyl E30s had a small case diff, 6 cyls had medium case, all are interchangeable) can be found on the E36 318ti. 3.64 small case was used on the M10 powered 318i in 84 and 85. Later cars had 3.91. 3.73 can only be found in some 325i cars. Diff ratios run all the way up to 2.79 on 325e cars. I'm not sure that would work very well on our 1.8 liter cars but your fuel economy on the highway would be fantastic. The differential is held in place with 4 bolts to the subframe, 1 to the body of the car. The axles attach to the diff with 6 hex bolts each. The drive shaft is attached with 4 nuts and bolts. Its a 1 to 2 hour job. It doesn't require any special tools or fabrication. The only difficult part is lifting and positioning the new diff in place. Have a friend help you.
http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1863

[GrindCulture]

I went from having the 4.10 diff in my iS to now having a 4.27 in my touring. The acceleration is nice, helps overcome the extra weight too, but I keep wanting to change up into a non existent 6th gear...

[318kid]

Swap in a taller differential like a 3.73, 3.64 or 3.45. I put a 3.64 diff in my car and I love it. Much much nicer to drive on the freeway and you can't tell the difference in acceleration.

Have you noticed a difference in fuel economy? If so how much difference?

[kowalski]

Swap in a taller differential like a 3.73, 3.64 or 3.45. I put a 3.64 diff in my car and I love it. Much much nicer to drive on the freeway and you can't tell the difference in acceleration. Actually acceleration is better than before because I don't have to shift as as much when accelerating from a complete stop. Second gear runs out at just over 60mph as opposed to 54mph with the stock 4.1 diff. I think BMW put the 4.1 diff in these cars in order to make them slower and not compete with the more expensive M20 cars of that era.
http://www.m42club.com/forums/showpost.php?p=26477&postcount=28
Good luck

Are you kidding me? a 4.1 diff would make the car faster off the line.

[nuvolarossa]

@deltaneo1, you don't have speed limits in autobahn, right?

[tjts1]

My 1993 318i is a german spec car and it sucks to get on the autobaun and hit 170k at 5000 RPM's  wish i had a 6 speed is there any trans that can be replaced into this car without major changing thats a 6 speed??? Or a way to change the final gear ratio???

EDIT: I ****ed up. I missed the part about this being an M40 powered E36. Just find a diff from a 6 cyl E36. You can't use an E30 diff on that car. My mistake. The gear ratios and mounting points are completely different.

Have you noticed a difference in fuel economy? If so how much difference?

Its hard to tell because I changed a lot of other things like electric cooling fan, PS delete, injectors, CAI, sticky Azenis tires. This summer in local driving (2-10 mile trips, fill up every 2-3 weeks, lots of AC) I averaged 28-31mpg on 87 octane. The low fuel light comes on at around 340 miles on the trip odometer. On the only long distance trip to SoCal this summer the car averaged 35mpg. Unfortunately 1980s aerodynamics don't cut it anymore. Our Volvo is much better suited to that kind of driving. I think the differential swap is more effective at reducing cabin noise than improving fuel economy. For me the reduction in noise on the highway was priceless.

Are you kidding me? a 4.1 diff would make the car faster off the line.

Try getting to 60 without shifting to 3rd gear.

[deltaneo1]

@deltaneo1, you don't have speed limits in autobahn, right?

There are speed limits on the autobahn is some parts... but others there are none..befor i got stationed here i thought the autobahn was just one road... but its their highways.. Just some food for thought (or maybe you guys know that)?? . im at about 5000RPM's at 165-170k dont know what that is in MPH... but it sucks when cars are zipping by you at what seams twice your speed and your almost at redline in 5th gear. lol.... i dont race the car so im not worried about fast off the start or anything... Just like i said (just want to go fast)

 and to clear it up just incase you read it wrong or i worded wrong its a 1993 318i ..... what i put was 1993 318i is a german spec ... sorry if that messed anyone up thinking that its a 318is .. and is there a big diff between the 318i and the 318is???

[GrindCulture]

Try getting to 60 without shifting to 3rd gear.

Remap the ECU to rev to 7200rpm and it's easy, lighten the flywheel and learn to change gear faster and you're away! M42's don't have a lot of torque so the lower final drive of the diff is a godsend.

[Jak318]

Are you kidding me? a 4.1 diff would make the car faster off the line.

Yes but i think he meant by having that steep of a gear forces you to shift right before you hit 60mph hence the crap 0-60 times of the M42 cars. At least thats the opinion on the internet...