Differential URLs

[1996 328ti]

:!: Swapping a 6-cylinder E30 rear differential to your 318ti (http://www.318ti.org/notebook/diff_conversion/index.html)

[kiley_sean]

That's a link I have searched for for a long time. Thanks. It definitely answered alot of my axle &axle flange questions.

[maurolin]

that's some nice info.... but I still have questions.... he swapped a 3.73 onto a 4 cyl engine. (I can tell byt he muffler)
I have a 6 cyl engine.... what ratio should i go with??? I personally consider that the 3.45 (stock Ti) I am using is TOO MUCH of a short ratio... I mean... I shift every 2 seconds.... and my top speed is like 120mph @6K rpms. anyone have an M3 swap? what are you using???
if I use a 3.73 is it going to get worse??? should I find a 3.25 or 2.93?

[1996 328ti]

I run a 3.46. It revs a bit high on the highway.
I guess I'm just used to it. When I first got the car I used to start of in 2nd.

[maurolin]

imposible gear ratio to find... 3.46 revs high... wow... imagine a 3.73!!! so i guess I will sacriffice some acceleration and go witht he 2.93???? or will it be TOO sloww off the line?

[1996 328ti]

It's a Quaife. It can be made in any ratio you want.

[maurolin]

well... after a day at the recyclers... and looking over 30 LSD 2,93 ratio, 20 lsd 3,73 ratio and about 3 lsd 4,10 ratio, I finally made up my mind.
By luck (I guess) I found a 1991 535i LSD 3,25 ratio. the back plate was different, but the rest of the diff was the same as those of an E30. I switched the plate, and ordered an M coupe plate as well, ($90 + $4 for gasket). brought it home, cleaned it up, painted it after 2 hours of sanding it, and it is now ready to be put on.
I took the cups off an E30 lsd, the axels and sensor.
I was unhappy with the high revs and low speed on the higway with the stock 3,45 open diff, so I figure I would HATE the 3,73 for my 3.2L M3 engine.
I had my mind set on a 2,93LSD, as I have plans of supercharging the car some time soon.
but I figure... my M3 has a 3,23 LSD, so I think the new 3,25 will be pretty close to a stock M3 ratio... and That I can live with.
for the new 3,25 diff AND AXELS in magnificent shape I paid $375. I think it is a pretty good deal.
what really amazed me, was the amount of 2,93LSD ALL OVER! so I will actually buy one to compare them when I have the carger... prob. $100 for the Diff.. 2,93

[mischief]

maurolin the diff you swop out is it lsd

[3DGE]

I am looking at a 96 ti with a Four-speed automatic with clutch-less manual shifting, would this tut still apply for this car?

[halobeamin]

that actually looks like a fun project.. dunno if i need to do it though

[angel318ti]

man I just love people that get Knee-Deep into projects. I get to learn from their mistakes. Great info though. this will come handy when I swap my homosexual transmission for a manual

[thesk8nmidget]

ok so reading all that and wondering has anyone been succesful with just running the e30 shafts and not having to hybrid them??

he says if you can make them fit do it, but i am just wondering if anyone has done it and it worked fine??

my e30 axles are in super good shape and seem even nicer than the ones on my ti so i wanna know if its fine to keep the non hybrid

thanks

[cali-ti]

you do NOT want to hybrid them so ... YES, absolutely the e30 shafts work just fine.

[thesk8nmidget]

sweeeet!

so now i just looked and my diff is actually a 2.73 not 2.93 or 3.73

is that just gonna make me incredibly slow off the line where it isnt worth it or will i be fine??

i do do a lot of highway driving but i didnt know if that was just toooooo long of gearing?

[cali-ti]

really don't think you'd want to use a 2.73 (if that's indeed what it is).

[thesk8nmidget]

ya it says it is on the case of it.
s2.73

hmmmm

maybe this could be my motivation to throw a 6 cyl in it.

or would you say sell it and buy a different ratio?

[cali-ti]

well ... even mz3 or m-coupe (as an eg) only went down to a 3.15/3.23. what the heck was that 2.73 used in?

[thesk8nmidget]

i was reading this again and this part

Note: "A shim or spacer may be needed on the rear ABS wheel speed sensors when installing E30 6-cyl axles. The ABS pulse ring is slightly larger on the E30 axles, where it may be large enough to hit (and destroy) the ABS sensor. Check the clearance of the ABS sensor & shim as necessary before completely bolting the outer axle to the hub."

do you in fact need a shim??

and it came out of a 84 325e

not sure if it was the stock diff or not

[cali-ti]

check my gallery for pics on the shims i made. it'll depend. easy to check to see if the abs sensors will hit or not.

[L84THSKY]

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/3142/6cylinderdifferentialch1.jpg
http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/3193/4cylinderdifferentiallx4.jpg

[thesk8nmidget]

so after some cleaning and scrubbing its in fact a 2.79

but overall i am really happy with the swap. it has GREAT cruising speed now and it spins cookies VERY easily on dry pavement.

only downside i would say 2nd doesn't grab as hard but i think that will just help me stay out of trouble.

[thesk8nmidget]

also with fitting updates on the link at the beginning of this post.

without m3 diff cover you can run the spare tire.

i still recommend taking it off and the putting it back on once you are all done.

i found the hardest part was putting the new 3rd member in.

take your time and dont get too frustrated!

[cali-ti]

so it actually still has decent acceleration? i would have thought it would be quite a bit slower (which is one reason people go to a 3.73). your cruising RPMs must be a good bit lower than before, which would be nice. almost makes me want to swap in the m-coupe 3.23 i have in the garage ... almost. thanks for the report sk8!

[thesk8nmidget]

ya the acceleration really isnt much less. 1st gear is a lot longer and seems to help compensate for having the short gears.

to be honest i was a little worried about the big difference and in the end was very happy.

i like city cruising too less shifting and now i will be looking forward to longer drives on the highway.

no problem on the report, thanks for the help.

[thesk8nmidget]

where is the best place to buy the finned m coupe diff cover at?

low price would be best

thanks in advanced

[ClubSport]

I got mine from bimmerbum on ebay for the cheapest I could find.

edit: that was a long time ago, don't know if he's still got them. At that time I thought that with the supercharger I should go down in ratio, so I went to 3.23. That wasn't much fun, so I've currently got the car apart putting in a 3.73

[thesk8nmidget]

yeah i couldnt find a bimmerbum on ebay.

any other sources?

[cali-ti]

it's bimmerbumco. hopefully this link takes you there: http://myworld.ebay.com/bimmerbumco&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSX:SELLERID

[thesk8nmidget]

muchos gracis sir!

[blower-ti]

cheers lad that info should do the trick....

[angel318ti]

I'm still a little hazy on the E30 half shafts. Do they work or not on the Ti with a 3.73 E30 LSD? I pickep up a getrag transmission and swap kit locally and I still need the drive shaft, diff and half shafts. I need some advice on what gears I should get and what drive shaft will work for the Diff/tranny combo. I know of the thread on BFC but that thread is too busy discussing what the best way is to get your cruise control to work.

[FATHER]

I use 2.93 i love it

[angel318ti]

I use 2.93 i love it

what did this one come out of? what half shafts are you using?

[thesk8nmidget]

E30 shafts work perfect. Not.a problem at all.

and for driveshaft you should use a manual ti one. Not sure if other e36 shafts are the same or not but I ran stock driveshaft and an e30 diff and half shafts on my last ti.

[angel318ti]

ok that clears up what 3 or 4 multiple page threads I have read in the last 2 days didnt. also, one more question. if I use a manual DME when I do my swap, will I get any transmission related codes? I read the thread on BFC about it and no clear answer.

[thesk8nmidget]

im not sure. i would pm phamster for the swap details he did it when he did his swap.

[FATHER]

The diff is from a e30 and the shaft s and all others parts from the 318TI i ONLY use the diff the TI,s parts work fine

[Moose]

^yeah but...E30 parts are beefier so it's a no brainer. No brains if you use stock ti shafts/hubs and intend to add power

[FATHER]

I run more than 200HP at wheels with 13psi of boost with 19" X9 wheels with out probles for 3 years ago.I think oemparts are more that good for power.

[angel318ti]

since power is not going to be a concern to me I can stay with the Ti parts but what about using the axle flanges? I may have to get those from a ti huh. so its either get the E30 shafts and diff (including flanges) or the stock shafts and ti flanges on a E30 diff. this crap is freaking confusing.

[Moose]

Nah..you got it right. How many miles on your ti axels? Of course you could run them. If your not a lead foot or dropping the clutch you should be perfectly alright. If they do break you could easily pick up the E30 set up for cheep to fix it.

Myself I'm about to throw my LSD in and I opted for the E30 axel/hub route 'cause I know more power is my future. You say power is not your concern....sure it isn't lol. Give it some time and maybe a few imports blowin' past you on the freeway and you'll be begging for those ponies hehe

Simple

[angel318ti]

my car has only 75,000 from the drive shaft back engine and tranny have more since they were both swapped

[FATHER]

ALL tI parts can used , the shafts and flanges, you only chane the diff, also you use your oem speed sensor, is easy man, believme, i have 3.45,3.23 and 2.93 and i chage it several times, is like and our (not the first time), remember, the TI shafts, the TI flanges, all work perfedct with e30's diff

[angel318ti]

Nah..you got it right. How many miles on your ti axels? Of course you could run them. If your not a lead foot or dropping the clutch you should be perfectly alright. If they do break you could easily pick up the E30 set up for cheep to fix it.

Myself I'm about to throw my LSD in and I opted for the E30 axel/hub route 'cause I know more power is my future. You say power is not your concern....sure it isn't lol. Give it some time and maybe a few imports blowin' past you on the freeway and you'll be begging for those ponies hehe

Simple


woah Ninja edit!!

[angel318ti]

. Give it some time and maybe a few imports blowin' past you on the freeway and you'll be begging for those ponies hehe

Simple

thats what almost got me killed in Germany a few years back. Thats why I got the Ti. no chance of ever hitting 155+ trying to keep up with RS4's

[angel318ti]

ALL tI parts can used , the shafts and flanges, you only chane the diff, also you use your oem speed sensor, is easy man, believme, i have 3.45,3.23 and 2.93 and i chage it several times, is like and our (not the first time), remember, the TI shafts, the TI flanges, all work perfedct with e30's diff some people say it does and some say it dont. hell, since I will have some ti flanges coming off mine might as well try it since I will have all the parts available good advice Padre.

[FATHER]

Well i said its safe because i have this setting for 3 years without any problem.Believme it work.If you like tomorrow i take icture to show you the oem parts with e30 2.93 diff

[angel318ti]

hell yeah please take some. Take a few of some of the local girls. Man I need to go home SOON!!!

[Moose]

go for it. Use the stock stuff and keep us posted. If FATHER has had no probles' than it must be ok

[angel318ti]

go for it. Use the stock stuff and keep us posted. If FATHER has had no probles' than it must be ok


I will have to wait another month and a half. I wont be home til then. but when I get around to it you guys will get tons of pics for the E30 Diff/Ti Flange/ Shaft setup. No need to get the E30 pics since everyone else is already doing that.

[NHskibm]

If it helps at all I have an 1992 (pre-vanos) M50 swap in my E30 with the 1992 E36 getrag going to a 1994 325i E36 driveshaft into a 2000 MZ3 3.23 LSD which then bolted straight up into my 1991 318i (euro E30) axles.

Based on what I am reading that people are doing you should be able to pick up most diffs to bolt up into these cars.

I haven't been under the car yet (tomorrow and thursday) and I'll make it a point to look at the diff - want to know what is on my car anyways - and I'll look at the out put flanges... See what I can see.