any 6sp's that bolt to m42?

[briansol]

This 5 speed is killing my mileage on the highway significantly. I have a 55 mile commute each way, and i usually cruise in the upper 80's... (yea yeah)
which puts me at 4100 ish rpms the whole way.

i'm getting 24 mpg on the highway and 28 in the city. lol backwards.
In fact, i get better highway mileage out of my m3 than i do the 318. lol

i need a 6th gear.

is there anything out there that will bolt right up?

or, should i just look for a shorter rear end? i'd rather not do that because i think 1-4 are perfect... 5 is just not tall enough for my highway needs.

[briansol]

whoops, this should have been in tranny section... please move

[Marv17]

how about changing the diff to a lower ratio??

[spidertri]

I completely agree with you, this transmission needs a 6th as an overdrive gear. Sadly, this is not the case. The easiest way to help out the highway miles is to drive slower...I know you don't want to hear that...or get a 3.25 or 2.93 rear diff. Either will drop your RPMs nicely and give you better highway mileage.

I wish these trans were like the VWs and had plenty of options for lower 5th gears but it is just not the case. A lower rear end is you best bet.

[tiFreak]

there is the 6-speed transmission form the Euro-spec M3's, but you'd be better off spending a little extra money on gas then spending it on one of those

[1996 328ti]

Like others, consider swapping the diff for a different ratio.

I'm guessing you may also need a different driveshaft, or at least different flanges.

[roadrash]

Just out of curiosity, have you done the math to see how long it would take your fuel savings to recover the cost of a transmission/differential swap?

My guess is that it'll take a year or two for it to pay off.

[J!m]

The M3 six-speed bolts right in (from the E36 or the E46) however there are a lot of other things that need to change as well.

1) Drive shaft
2) Shifter linkage / mount
3) clutch disc
4) pilot bearing

Maybe more, but that's off the top of my head. It can be done, but is it worth the 15% reduction in RPM? maybe...

If the M3 is better on gas, drive that!

[briansol]

The whole reason i bought the ti.... is because snow tires/wheels for the m cost more than i paid for the ti.

seriously.

plus, there's the whole 'its never seen salt' thing, trying to keep miles off it (just tires are 1400 bucks and last 10k ) and then there's the winter morons out there driving in the winter... and random rocks, tire chain bits... winter kills cars.

I drive a solid 120-130 miles a day between going to work, getting lunch, running around after work, etc etc...
600-700 miles a week at 15% better mileage = a lot of money, especially when gas goes back to $5 this summer (oh yeah, it's going to happen...)

it might be worth it. i dunno. I was really hoping to get 35+ out of this car... but it's just not there.... i shoulda just bought the civic i was looking at.

[wolferj-RIP]

http://www.bimmerworld.com/html/e36-...ansmission.htm

"A bolt-on modification for all E36 cars, including M3, 318i, 323i, 325i, and 328i. The basic transmission package will also fit most 6 cylinder engines in other series as well (E30 3 series, 5,6,7, Z3, M Coupe, etc) - call or email for any questions on these applications."

1st Gear Ratio 4.23:1
2nd Gear Ratio 2.51:1
3rd Gear Ratio 1.67:1
4th Gear Ratio 1.23:1
5th Gear Ratio 1.00:1
6th Gear Ratio 0.83:1

At close to $3500, it would take a very long time to recoup any savings...

Diff swap is much less expensive option...

[J!m]

Originally Posted by wolferj

...

Diff swap is much less expensive option...

I have to agree with this, particularly if this is a highway commuter only car.

I want the 6th gear too! But for that price, you might be better off just gutting all the interior out of the ti and get that 15% for free by saving weight...

[briansol]

3 grand is out. thats as much as i paid for the car. not happening.


i think in the spring, i'll just throw some absurd +3 wheels on it to effectively lower my fdr

[CirrusSR22]

I don't think you should do either a transmission swap or a diff swap. My car is an automatic (4.44 stock diff) and I put in a manual diff (3.45) to try for better fuel economy. Engine RPM on the freeway dropped from 3,000 RPM @ 70 MPH to 2,400 RPM @ 70MPH. Fuel economy has not changed at all. I have 15,000 miles on the 3.45 diff and 63,000 miles on the 4.44 diff, so I would have seen the change.

Maybe it'll help at 80 mph, but I doubt it'll be more than 2 mpg.

On a steady freeway cruise at 65 mph, my car will routinely get 32 mpg at a minimum. But, I consider 35 mpg to be routine on a long, steady cruise in the 60-65 mph range during the summer months. Winter is a bit less. Slowing down is you only choice IMO

[1996 328ti]

Originally Posted by briansol

plus, there's the whole 'its never seen salt' thing, trying to keep miles off it (just tires are 1400 bucks and last 10k )
. . . .
it might be worth it. i dunno. I was really hoping to get 35+ out of this car... but it's just not there.... i shoulda just bought the civic i was looking at.

$1400? Even my Toyo T1S are only around $160 each and may last a bit longer than 10K.

I think at best you can get to low 30 mpg IF you watch your speed and easy on acceleration. If a Civic is anything like my old Mazda was, all you need to do is put in gas and go. Hell, my rotors and brakes lasted +180K miles. A very cheap care to own. Not to mention I never needed to replace suspension parts. Got rid of the car at +225K miles because it wouldn't pass emissions, no heat or A/C. My ti has +225K and handles like a champ. Of course it's had it's share of maintenance.

[briansol]

i use ps2's

from tire rack:

225/40ZR19
Blackwall
* Serv. Desc: 93Y Load Range XL
Price: $359.00 (each)

x2


255/35ZR19
Blackwall
OE Fitments for This Tire/Size

* Serv. Desc: 96Y Load Range XL

Price: $358.00 (each)

x2


= 1434

+ shipping + mount + balance