ZF trans?

[416stroker]

Ok scince Ive never ridden in a swaped car with a zf whats it like? does it pull harder threw the gears? I hate third gear on my 260 It seems way to long. Im thinking aboud swaping to a 240. My 4th grear has been giving me shit in my 260 lately. Theres a few late modle 318I's in the local yard. But im thinking about a zf

[etxxz]

i like the feel of the zf over the g260. all should depend on your intended gear ratio though

[flyboyx]

i had the choice between a g260 and a close ratio zf from an mz3. i chose the getrag for my swap based on a couple of factors.

first, unlike luis, i have no plans to race my car. it is a vert and i have no intentions of adding a roll cage or anything like that. this leaves street driving for the purpose of my build. i wanted the .81 overdrive to keep the noise level down on the higway.

in order to swap a zf into an e30, you have to replace the hydraulic clutch slave i am told. one of my friends owns an e36 m3. i have driven it a few times. compared to the e30, i HATE the way the clutch feels. i am exaggerating, but in comparison, it feels like stepping on a wet noodle. i'm sure bmw designed it that way so a girl could drive it without getting sand in her vaj.

also, not an insurmountable issue, but you will need a 328i manual driveshaft or a 96 up m3 manual driveshaft to make it work. just adds to the expense.

your least expensive option would be to find a good g260 to replace the one you have.

either way you choose, both are very capable, heavy transmissions that will take lots of punishment if you change the fluid once in a while.

will you be happy with the zf? depends on the driving you do. if you track it, by all means go find yourself a nice close ratio zf. if you only drive on the street/highway, my advice to you would be to stick with what you have.

[416stroker]

i had the choice between a g260 and a close ratio zf from an mz3. i chose the getrag for my swap based on a couple of factors.

first, unlike luis, i have no plans to race my car. it is a vert and i have no intentions of adding a roll cage or anything like that. this leaves street driving for the purpose of my build. i wanted the .81 overdrive to keep the noise level down on the higway.

in order to swap a zf into an e30, you have to replace the hydraulic clutch slave i am told. one of my friends owns an e36 m3. i have driven it a few times. compared to the e30, i HATE the way the clutch feels. i am exaggerating, but in comparison, it feels like stepping on a wet noodle. i'm sure bmw designed it that way so a girl could drive it without getting sand in her vage.

also, not an insurmountable issue, but you will need a 328i manual driveshaft or a 96 up m3 manual driveshaft to make it work. just adds to the expense.

your least expensive option would be to find a good g260 to replace the one you have.

either way you choose, both are very capable, heavy transmissions that will take lots of punishment if you change the fluid once in a while.

will you be happy with the zf? depends on the driving you do. if you track it, by all means go find yourself a nice close ratio zf. if you only drive on the street/highway, my advice to you would be to stick with what you have.

The 260s not an option I hate how it pulls. 3rd gear it crap. I might just do a 24o. I have an early 87 so shouldnt I have the large guibo so I wouldnt need a drive shaft. My car was built in 12/86

[416stroker]

i like the feel of the zf over the g260. all should depend on your intended gear ratio though

I want it to be gearing to be low. I would do a zf and 3.46 or somthing like that. Or a 240 with 4.10s

[flyboyx]

I want it to be gearing to be low. I would do a zf and 3.46 or somthing like that. Or a 240 with 4.10s

well, it is my opinion that this is a terrible idea, but you can do that too. actually with all my parts cars, i also had a getrag 240. for me personally, i would never consider that as an option. it will fit in nice and easy. you won't be able to use the 240 drive shaft. it will be much too long. the shifter carrier and linkage won't work either. i think the g260 shaft would be the right one but you will want to do your own homework on that.

as far as the large guibo is concerned, i am pretty sure that is only associated with an 87 eta. i have an 87 vert with small guibo, and an 87 eta that had the large, not to mention a few other cars that seem to support this theory. even though you didn't state it in the text above, i assume that you mentioned this if you do happen to decide on the zf.

you see the problem with the 240 is that it is designed for a 4 cylinder engine. whether the gearing is right or not, that tranny is weak as hell. if you like to launch your car with the fervor it is capable of, you will be going through transmissions like a hungry monkey at a banana festival. why don't you spend your money on a chip, injectors, maf, and dyno tune for your engine? that would be a heck of a lot better way to make your car faster than going with a g240.

but hell, i gave you my advice. you can choose to do what you want with it. you said your local junk yard has a couple g240s? well, if you choose to go that route, you better buy them both. good luck!

[bostonbmw]

my ZF and 3.25 are great! I had a 4.10 when I had the M20 in the car and on the highway it was really annoying if you went past 60mph, it felt like the motor was revving way too much. The S52 at 65-70mph is around 3k and it feels great and it pulls pretty hard off the line too. My ZF with a E36 325 slave feels great no wet noodle.

[416stroker]

well, it is my opinion that this is a terrible idea, but you can do that too. actually with all my parts cars, i also had a getrag 240. for me personally, i would never consider that as an option. it will fit in nice and easy. you won't be able to use the 240 drive shaft. it will be much too long. the shifter carrier and linkage won't work either. i think the g260 shaft would be the right one but you will want to do your own homework on that.



as far as the large guibo is concerned, i am pretty sure that is only associated with an 87 eta. i have an 87 vert with small guibo, and an 87 eta that had the large, not to mention a few other cars that seem to support this theory. even though you didn't state it in the text above, i assume that you mentioned this if you do happen to decide on the zf.



you see the problem with the 240 is that it is designed for a 4 cylinder engine. whether the gearing is right or not, that tranny is weak as hell. if you like to launch your car with the fervor it is capable of, you will be going through transmissions like a hungry monkey at a banana festival. why don't you spend your money on a chip, injectors, maf, and dyno tune for your engine? that would be a heck of a lot better way to make your car faster than going with a g240.



but hell, i gave you my advice. you can choose to do what you want with it. you said your local junk yard has a couple g240s? well, if you choose to go that route, you better buy them both. good luck!

A 240 would hold up just fine to a m50.

and Did i ever say I want to make my car faster? I just want to clean up how it pulls. Power adders are soon to come as soon as I get my hands on a turbo I want and go MS .

[416stroker]

my ZF and 3.25 are great! I had a 4.10 when I had the M20 in the car and on the highway it was really annoying if you went past 60mph, it felt like the motor was revving way too much. The S52 at 65-70mph is around 3k and it feels great and it pulls pretty hard off the line too. My ZF with a E36 325 slave feels great no wet noodle.

With my 260 and 3.73 at 80 Im at 3200. I wouldnt mind going at 3200 at 65/70

[mentaleeill]

A 240 would hold up just fine to a m50.

and Did i ever say I want to make my car faster? I just want to clean up how it pulls. Power adders are soon to come as soon as I get my hands on a turbo I want and go MS .

jordan went through 3 240s in his n/a s52 car. a turbo m50 will kill that trans, just put the zf in and run a 2.93 for longer gears. i have the zf with a 3.25 which is also a good combo.

[mazur]

in order to swap a zf into an e30, you have to replace the hydraulic clutch slave i am told. one of my friends owns an e36 m3. i have driven it a few times. compared to the e30, i HATE the way the clutch feels. i am exaggerating, but in comparison, it feels like stepping on a wet noodle. i'm sure bmw designed it that way so a girl could drive it without getting sand in her vaj.

Clutch feel has a lot to do with how the slave is bled and the pressure plate used. My OEM ZF setup is very similar to the OEM Getrag 260 setup. Don't forget the return spring for the pedal will affect feel a lot as well.

On my old E36 M3 I replaced my spring with one from a different chasis and the pedal was so heavy my left leg actually grew muscle. It was also nice and linear.

also, not an insurmountable issue, but you will need a 328i manual driveshaft or a 96 up m3 manual driveshaft to make it work. just adds to the expense.

My friend uses the OEM driveshaft and center bearing with his S52/ZF swap.