s52 obd1 zf + 4.10 lsd anyone?

[WannaBe30]

this is what my car will be rollin with very soon..

89 325i auto came w/the the 4.10 rear and I've swapped to the s52 and zf 5speed...

i'm dreading that the 4.10 will be pretty much useless no top end and basically no 1st gear worth anything,

so if any one is running this setup please tell me what you think about it, or maybe suggestions so I can start sourcing a replacement diff

[frankie591]

yeah a 4.10 will be pretty much useless. 3.25 lsd's are pretty easy to find and that is the stock rear gear ratio from an e36. A 3.73 or 3.46 might be decent for a m50nv swap or something like that, but your s52 will have enough grunt to pull with a 3.25 and you will be thankful for it on long highway trips.

[WannaBe30]

do you have a 4.10 Frankie?

[Wanganstyle]

Ive raced enduro events at both buttonwillow and sonoma raceway on zf5+4,10 rear ends. Its good for hilly sonoma, not bad for buttonwillow although a 3,91 is better.

For street use my 98 e36m3 runs a 3,46 final drive. Any shorter is annoying.

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[WannaBe30]

3.46?? ok I was thinking of 3.73 but will look into others..

i'm thinking the 4.10 would be awesome for drifting which is what I want the car to do except I will be driving this half the time during the week when I don't want to drive my gas guzzler truck

[nando]

4.10 is going to be ridiculously short with the ZF

FWIW, a 3.38 with a ZF is comparable to a 4.10 with a getrag. even 3.73 will be insanely short.

[WannaBe30]

great lol

thanks nando... i'll be looking for 3.23 or 3.38

[rzerob]

I have this setup. 1st is useless and 5th gear 60mph at 3500rpms. I am going for a 3.64 before spring and a few other upgrades. It is fun to drive around but gets old quick.

[Northern]

with a 3.73 and a G250 (still a 1:1 5th like the ZF320) you top out at ~190...KPH.

So, like 118mph is redline in 5th.

[nrubenstein]

Yeah, with a 4.10 and a 7K limiter, your maximum speed is around 120. It's a hoot for a little while, but it gets annoying very quickly. And it's absolutely brutal with a loud exhaust.

[e30rapidic]

zf/3.46 is fun for city but sucks on the highway unless you have a 6 speed. I swapped a 2.93 in which is great for highway but took some fun out of it for city/fun driving. I'm building a 3.15 to try next.

[36brua]

89I S52 I just replaced G260/3:73 with a ZF 310 yesterday.
Replaced 3:73 w/ 3:25 but those few hrs w/ 3:73 were kind of fun. w/ 205/15 tires 3:25~ 3000 rpm @70ish 3:73= 4000

[Wanganstyle]

zf/3.46 is fun for city but sucks on the highway unless you have a 6 speed. I swapped a 2.93 in which is great for highway but took some fun out of it for city/fun driving. I'm building a 3.15 to try next.

Run bigger tires.

3.46 and zf and s52 with 235/40/17 is just fine for daily use. 315 323 338 are all pretty similar also.


6 speed is not that interesting; been there done that.
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[WannaBe30]

Looks like I'm going with 3.15 for now

4.10 was a blast but no way for very day.

Did you ever do your 3.15?

[M-technik-3]

We ran the last two years a 4.45 LSD E36 318is and a M/S52 combo with ZF320. 1 & 2 are useless, use second to start and 3-5 for the track. Lifts wheel coming out of the corners on stock suspension.

Fun but we are going to a 95 M3 lsd plus a 3.38 lsd.