S38 325iX - The real scoop

[stonea]

Can you just cut the bell housing and rotate it then weld it back together? If not I guess I'll start looking for 525ix parts overseas, or just settle for the 10 degree angle. Does the 10 degree angle cause any harm? Thanks again for all your help.

[nando]

That wont change the fact that the M20 ix oil pan wont work

[flyboyx]

Can you just cut the bell housing and rotate it then weld it back together? If not I guess I'll start looking for 525ix parts overseas, or just settle for the 10 degree angle. Does the 10 degree angle cause any harm? Thanks again for all your help.

yes you can cut and weld the bell. that will only take care of the transmission. i don't think you have a handle on the mechanics of the ix driveline yet. just keep in mind that everything has to stay in alignment. if you tilt the engine you need an oil pan that keeps the diff aligned as well. then you need all the supporting parts to make the drive line work since they will not interchange.

so, your choices are frankenpan, or as chris says e34 parts. i don't think anyone has looked at e53 parts yet to know if they will be viable or not. the axles probably won't work. in my searches, i picked up a set of e46 axles which are probably very similiar to x5. there is no way they are anywhere close to compatible with e30 awd front hubs.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Can you just cut the bell housing and rotate it then weld it back together? If not I guess I'll start looking for 525ix parts overseas, or just settle for the 10 degree angle. Does the 10 degree angle cause any harm? Thanks again for all your help.

This is for a 4HP22 and was done via EDM (NOT a common machining technology), but yes, you can cut a bellhousing apart and weld it back together.

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=117333

My exptectation would be that a 24V swap can be done with a E53 oil pan and front diff BUT it will require a U-jointed driveshaft as the E53 diff is further from the crank centerline than the E30/E34 diffs. I don't know how that will affect floor pan clearance.

The E53 diff is stronger than the E34 diff, however.

The Getrag 265 does have a removable bellhousing. It was originally built with housings for the M20 and M30/S38/S14. Since the 265 was never used with a T-case and requires an adapter ANYWAY, a 24V swap could use the M20 bell, tilt the transmission and then clock the E30 T-case back to where it should be via the adapter. The 265 is stronger (and heavier) than the 260, but has the same ratios.

Like this?

What the hell is that?
I found this page: http://www.kohlerracing.se/page.php?...-_transmission

Does that mount a 50 series engine to a 265 with the transmission still upright ?
Do they cast that themselves? Why does it look welded around the starter mount?

[Nisse Järnet]

Yes they mount M20, M50 etc with 265. Not sure on the angle but i can ask :)

[nando]

Not sure why youd want to buy that expensive peice, and make an adapter for the tcase, to run a Getrag 265 when a 260 can be 100% bolt on with all stock parts.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Not sure why youd want to buy that expensive peice, and make an adapter for the tcase, to run a Getrag 265 when a 260 can be 100% bolt on with all stock parts.

It can, but getting those correct stock parts could be a challenge in the US, as you're well aware ;)

[nando]

not any harder than any of the other parts you need - and actually, it was one of the cheaper things I've purchased.. :(

[The Dark Side of Will]

The 265 is stronger as well... my understanding is that it's at least as strong as the 420G. It was also my understanding that most/all of the cars with 500+ HP were using 420G's.

I'm not aware of how well or not the 260 does with high power in cars that can actually hook up.
No offense, Nisse, but if you need gear-by-gear boost control to a significant degree, you're not really hooking up ;-) Which, I assume, is why you're looking for AWD swap info...

[nando]

it is, but, meh. it's not like the 260 can't handle the torque. there are plenty of several hundred + HP builds running Getrag 260s.

besides, the name of the trans tells you the torque holding capacity in NM.. so they're almost the same. An S54 doesn't even get close to maxing out the transmission, for example.

[Nisse Järnet]

The 265 is stronger as well... my understanding is that it's at least as strong as the 420G. It was also my understanding that most/all of the cars with 500+ HP were using 420G's.

I'm not aware of how well or not the 260 does with high power in cars that can actually hook up.
No offense, Nisse, but if you need gear-by-gear boost control to a significant degree, you're not really hooking up ;-) Which, I assume, is why you're looking for AWD swap info...

Yes youre right i cant really hook and i dont want to run drag tires all the time, so i figured its time for AWD :) Would be happy if i could keep my 6 speed trans tho :P ZF 5 speed + 3.38 is baaaad top speed :(

[The Dark Side of Will]

it is, but, meh. it's not like the 260 can't handle the torque. there are plenty of several hundred + HP builds running Getrag 260s.

besides, the name of the trans tells you the torque holding capacity in NM.. so they're almost the same. An S54 doesn't even get close to maxing out the transmission, for example.

420 has some relationship to torque, but 260 and 265 are just design numbers, like the 282 and 284 used in GM FWD cars. Also, 420 is the BMW designation while 260/265/282/284 are Getrag's internal designations.

[nando]

I still don't think it's worth the headache when the G260 can be 100% bolt on using inexpensive stock parts. but, different strokes for different folks. :p

[ForcedFirebird]

guy from europe that wanted the 900hp ix. i wonder if he just made a new profile?

This guy is getting close with 612hp...

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78337&highlight=mw255

[The Dark Side of Will]

Yes youre right i cant really hook and i dont want to run drag tires all the time, so i figured its time for AWD :) Would be happy if i could keep my 6 speed trans tho :P ZF 5 speed + 3.38 is baaaad top speed :(

You can bolt together a 260 based drivetrain... ;)