Who's running a 4.44 diff?

[JonnyOg]

Hey who has experience with this? Sounds like it could make the car a little more fun. Who needs gas mileage anyways?

[Fsnow]

I replaced my 4.10 in my 318is with a 4.45 from an auto 318ti. I prefer the 4.45 ratio for acceleration and driving around town. Revs a bit higher on highway and maybe burns a tiny bit more fuel but the m42 is efficient enough anyway. Buy a diesel or a hybrid if youre that worried about efficiency.
Except both of my diffs are open so they kind of suck.
Do it!

[TobyB]

And your top speed drops below 100 mph...

I ran a 4.44 on the street once, to break it in.

I'd never do it again.

Bekuz not racekar.

t

[BUDNUNTA]

Had one with my m10 and loved it so much better

[roguetoaster]

I have had mine installed for about 6 months. In that time I've put about 5k miles on the car. During that time I averaged 24.2 MPG, and achieved a downhill top speed of 128 MPH, flat road was closer to 115 MPH. Revs are up to about 4-5k in highway driving (65 MPH limit roads).

Is it worth it? If you DD the car then hell no, it sucks fuel, and is very hard on the engine and I have noticed increased oil consumption. If you don't DD it you'll love it as it takes the already manic nature of the M42 and just cranks it up. Also, autocross is the perfect venue for a 4.45 rear end car. Of course there are always those Mazda guys with 5+ to 1 diff ratio...

[Fsnow]

It is a compromise but for me it made it more fun to drive.
Not my dd.
Not cuz racekar.
Haven't noticed any extra oil consumption yet after 10 000km.
I rarely go for top speed cuz without my license I wouldn't be driving anything.
Best $25 I've spent yet

[CorvallisBMW]

KenC used to run one on his 318iS, he liked it. Great for around-town and short highway trips, but terrible for long freeway jaunts.

[gearheadE30]

Didn't he also have a 6 speed in his 318is though? I've been out of the loop for so long I can't remember who that was for sure.

[CorvallisBMW]

No, stock g240 5-spd

[djmossm42]

Would this be less dramatic of a change for a vert since they are 4.27 to begin with and pack a few more pounds?

[stanz]

In my old 318is I went from an open 4.10 to open 4.27 and didn't notice a huge difference in acceleration. It did bump up the revs on the highway which was a bummer, but to be expected. In my current car I have a medium case 3.73 lsd and absolutely love it for highway driving and better cornering. It also doesn't feel any slower than my last one. I actually prefer the longer gears for winding it out. As others have said, the 4.44 is probably best for autocross or just around town thrashing.

[e30sequel]

This is what I've done

445 LSD
ZF 320
Single mass flywheel
Tuned the intake cam
Chip
Intake/exhaust

Around town is wonderful
On highway is wonderful

Not bad with passengers

[e30sequel]

Oh and a lil trick
Using the heavier than g240 ZF bring'eth more weight to the centre of e30
The farthest from front heavy m20/50 handling you can get......

[JonnyOg]

Okay so I'm running a 4.45 open while i fix the seals on my 4.10 lsd and I barely notice the difference. Really less drastic than I thought it would be.

[roguetoaster]

Hmm, I'm very skeptical as its a very noticeable difference in where gears run out of RPM and what RPM you cruise at on the highway.