Open to lsd swap.

[Wh33lhop]

I know that feeling.. Both of my E30's cost roughly $300-$350 each for tax and insurance for the year. One cost $1k and the other was $2k. Not much for reliable 300k cars. I've also got an E36 M3 and when times have been tight in the past few years that's always the one I consider cutting.

Fawk

My insurance bill last year was like $1kish, then I got another two tickets (don't ask), not looking forward to renewing the contract come mid-March.

[rThor432]

I don't really like having three cars though. I'm a 22 year old male, insurance it way too high and I'm starting to feel like I'm in over my head, so I wanna ditch the Jetta.

I know that feeling.. Both of my E30's cost roughly $300-$350 each for tax and insurance for the year. One cost $1k and the other was $2k. Not much for reliable 300k cars. I've also got an E36 M3 and when times have been tight in the past few years that's always the one I consider cutting.

[Wh33lhop]

Haha, have fun with that! Seriously not a good choice for a streetable/daily diff in one of these cars.


..and then you run out of tach :D. Haha, 4.5k redline ftl.

Exactly. But, the only difference between running a 3.73 in an eta and in an i is that your powerband is much sooner in the eta. Running it at 3350rpm all day isn't going to hurt it really, it'll stress the cams a bit more than in an i as it's got 4 cam bearings as opposed to 7, but that's about it. It only seems to be stressing the car a bit more because of the position the tach is sitting at, and you won't get the great gas mileage that the eta is known for. You really shouldn't be taching the car out in 5th anyway, 90-100 is plenty fast in an E30. I've been a bit faster, but only for 5-10 seconds.

Also of note, you'll be able to take better advantage of the shorter gearing if you've got a lighter single-mass flywheel instead of the stock eta dual-mass lump.

I was estimating up from a 2.93. Not good at math

Seempo algebra my friend, 2630*373/393 = 3350

Plus I daily drive an E30 with a 3.73 so I happen to know where it sits at 80. ;)

[Active16Bits]

Haha yeah I do when they're running. Right now I'm replacing the heater core in the Jetta (which is a god damn nightmare) and replacing the taillight and trans control unit harnesses.

I don't really like having three cars though. I'm a 22 year old male, insurance it way too high and I'm starting to feel like I'm in over my head, so I wanna ditch the Jetta.

[rThor432]

^^Oh, then no worries. Do you split driving duty between all of your cars? I only ask because that's what I do.. so when I'm tired of one (or it runs out of gas) I switch to another. The torque of an eta with a 3.73 will make for a hell of a stump puller!

Definitely look for diffs under E28's and E24's though. They won't physically appear the same because the diff cover is different, but they will work in your car and the ratios will be a huge advantage over what you are running now. I had one in the shop in the past few months that had a 3.91 limited slip..

[Active16Bits]

It's not going to be my daily.

[rThor432]

Thank you so much guys. I guess I'm going to hope I find a s3.73!

Haha, have fun with that! Seriously not a good choice for a streetable/daily diff in one of these cars.

a 3.73 would still get you some decent passing power until 90 or so.

..and then you run out of tach :D. Haha, 4.5k redline ftl.

[Active16Bits]

Thank you so much guys. I guess I'm going to hope I find a s3.73!

[kronus]

With a G260, a 3.73 puts you at 3350 at 80. Even a 4.10 would put you at about 3700rpm at 80.

I was estimating up from a 2.93. Not good at math :|

[Wh33lhop]

Going to assume you meant mph. The problem is more of a mismatched torque curve - the eta's usable rpm range is like 2k - 4k, and a taller diff will have you running through that very quickly. A 3.73 puts you at around 4k at 80, which doesn't seem problematic until you realize that the eta's peak RPM is 5k.

With a G260, a 3.73 puts you at 3350 at 80. Even a 4.10 would put you at about 3700rpm at 80.

Personally although I'd prefer a taller top gear, I haven't found a problem with turning over 3200 or so on the highway with an M50, the lower gearing is too fun. Just sucks for your gas mileage in an eta, but a 3.73 would still get you some decent passing power until 90 or so.

[kronus]

How inconvenient? I know the eta has a tall 5th but my GTI is at 4,000rpm going 75mpg and that doesn't bother me.

Going to assume you meant mph. The problem is more of a mismatched torque curve - the eta's usable rpm range is like 2k - 4k, and a taller diff will have you running through that very quickly. A 3.73 puts you at around 4k at 80, which doesn't seem problematic until you realize that the eta's peak RPM is 5k.

[u3b3rg33k]

Well, the eta runs out of revs at 4800rpm, whereas your gti goes to at least 6000rpm.

The eta has the same .8 OD that all the G260s have.

[Active16Bits]

Also, for ratios, don't go higher than 3.46ish, anything taller than that would be inconvenient on the freeway.

How inconvenient? I know the eta has a tall 5th but my GTI is at 4,000rpm going 75mpg and that doesn't bother me.

[Active16Bits]

Didn't even think of that. I do remember seeing more e28's last time I went there. I couldn't find any information on the sizing of differentials in e28's though. I know theres "small" and "medium" ones in e30's.

Does this really make a difference? or is it the just the case size in relation to the ratio? Would I have to use different half shafts if I used another size differential? Excuse my ignorance, I've grown up on mostly fwd and solid axle rwd's.

[MR 325]

Also check E24 and E28 cars, not sure if you knew that...