m20 6 speed conversion

[Skunkworks]

I have been contemplating doing a zf 6 speed swap, I have read mixed reviews and heard all kinds of negative feedback. So R3V what is your opinion?

What trans would you use?

What shifter assy would you use?

What clutch and master cyl?

What is a real world budget for this project?

I imagine I will just need to swap yokes with something else on the DS and have it tigged and balanced.

btw the car is a 87 325i sedan with a stock for now m20 with a manual trans.

[Skunkworks]

26 views and no one would want this?

[jlevie]

Other that a coolness factor, why?

[bmw325csi]

i want a sixth gear myself, I don't want to sacrifice my 3.73lsd for lower r3vs but i think a 6th gear would do nicely

[travish325]

3 speed on the column would be cooler

[jlevie]

To gear on a 6 speed ZF transmission was about the same as fifth on Getrag 260 as I recall. So there'd be no reduction is cruising engine speed. You'd just wind up with more evenly spaced gears from 1-5th, though 1st & reverse would be "stump pullers" since the transmission was intended for a car with a 3.15 or 3.23 differential.

[Skunkworks]

I was thinking of changing the diff Ratio, Yes there is a slight coolness factor, But I was hoping to see better milage and better spaced gears in the same token.

[jlevie]

If you reduced the diff ratio to 3.15-3.23, you'd get better mileage and 6-speed transmission would have more appropriate gears for that final drive ratio. But the end result would be very close to a Getrag 260 with that final drive ratio in terms of performance.

[travish325]

In other words your just adding in a granny first gear and a cool factor. And trust me that 1st gear will get real annoying.

[Wanganstyle]

I installed a 6 speed on my m20 (alpina 2.7) and loved it; build thread in sig.

Shifting quality alone was worth it

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

[Skunkworks]

In other words your just adding in a granny first gear and a cool factor. And trust me that 1st gear will get real annoying.

I live in a very hilly area so the granny first would be nice, While on the freeway 2nd isnt a bad option, and I iam looking for a quality driving experience, Shift quality is a huge plus in the swap, I can always re gear the rear to my liking.