5.3 LS Swap into 91 318i

[The Dark Side of Will]

Oh, the joys of bleeding a hydraulic throw out bearing.

The ZF and Getrag 260 (not 250 or 240) proven over and over reliability in BMW chassis, is short, light, and close ratio, too bad it's a mission to attach to a USDM market v8.

Many people don't know Getrag were available for many vehicles, including the dohc 60v6 GM cars, many Dodges, MB's, VAG, heavy trucks etc. Just Google "Getrag death rattle" for quick and dirty cross references.They never liked light flywheels, even 45 yr ago.

Will knows this too, and might even add a tidbit about the 284 and 282 variants of the transverse applications in GM cars/trucks.

One thing I can add is the Tremec 6 speed, is they are pretty stout, and can take some serious TQ, but I come from WC t5 days. :( Doesn't take much research being ls1tech type forums to browse what the big HP guys are doing. Problem us it is LONG and HEAVY. First time I picked one up by hand to put on a lift, was "this is worse than an AUTO."

Yeah, the 282's have a good bit more radial runout on the input shaft inner bearing than I'd expect. I'm not sure if that's "strategic" in order to accommodate eccentricity between the crankshaft and the input shaft or if it's just the way Getrag does things. That bearing is also weird in that it's made for a 26.5mm diameter shaft, so there's nothing on the market to replace it.

I have a couple of 284's on the shelf, but I've never driven a car with one. With F23's available to fill the need for a stronger 5 speed, I'm not sure installing a 284 will ever be worth it to me.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Good call on the crate T56 magnum. Hard to beat for the price. I put one behind a 525hp LS3 crate engine with a LS7 clutch setup. The clutch feels great, and it shifts nice. Maybe a bit more notchy than I'd want for daily driving around town, but not as bad as some of the BMW short shift kits I've felt. It's very precise, you know what gear you're going in. There is zero slop whatsoever.

What's that combo going into?

[JGood]

After deliberation over the last few days and some discussions with a few guys who have LS Swaps, I decided I'm going the extra mile (read: wallet melting route) and buying a T-56 Magnum.
My primary reason for considering the GS6-53BZ was because of replacability, since buying a used T-56 without having it rebuilt is a major gamble IMO. A used T-56 is anywhere from $1800-$2500 typically. The T-56 Magnum is $3195 brand new.
Speedway Motorsports has free shipping on the Ford version. I'm hoping I can convince them to offer free shipping on the LS version, but I might be able to find free shipping elsewhere.

Good call on the crate T56 magnum. Hard to beat for the price. I put one behind a 525hp LS3 crate engine with a LS7 clutch setup. The clutch feels great, and it shifts nice. Maybe a bit more notchy than I'd want for daily driving around town, but not as bad as some of the BMW short shift kits I've felt. It's very precise, you know what gear you're going in. There is zero slop whatsoever.

[ForcedFirebird]

Oh, the joys of bleeding a hydraulic throw out bearing.

The ZF and Getrag 260 (not 250 or 240) proven over and over reliability in BMW chassis, is short, light, and close ratio, too bad it's a mission to attach to a USDM market v8.

Many people don't know Getrag were available for many vehicles, including the dohc 60v6 GM cars, many Dodges, MB's, VAG, heavy trucks etc. Just Google "Getrag death rattle" for quick and dirty cross references.They never liked light flywheels, even 45 yr ago.

Will knows this too, and might even add a tidbit about the 284 and 282 variants of the transverse applications in GM cars/trucks.

One thing I can add is the Tremec 6 speed, is they are pretty stout, and can take some serious TQ, but I come from WC t5 days. :( Doesn't take much research being ls1tech type forums to browse what the big HP guys are doing. Problem us it is LONG and HEAVY. First time I picked one up by hand to put on a lift, was "this is worse than an AUTO."

[z28]

I have an ls7 clutch and I would not recommend it because its heavy and I get locked out of gear at high rpm if I don't bleed the fluid often.

[The Dark Side of Will]

As far as a monster stage 3 vs the ls7 clutch goes, it's not much of a price difference. I've also read about the LS7 clutch coughing dust on everything and screwing up the slave cylinder.

The LS7 clutch is the factory clutch for an engine that makes 500 ftlbs, so it's capacity is higher than that.
Also, those ceramet pucked disks are NOT friendly to drive. They're friendliER than sintered iron, but still not very nice to drive on the street. That's why I brought up the organic dual disk 7.25" units.

[DividedBeing]

Quartermaster https://www.quartermasterusa.com/qm/clutches
and
Powertrain Technologies https://www.powertraintech.com/

Can both set up 7.25" dual organic disk clutches. Tilton probably has a better engineered product, but they don't like to sell dual organic units. They'll sell you one that's one organic + one cerametallic, though.

The 7.25" units are the most tunable on the market, from single disk to three or even four, multiple spring strengths, etc. All the companies in that market will have a bolt-in system for the LS/T56 combo. Hell, Tilton even has bolt-in dual disk setups for BMW 24V engine/transmission combos.

Thanks for the tips man. And wow, that quartermaster stuff looks really nice. Going to have to check into the product lineup from both of those places.

Or just run an LS7 clutch and flywheel and call it a day. Also, why do you want a 6 speed just to say the car is a 6 speed? 6th gear is pretty worthless and I'm running a 4.10 rear.

With the fact that I plan on running a turbo and beating on the car, a stronger clutch setup makes sense to me.
As far as a monster stage 3 vs the ls7 clutch goes, it's not much of a price difference. I've also read about the LS7 clutch coughing dust on everything and screwing up the slave cylinder.

Also, the main reason I'm going for the T56 Magnum is the strength and headroom I'll have to build on the motor without worrying about my transmission turning into a box of rocks. And again, I've read about the fact that the shift feel is really nice which is gravy.
The 6 gears are going to be awesome for the highways around here. I have to drive at least an hour to get anywhere fun from where I'm at, and being able to drop the revs down with the 6th gear .64 ratio and save gas in this gas pig I'm building will be great.
Not to mention the overall drone/vibration in the car will be nice to calm down on longer drives.

[Pootis]

Or just run an LS7 clutch and flywheel and call it a day. Also, why do you want a 6 speed just to say the car is a 6 speed? 6th gear is pretty worthless and I'm running a 4.10 rear.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Maybe I'm looking at the wrong one, but that kit appears to be like $2000+ https://www.turboclutch.com/Pages/RPS%20ST%20Full.htm

Assuming that's the correct kit you're talking about, I'm not going to be able to swing that at this point even though it looks like a badass setup.

This is what I've been looking at: https://www.tickperformance.com/mons...-capacity-700/

Quartermaster https://www.quartermasterusa.com/qm/clutches
and
Powertrain Technologies https://www.powertraintech.com/

Can both set up 7.25" dual organic disk clutches. Tilton probably has a better engineered product, but they don't like to sell dual organic units. They'll sell you one that's one organic + one cerametallic, though.

The 7.25" units are the most tunable on the market, from single disk to three or even four, multiple spring strengths, etc. All the companies in that market will have a bolt-in system for the LS/T56 combo. Hell, Tilton even has bolt-in dual disk setups for BMW 24V engine/transmission combos.

[DividedBeing]

Yes, that's the one clutch I was talking about but it does carry a a heavy price tag. I haven't looked too much into the tick clutch because I been wanting to get the RPS clutch.

I'll have to look into it more. Looks like a really nice setup though. My plan is to get everything running, let things break that are going to break, and upgrade as stuff breaks.
The trans, holley terminator ecu, and the suspension are where I'm really splurging on this car to begin with.


New video hot off the grill. Extra sloppy for ya. I know how you guys like 'em sloppy.
I found another source for no copyright music I can stand, and thank god because I was getting tired of using the same five tracks.

E30 LS Swap - (Part 11) - Sloppy Stage 2 Cam Install - Extra Sloppy

[z28]

Yes, that's the one clutch I was talking about but it does carry a a heavy price tag. I haven't looked too much into the tick clutch because I been wanting to get the RPS clutch.

[DividedBeing]

Instead of using the monster clutch/flywheel go with a RPS Lightened Carbon Twin Disc, its a superior clutch.

Maybe I'm looking at the wrong one, but that kit appears to be like $2000+ https://www.turboclutch.com/Pages/RPS%20ST%20Full.htm

Assuming that's the correct kit you're talking about, I'm not going to be able to swing that at this point even though it looks like a badass setup.

This is what I've been looking at: https://www.tickperformance.com/mons...-capacity-700/

[z28]

Instead of using the monster clutch/flywheel go with a RPS Lightened Carbon Twin Disc, its a superior clutch.

[DividedBeing]

Instead of the magnum, why not grab a t56 from a LS or LT1 engine and save some $$$? I bought one for $1500 that came out of a wrecked car. It came with a clutch and flywheel as well. It was a gamble as i later found that the case and tail shaft needed replacement, but that was an extra $300 off ebay. I have not rebuilt it, but the plan is to grab the dodge viper output shaft (raises torque rating to 550 ft lbs) and replace the synchros with really nice ones for better shifting. I have seen similar ones sold for $2500.

Mostly just to avoid all of the hassle of having to worry about rebuilding it. Torque rating is 700lb-ft so I'll have an abundance of headroom and has wider gears than factory T-56 for better contact.

Either way, I plan on running a Monster Clutch/flywheel setup. Even if something came with a clutch, if it wasn't brand new, I'd want to throw a new one in there lol. It's going to shift great out of the crate and I'm not going to have worry about it being a weak link at all. If I'm going to spend $2500 on a used T56, which is the price I'm seeing within 300 miles, I'll just spend the extra bit and run with the brand new Magnum. I'm also running on the hearsay of many people claiming it's 'the smoothest transmission they've ever shifted.' I'm sure I'll convince myself to feel that way after I spend the money too :D

My buddy is doing the AR5 pontiac solstice transmission swap on his.

Yeah, that was another route I investigated, but I want a 6 speed.Those things are stupid inexpensive. Apparently the more sought after AR5 for swap purposes is the slingshot trans.

[Pootis]

My buddy is doing the AR5 pontiac solstice transmission swap on his.