M30 drift guys, and gals; Chime in please!

[Joshua8336]

okay guys, I stepped into the awesome e30 world about 2 months ago and recently discovered the "m30" swap. I'm currently trying to source parts, and i was wondering which gr transmission is best for skid racing;) any information will be greatly appreciated!

[kronus]

There are several transmissions that fit to M30s. Getrag 240, 260, 262, 265, 280.

240 - don't even consider this one. It came on M10-equipped e30s, is small and weak, although people have reported using it with no problems in M30 swaps.

260 - they had an early and a late one of these. The early was weak, don't use it. The late one is generally ok.

262CR - 5-speed dogleg box, 1:1 fifth gear ratio, close ratio between all the gears. Rare and awesome.

265 - this box was a 1-year-only special when BMW figured out the early 260 had issues, it's nice and strong inside, but longer than the 260 which necessitates driveshaft shortening to install.

280 - came in e30 M3s and e28/e34 M5s. Good, big box, but expensive and difficult to find.

Anything older is likely to be 4-speed and have a mechanical speedo drive, you don't want that.

Basically the only reasonable choice is a standard 260 from an e28 or e34, everything else is rare and expensive or difficult to install.

[Joshua8336]

There are several transmissions that fit to M30s. Getrag 240, 260, 262, 265, 280.

240 - don't even consider this one. It came on M10-equipped e30s, is small and weak, although people have reported using it with no problems in M30 swaps.

260 - they had an early and a late one of these. The early was weak, don't use it. The late one is generally ok.

262CR - 5-speed dogleg box, 1:1 fifth gear ratio, close ratio between all the gears. Rare and awesome.

265 - this box was a 1-year-only special when BMW figured out the early 260 had issues, it's nice and strong inside, but longer than the 260 which necessitates driveshaft shortening to install.

280 - came in e30 M3s and e28/e34 M5s. Good, big box, but expensive and difficult to find.

Anything older is likely to be 4-speed and have a mechanical speedo drive, you don't want that.

Basically the only reasonable choice is a standard 260 from an e28 or e34, everything else is rare and expensive or difficult to install.

what is a reasonable price for a 260? and you said they had early models, and late models, e28 early, e34 late? or vise versa?

[kronus]

85 was the year of the 265 i think, anything after that will have the good 260. The 260 has parallel ridges on ths bottom; the 265 has waffles and a detachable bellhousing.

I have seen pricez fluctuate on them, anywhere from 150 to 400. Last one we got for the racer was a junkyard trans for 82 bucks... it's holding strong after 4 endurance races.

[Joshua8336]

you're help is much appreciated. i found one on craigslist for 200. it's a start i guess.8-)