The dreaded 1990 325i auto sedan

[SmokeE30]

Meh - I've owned both auto and manuals in e21s and e30s. Both have their merits, and the 4 speed auto is smooth shifting and fine to drive, especially in traffic.

If you want to turn the manual guys smugness around, just swap in a 4.10 or 4.45 diff (from a 318i auto) and then smoke them in the traffic light battle.

A 4.10 behind the auto is great in the e30 as both first gear, and overdrive is longer in the auto than the manual, and the 4.45 would even be livable with an M20B25 - it works fine in the 318i.

4:10 is the standard diff in an auto 325 as well so putting the smaller weaker 4:10 form a 3:18 would yield only a weight advantage

and a stick 6cyl will destroy a auto car from a dig or a roll doesn't matter

[lukeADE335i]

Meh - I've owned both auto and manuals in e21s and e30s. Both have their merits, and the 4 speed auto is smooth shifting and fine to drive, especially in traffic.

If you want to turn the manual guys smugness around, just swap in a 4.10 or 4.45 diff (from a 318i auto) and then smoke them in the traffic light battle.

A 4.10 behind the auto is great in the e30 as both first gear, and overdrive is longer in the auto than the manual, and the 4.45 would even be livable with an M20B25 - it works fine in the 318i.

[TobyB]

I've got my mirrors adjusted in such a way that I've removed all blind spots.

Yeah, me too, but the pillar gets in the way of the head check-
when you do that last- minute peripheral- vision idiot glance.
The B- pillar's right there when I have the seat adjusted to be right for the pedals.

It's not a big thing, it's just... a thing...

t

[Staszek]

I had never driven an auto E30 until the one I bought for my project. I am changing to a manual with my engine swap, but I have to say I was surprised on how well the auto in this car did at 200k plus miles.

I am sure it was never serviced seeing the shape my car was in and it ran very well, better then most auto's I have driven. If it was a daily I would not mind the auto at all.

[nando]

Swap check list
Buy 5spd, pedal, resivior, drive shaft, and wires. Take old junk out, put new junk in. Viola

don't need a resivior. they are the same part. just cut the end of the nipple off for the clutch line that's already there.

[ELVA164]

The only real, daily bummer for the sedan is the head check-
for me, the b pillar is right where I want to look for the moron
on the motorcycle who's hiding in my blind spot.
2 door, I can see 'em better.

Otherwise, 4-door race cars are so much easier to live with and work on...

t

Maybe it's a height thing, but I've got my mirrors adjusted in such a way that I've removed all blind spots. I've got half a car overlap between each mirror and my peripheral vision, and I've been able to successfully track a motorcycle through both sides of the mirrors without losing it as well.

I could see it making a difference, though.

[rcsoundn1]

Swap check list
Buy 5spd, pedal, resivior, drive shaft, and wires. Take old junk out, put new junk in. Viola

[c0rbin9]

I drive a manual transmission 318is in 45 minutes traffic everyday and it hasn't bothered me yet... going on 10 months. Then again, I don't have an oversprung clutch or an under-leveraged short shifter.

[cheffy30]

never the less... i will say that i beat the car to shit over the years. i used it as a catering vehicle, child transporter and city thrasher, lived on the street... dings, dents, rear ender shit broken all over it...even a wash and detail, she still was beaten... yet i have maintained the engine...

i won the exterior refinish at the e30 picnic in 2015... after a year of work and about 7k...its in very good shape right now...haury's did an exceptional job on the paint. original color, glacier blue. the vietnamese dudes i met in Top Hat loved the story and took real pride in the body work.
i've kept it oem for the most part...

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOVIU_rncWPzzzvCekSVe1vHLYTN729p5cAPfmN

[roguetoaster]

Funny thing, I've had a 4 door E30 for so long, in my mind they are all 4 doors.. They are basically the same, anyway.

But it's true, they are all sedans (maybe not the 'verts).

[nando]

I drove mine as an automatic for years. Autox, track days,beat the shit out of it. Rarely saw any of the "faster" MTs come out to an event.

It is what it is, but i would never go back. Almost every BMW made now is AT - meh. I dont even like it more for traffic.

Funny thing, I've had a 4 door E30 for so long, in my mind they are all 4 doors.. They are basically the same, anyway.

[TobyB]

The only real, daily bummer for the sedan is the head check-
for me, the b pillar is right where I want to look for the moron
on the motorcycle who's hiding in my blind spot.
2 door, I can see 'em better.

Otherwise, 4-door race cars are so much easier to live with and work on...

t

[djjerme]

Wow, so much aggro towards OP.

I didn't sense any aggro. I think most people where like "who cares what people think, enjoy it!"

[QUKBMER]

Well said ^

[ELVA164]

Wow, so much aggro towards OP.

His question was why people dislike 4-doors and automatics so much. Chill guys.

OP, most people on here don't like automatics because they're enthusiasts/track day Schumachers. There's nothing inherently wrong with the gearbox (aside from the oiling issues in neutral), so that's why you've had such good luck with yours.

The 4-door bit? I honestly don't get it. The shell is the same. The spec cars do just as well as 2-doors. Aesthetics, maybe? I find 2-doors less practical and less useful on a daily basis, but that's just me. At the end of the day, who really cares?