The dreaded 1990 325i auto sedan

[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.

[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

[ELVA164]

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.

Speaking of, can we take a minute to talk about how frustratingly short first gear in the manual gearbox is? I hate it. It makes me want a close-ratio box just to get a longer first gear.

[TobyB]

...annd the gap between 2 and 3? What a buzzkill...

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[JasonC]

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.

As someone who just had a 4.10 automatic combo, I can say this thinking is not how it works. In reality it blows. A crippled person with bare feet can outrun it!

[reelizmpro]

In my experience, the manual counterpart is better in all aspects except for the obvious...stop and go traffic and even that isn't a big deal. A 325i manual is great in traffic as long as you don't have a notchy shifter or stiff ass clutch. 4 speed ZF gearing is too spread out with an extended OD 4th. I remember climbing up hills with the engine struggling because the tranny wouldn't kick down. Then when it did, RPM's would climb for a bit then it would upshift and the car would be struggling again so then I'd manually shift to 2nd or 3rd. With the Getrag 260 5 speed the gears are closer and you have complete control. Also the early ZF's were failure prone and are typically heavier than manual trans plus higher drivetrain loss. It wasn't until 89 that BMW put a 4.10 diff in the 325i auto vs 3.73. Prior to that, auto/manual cars had the same final drive gearing. After I swapped my 85 325e, I never even considered another automatic. Same experience with my 98 528i E39's. I had one in auto and sold it in favor of a manual due to inherent tranny issues, more weight and less fuel economy than the manual version.

4 door automatic is a double whammy. Looks are subjective but I prefer the looks of the 2 door E30. The sport models were all based on the 2 door version and 4 door models were often base models. All of the E30's going for good money like the 318iS, 325iS, etc. (unless the 4 door is an Alpina) are all 2 door models so I think the consensus is that 2 door manuals are more desirable especially for what most people today are buying E30's for. I couldn't tell you the last time I put anything or anyone in the backseat of my E30's so having 2 extra doors to help facilitate that is pointless.

[JasonC]

My auto was the same way going up hills. Had to downshift every time... If the torque converter didn't lock up so quick it may of helped slightly pulling the hills. But now with the manual I can keep it in 5th going up the same hills. as a side note, I also kept the 4.10 rear when I did the 5 speed swap.



I'm not against automatic cars. I've had plenty through the years. As long as the car/truck had some power to propel itself it would be fine. Say like a 89 Festiva with an auto. That would be a no lol... Now a 70 Dart with a 340 or 360 with a high stall converter and 4.10 or 4.56 gears oh yes ;D

[dnguyen1963]

I often just skip the first gear and go straight into second. I think the Bentley says something about using the first gear to get the car rolling then immediately shift to second.

[Kevinl]

Drive your auto e30's but if you ever sell them and are asking as much as 5 speed car don't wonder why it's not selling

[bradmer]

The dreaded 1990 325i auto sedan

After a long time of driving a 4 door e30 5 speed, I bought a second 4 door e30, a super clean automatic as the price was right. I knew driving there to make the purchase that I would be swapping the auto for a 5 speed. However... after cruising it around for a few months, it's gonna stay an auto. It is just so easy/pleasant to drive around town in, even if it is weak as piss.

[ELVA164]

I think the Bentley says something about using the first gear to get the car rolling then immediately shift to second.

And that's ridiculous.

Alright, who's used a dogleg box? Is it any less embarrassingly spaced?

[dnguyen1963]

And that's ridiculous.

Alright, who's used a dogleg box? Is it any less embarrassingly spaced?

I can double check the Bentley when I get home tomorrow night. I remember laughing out loud when I read that statement.

[djjerme]

Alright, who's used a dogleg box? Is it any less embarrassingly spaced?

Not really. The difference is in the top gears. The jump from 1 > 2 is actually worse if it's the Close Ratio. I went to a later close ratio in the racecar, and first became even more useless, but with a 1:1 5th, I was able to bring the rear gear down to 3:73 (remember, racecar..) Now 3-4-5 are a lot more usable..

[ELVA164]

Not really. The difference is in the top gears. The jump from 1 > 2 is actually worse if it's the Close Ratio. I went to a later close ratio in the racecar, and first became even more useless, but with a 1:1 5th, I was able to bring the rear gear down to 3:73 (remember, racecar..) Now 3-4-5 are a lot more usable..

Wait, what? That's weird... I'd think first and second would both get taller and fifth would become 1:1. So maybe for a street car, a 3.64 or a 3.45 would work out pretty well... Make first taller with the final drive, and make fifth back into a highway gear.

[djjerme]

The ZF has a 4.2 first gear, vs the G260 3.83.. so yeah, I'd go 3.45 on the street.

The dogleg from what I have seen is 1.32, 1.23, 1.00 for 3,4,5 vs 1.36, 1.00, .81 for a regular G260. So you see how close those upper gears are.. Not sure how usable that is on the street, but on the track, it is nice!