i have 2 bmw e46's.
one is a 99 323i auto and the other is a 00 323ci manual. bought the 323ci with a z4 upgraded differential. i hate it. 100mph for any legth of time just seems so damaging to the motor redlining alomost. even 80@ like 4500rpm is just uncomfortable driving to me. so i also have the 323i automatic which i believe has a warped head. and just about ready to throw in the towel with the thing. so i was just thinking why not take the differential from the 323i and put it on my 323ci. and then i can just sell the z4 diff. however. new to bmws and not all that knowledgeable with part swapping. on realoem it seems like it will work.
Do it.
Yes it will work. Ratio is different, but its a popular swap for daily driven manuals
It's still a deeper ratio than stock.
Use bokchoys diff calculator to find out if it is worth it.
i don't know what the z4 ratio is, but the auto should be 3.46
puts rpm at 3200-3300 at 70.
If if you want it way lower than that, you want a manual sedan diff.
Edit, I went and checked ratios on z4.
if you want something in between you want a z4 manual diff. 3.23 or 3.38
what you have is probably an auto z4 diff which is either 3.64 or 3.73. Way too damn deep for a manual.
Last edited by Onizukachan; 06-28-2017 at 01:11 PM.
If I were to give my Touring a first name, I'd probably name it "Alan".
Mostly because I like puns.
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