MyE28.com

okay....firrst off, the 535 euro conversion is coming along well. it should be up and running to debut at st paddys here is sandy eggo........

now.......next project being sourced together is a mundane 528e. the motor will remain essentailly stock, aftermarket chip for the 027, maybe an "i" throttle body and free flow exhaust. suspension will be mild with poly bushings, springs, shocks sways and 16: inch wheels. remember, this will be used primarily for commuting.

my thoughts are this........while a 3.25 diff is going to be used...why not a CR 5 speed..? this would give a short rpm drop between gears,..work effectively in keeping the little eta motor at its torque peak.......and give the perception of more pep.....

if nothing else it would be unique.....any thoughts..?

my thoughts are this........while a 3.25 diff is going to be used...why not a CR 5 speed..? this would give a short rpm drop between gears,..work effectively in keeping the little eta motor at its torque peak.......and give the perception of more pep.....

The eta engine is designed for low rpm torque, and you're doing very little to change that. The original diff ratio was probably something like a 2.90 or numerically lower, together with an overdrive 5-speed. You're moving up to the OEM gear ratio for the 3.4L M30 engine, and that's not a bad idea, but to then eliminate the over drive 5th gear will make the engine quite buzzy, and well up in it's designed operating range, well above torque peak. In my opinion, that'll mean that you will have the same performance in the first three gears and marginal preformance gains in 4th, and little in 5th, but are likely to pay a real price in increased fuel consumption.

Close ratio 5-speeds cost quite a lot of money, and would be better used in a car with a narrow power band, not your eta equipped car. Stay with the OD 5-speed, you'll be glad you did.

thanks pat..ive had good luck with eta's using either 3.25s or 3.46s with the OD box, and have actually found them to be quite enjoyable to drive with this combo.
i cant justify , nor do i want an e to i swap as this car will be used for an average of 100 miles a day in commuting.
as for the CR box.....just a thought...........

i have the cr box in my euro. While i do have an m30 stroker, vs your m20 in this case, i think that a 3.25 would be liveable in a car with an eta motor. the 3.73 is absolute hell on the interstate as i'm turning over four grand at 80 mph, but a 3.25 would probably be nice but a 3.46 would be way to much for a close ratio box. if you want to see what i'm dealing with on the 3.73 try driving down the interstate in third gear with your setup now. i have a 2.93 to install soon, just hav'nt gotten around to it. hope this helps your decision,

Dont waste a CR on your eta!!! If you're gonna buy & use one, then use it on your 535i and use the G265 on the eta. Dude, that would be like putting a set of Paul's headers on an unmodified 8:1 3.5...pointless!

5 years of 104 miles/day N.VA to Bethesda... I agree with others, the CR sounds like a good initial idea, but in fact, it will keep the Eta M20 cooking most of the time, which is not what she was designed to do. Poly upper control arms may be okay, but others are too noisy for me, based on my 528e vs. others I've been in with Poly suspension. My Yoko AVS Sport are pretty verbal about road surface variations, which you may already know about Yoko's, but they are great. I am still running the original LS 2.93. Am now testing a Mark D'Sylva chip which brings a good power increase, very noticeable during merging where the additional rev's in 2nd are great. FWIW. -Rod


[Edit by rodpaine on [TIME]1108214257[/TIME]]

[QUOTE="jim@dashop"]thanks pat..ive had good luck with eta's using either 3.25s or 3.46s with the OD box, and have actually found them to be quite enjoyable to drive with this combo.
i cant justify , nor do i want an e to i swap as this car will be used for an average of 100 miles a day in commuting.
as for the CR box.....just a thought...........[/QUOTE]

Devinder Grewal installed a 3.46LS in his 528e (now an i) with 5-speed and commuted in it for several years until he acquired his M5. He's expressed his enjoyment of this combo, thinking it to be just about ideal.