3-Series (E46, E90)Chat relating to the BMW 3-Series from 1999 to Current. Models include: BMW 316i, BMW 318i, BMW 318Ci, BMW 320i, BMW 323i, BMW 325i, BMW 330i, BMW 328 Ci, BMW 328i, BMW 325i/xi, BMW 330Ci, BMW 320d, BMW 330d, BMW 335d.
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Well I had a few people ask me to post when I replaced my 2000 323i 5-speed 3.07 differential, with a 3.46 diff.
Well its done and I got it back, and its nice. I havent hooked my G-tech up yet but I can feel the difference in 1st and 2nd gear definetely. Now Im not talking gigantic differances, but it gives you that extra pull that it didnt have before in those low gears. Put together with the shark injector, CAI, and UUC exhaust its pretty fast. If anyone has any other experiences with a new diff, id love to hear.
hey guys..i am really interested in knowing more about this 3.56 diff. I'll be pickiing up my 330Ci with 6-speed manaul, in 10 days time, and i was wondering, if its worth swaping the stock 2.93 diff, with the 3.46 one. would if void my warranty, and also..i hear a couple rumours that the 3.46 diff, is too agressive...waht do they mean by this?? thanks boys
they probably mean that the ratio is so much closer that the gears run out too fast and your having to shift alot more, though you'll be knocking off a second or so on your 0-60.
had a friend switch to 4.10 and his first drive back home in it he snapped the clutch line because he was shifting so much. now given it was a mustang .. who knows. but he had a problem with redlining and bouncing off the rev limiter because he wasn't used to how fast he had to shift.
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yes it may void the warranty (if they find out which I highly doubt they will)
on top of that its a OEM bmw part so they shouldnt be too anal about it.
most ppl with 330s usually go to a 3.38 diff rather than a 3.46. For us 323s on the other hand, we need an aggressive diff to compensate for our lack of power.
hey ive got a 00' 323ci and im basically new to diff swapping in general. can somebody tell me where to buy one, assuming i probably don't have a junkyard anywhere near me. thx for the help. also, who should i get to install it (dealer or mechanic) assuming i cant do it.
i drove a 92 w/ a bigger diff and then i ended up buying mine. anyways, it doesnt pull as fast as mine does (mine is chipped) with stock diff. it does however give it faster top speed, but it reduces your gas mileage by a lot, it does 70 on the highway at around 4k and 15-17mpg
hey tx323...I did a search on car-parts.com for a carrier (Thats what they call the diff), and found it at a junk yard in florida where I am for $450 plus shipping, about $60.
Just alittle info on my car, if it helps you at all.
I have a 2000 323i 5-Speed, I bought it while I was in germany, so I dont know if it has any differences between the US bought versions. It is a US Spec car though. Anyway, the stock Diff was a 3.07 but in the 2000 323i Automatic they put in a 3.46 diff to compensate for the loss in power. However they are interchangeable, so I just bought one from an auto 323i, and had the dealer install it for about $800. If you have an automatic....you might want to check on your gear ratio before you buy, maybe the same diff. Good luck!
to my knowledge, all auto E46 3 series comes with the 3.46. If you want it accelerate faster, youll need somehting higher than 3.46.
manaul cars have different diff. 330s i believe have a 2.93 while the slower 323 comes with a more aggressive 3.07. Though alot of us think the 3.07 in the 323 is not aggressive enough, so we ought for the 3.46 from the auto.
thx jkloese, i jus checked carparts and i think i found one near me. Dealer install was 800? Yea i have a manual too, but im a little new to tuning so if you have any other suggestions to increase performance but not kill me on cost id really be interested. thx again
Well Guess what...Ive had the new diff in about 3 weeks now and last night the differential mounts ripped right off the frame. I was at a red light and when I hit the gas (just a normal take off) The car started shakeing violently and then smoothed out but I could still feel a shake. I pulled over to see if maybe a tire blew out or something and I didnt see anything wrong. Well I slowly creeped it home and jacked it up and found both rear differential mounts hanging about 4 inches below the frame. Im not quite sure how something like this happens but its in the shop now getting looked at. Just thought Id share that with you guys.
Well, ive gotten a call from the shop. They said that 3 of the 4 mounts on the rear subframe broke loose from the chassis. No parts need to be replaced but they are telling me that it will cost between $2000 and $3000 to repair the frame. That seems like an awful lot for some frame repair. Im doing some research with some other shops to see if thats correct. Oh and just to inform you, BMW service center will not repair frame damage. Thats why its at another shop. Ill keep you posted of the progress.
Originally posted by jkloese@Oct 29 2004, 09:14 AM Well Guess what...Ive had the new diff in about 3 weeks now and last night the differential mounts ripped right off the frame. I was at a red light and when I hit the gas (just a normal take off) The car started shakeing violently and then smoothed out but I could still feel a shake. I pulled over to see if maybe a tire blew out or something and I didnt see anything wrong. Well I slowly creeped it home and jacked it up and found both rear differential mounts hanging about 4 inches below the frame. Im not quite sure how something like this happens but its in the shop now getting looked at. Just thought Id share that with you guys.
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If BMW installed your differential and then within a few weeks 3 of the 4 mounts were hanging, that should be there responsibilty to fix for free. Something doesn't sound right.
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