This video was right on time. Been debating on 3.46 vs 3.08 for the money. Almost pulled the trigger on the 3.46 last week. Glad I waited as I just upgraded my turbos instead. Forums did not help with this topic. As always you provided the feedback with actual experience. Thank you for your continued contribution to the bmw community.
Depending on your mods (what turbos etc) and power curve, shorter could be slower too. 3.08 definitely comfort on the road, lower cruise revs Fwiw I'm going to be trying 3.85 out for size, may settle on 3.62 or even just sticking with 3.15 or swap depending on the track, but that's on a track car with no road manner requirement.
Two thumbs up for the LSD. The stock open diff absolutely destroys the driving dynamics of the E90 335i. I 'upgraded' mine with a Wavetrac but was sadly disappointed. It felt like it was completely off, not doing anything, until a wheel started to slip, then it would (slowly) spring into action, but way too late to do any good. A waste of nearly five grand. I'm in an F80 now. It has it's problems for sure, but at least is has a proper LSD.
As someone who has a manual 335i with 3.46 lsd, I have to disagree with your analysis. Couple of things: 1. Your clutch based lsd isn’t brilliant. If you have a proper Quaife helical geared lsd, it’s night and day. 2. If you do track work, it’s so much more responsive with the 3.46 gears and you don’t necessarily “shift more” because you don’t always have to downshift to a lower gear. I was lucky to find an early automatic with the large pumpkin and a bolted ring and pinion to match with the Quaife lsd. I find it much more fun than the 3.08.
Guess it all comes down to what you use the car for and personal preference. I also run the 3.46 w the manual and love it. Not a daily driver though, mainly for canyons and the occasional track day.
@@Lopes12676 I'm planning on doing a full build from engine through the entire powertrain. I am currently FBO but running stock turbos. After I complete the suspension work and LSD. I'll do the turbos next. I'll likely opt for keeping twin turbo setup over a large single turbo. I prefer to have the power band lower reaching in the rpm range even if it means I lose a little top end.
Thanks for the ongoing e90 content. It’s simply a great car. Hence likely the reason you enjoy driving it while still owning a G80 big grill. You’ve helped me maintain my 2011 335i XDrive, and I am also considering the manual swap. I’ve been told to use the N54 manual trans (stronger and cheaper) than the N55 counterpart. Any truth to that?
Cool video. I feel the same way with my 123d. It has a stock diff with very short ratios, 2,46 I think, but I bought it with a 330d diff with a big case and 3,08 ratios. So much smoother and at 200km/h(125mph) I only have 3100 rpm!
Personally been running the 3.46 with the manual for over a year now, for my uses I enjoy it. Not a daily driver, and whenever I do drive it it’s for canyons mostly, so having the more aggressive gearing makes it fun. For a daily, definitely can get annoying at 3k rpm to do 75mph
You work so much on the cars you should really pick up a set of quickjacks...make your life so much easier dude! I got a set about 2 months ago and it's made working on the 335d so much more pleasant.
I always bought manual 3-Series cars, but I have no regrets with my current automatic 2009 328i E90. I bought it this month and replaced the usual OFHG, tensioner, belt, front pads-rotors-sensors, bulbs, wiper blades, and brake fluid. My tech says it is in great mechanical condition, which I suspected from its like-new appearance. The Carfax verified a new valve cover gasket and I am keeping the Carfax current to give the next owner confidence to buy. Your vids are helpful and interesting so keep it up. My biggest interest is updating the media and phone systems.
I don't think that specific preload does much. Snug the bolts up close and move the support forward 4 or 5mm and lock it in place. The important preload for "normal jobs" (not internal engine or gearboxes) is the preloading of spherical suspension bushings under load when on the ground prior to tightening. I don't see really any difference in bmw driveshaft support longevity or anything if you just put it back up and that's it. I usually tighten front and rear and then torque the snugged up center. Ive preloaded them before etc and doesn't seem too important. Bmw also says to replace the caliper guide bolts every brake job. I doubt that really happens except at the dealer and probably half the time at that. And many other bolts too. Some are necessary or even best to simply replace and some aren't as important. Bmw also says vacuum fill every cooling system. Bmw is great not everything their shop Manual says is God. If it was critical I think it would be well known as a catastrophe if you didn't push it those couple millimeters forward. It just isn't the case. Ymmv as the kids say.
I completely agree. I did a manual swap on my AWD 335xi. And am now searching for 3.08 diffs as well. Because I daily the car. The mpg is trash with driving on high rpm. Car is on e85 so that makes it even worse. Yes power and is fun. But I don't think 3.46 on a manual car is worth it unless you are tracking the car only. Not for a daily.
Your BMW content is the best man. Really appreciate all the informative vids you do. It helped me thru the years building my car and surely many others who watch. Keep it up man!
Gears can make or break an experience. I experimented with FD ratios on my civic when I installed an LSD I love this car but i hate the larger ratios I picked and the car has just sat for months. This winter im swapping it all out for larger gears. I wish there where bolt in LSD options for my E92's front diff.
a lot of people complain about gasoline bmw being slow of first gear, i have a diesel e90 330d rear drive only , it flies like a fighter jet, but i think that bmw diesel turbos are much stronger then gasoline one.
Thanks for the content and for the advice about diff gear ratio and your experience with it, its so nice to have a reference about it.. cant wait you to retrofit genuine lsd (wavetrac) hope so 😅, whatever you chose hope you explain why you chose and what are some options and benefits.. every bit of your knowledge that i can im using on my build bcs mine is manual e92 330i n52b30a and there are some differences, so little content on e92 330i on yt unfortunately but your vids on some parts helps me a lot... not trolling..
re: the 335i not being real comfortable off the line -- I'm trying to remember, what suspension mods have you done to the car? I think I remember you doing the M3 control arms up front a few years back, but it's been so long I'm not sure if that was it, or what else you did for it.
Can you make a video review on the single mass flywheel you installed when you did the manual swap? I find it tough to find in-depth reviews on the conversion specific to n54/n55 powered cars. No one seems to mention things like how much the shifting effort changes. Or whether the clutch is super grabby or not. I had a valeo single mass flywheel conversion kit in my old e46 with the e60 shift lever and I really found that it took away from the refinement you pay for when buying a BMW in the first place. There definitely were some pros for spirited driving but a very unforgiving setup for city commutes to work. Basic things like driving over speed bumps had to be perfectly timed.
Upgraded turbo or even fbo e85 auto guys really should think of swapping to the manual 3.08 One it makes the wheel torque less so it's not as likely to break lose. But also you get longer gears so your top speed and usable power gears are much better. I've done the swap a year or so ago and it's Night and day and really a different car
So I have a manual e90 xdrive and I'm thinking about swapping in a set of auto diffs. I already have them sitting in the garage. My car is a n55 with F55 turbo shooting for 600whp. Basically looking for faster 60-130 times, dont really daily the car on the highway anymore.
Having a look on yout old re-used downpipe/midpipe gasket you may have an exhaust leak there... the after cat lambda probes are the reference for your wide band pre cat lambdas. In worst case you run to lean or to rich.. Maybe you will run into not set learning bits for your injectors (see Inpa) or / and your idle becomes weak. Just want to mention. Maybe I saw it wrong in the short sequence.
Hey. I just recently did the M3 dynamic rpm gauge retrofit that you showed and I encountered a small problem. The motor itself works but the gauge moves too quickly. Its right at 7k rpm way before the oil is even warm. Any clue what that could be?
No 1 option: Get a ZF 6 speed, with a 3 clutch LSD(4:1 ratio), you will have the best fun out of that car, if you cant find the diff ration, just get a smaller rim size No 2 option: Getrag 6 speed, with a progressive LSD(racing diff conversion kit) current ratio all about acceleration in my end though
I always like the content on his channel. But he said "when I'm pushing the power on this car it feels like I'm just hurting the car". Or something almost the same as that. But if he is going to go with a single turbo set up won't that just feel like it's hurting the car even more? Maybe I don't know exactly what he means by that.
Try a ford 8.8 diff kit for your 335i it’s bulletproof, vehicle virals is running that in his 700hp 335i and i have it on my 08 335i with 457 hp. Just an idea 💡
Hey man how can I tell if I have a timing chain issue I have 73k miles on my 2013 328i x drive & the dealership told me I’m not eligible for the extended warranty for the timing chain :(((
Hey man hope your doing well I just wanted to share my experience of my 08 335i with 138k miles. I got a letter saying the car needs a recall so I took it to the dealership and there were no problems it was a good day no problems and a week later while I’m driving completely turns off. Been down about a month. I’ve tried many things I don’t think it’s an electricalI problem. I think it might be the fuel pump control module. Any thoughts of what it can be ?
You have already put alot of work on this, I think it's a good time to say goodbye to this bad boy. You may get f80 or so ( something close) and make content on that ( very unmaintainted).
Wouldn't it be nice to have a dual clutch auto that could used manually with a clutch pedal when you felt like rowing the gears?!? Thanks for sharing. Sounds like you did the right thing here for your driving enjoyment.
Dual clutch means exactly that; two clutches which are impossible to control with one pedal, let alone even two. So neither is it an automatic. It is a manual with computer controlled clutches and shifting. The automatic shifting feature is just an additional software feature.
@@mikimiki195 iirc the owner's manual advises to use the diff as the center rear jack point. I think it includes a warning about not setting it on the lip of the diff case - *that* can crack, but avoid that and you're fine. Even has a diagram for it. If it's not in the owner's manual, try the workshop manual, it'll be in there for sure.
So from what I'm hearing a 3.46 diff will physically fit a car that came with an 3.08 diff? In otherwords if I have an 07 335i e92 the diff from a 2012 335i will fit but have different gear ratios?
Did you do the fronts and rear? I have not done rear bushings or subframe, I did just the front and it definitely helped but pushing the car it feels a little unstable at times
How do you go about dealing with the speedometer inaccuracies as a result of the diff ratio change or is the speed measured off he wheel sensors rather than the gearbox?
The 440i is a pretty different experience, feels more related to the G20 M340i I had than the E90. Interior wise and driving dynamics it feel smore like a GT car. The engine is great.
@@matthewweisdorfer7757 Supposedly wavetrac is better in some situations where one wheel is in the air, dunno if that ever happens though lol. I was considering mfactory first then found a quaife for same price at schiedmann.. easy choice there.
Definitely upgrade subframe and differential bushings at the same time. Drexler clutch or Torsen inertial LSD? Recommend the MFactory inertial for street. Single turbo us great at the strip, not so much at the track nor especially on the street.
I believe you need the M3 subframe as well as M3 axles, and then you’ll need a custom driveshaft that’s a hybrid in between the 335 and M3 one. I am planning on doing this to my 335 in the future