Swapped out the Getrag for a ZF 5 Speed and Elmatic Short Shifter! 

Haha, I've done it twice now mate. It ain't fun but sure beats paying a mechanic to do it 😉

I personally prefer the smooth shifting of the Getrag. The ZF is quite notchy and harder to hit the gears fast. However the ZF is much stronger, so that's the trade-off

@@DomsE36Garage Great man, thank you for your fast reply! Exactly my thoughts on this. And if I can even save a few kg with the lighter Getrag I am going with this for my tracktool.

@@Patty-qy8qh No worries. But yeah, certainly keep a lookout for a cheap ZF for the eventual day when the Getrag let's go.

It'll last until it doesnt.....basically they are a bit of a grenade, but if you treat them like a baby they'll last longer than if you're taking it to the track or clutch kicking it at a drift event. Never hurts to keep a couple of spares because it can blow at any time. Power isn't the biggest concern, it's more how you treat them.

Good question, i can't answer definitively because i havent used that box. But as long as the input shaft and bell housing bolts etc match the E36 i dont see why it wouldnt fit. You might just have to get a custom clutch to match the gearbox/motor combo.

@@DomsE36Garage Thanks for the reply. For zf320 on m50 (video), is it necessary to change any clutch parts? or is the clutch of m50 valid? Thanks again. greetings

@@CampiRR the M50 clutch components work fine. I just recently upgraded to a twin plate clutch which is noted to work with Getrag and ZF boxes on the M50. So thoughts are that they are fully compatible

Unsure on that one unfortunately, I don't own a 318i and haven't tinkered with them in the past. I think you'll have to do some googling. Also the bimmerforums is a good resource for information like that 👍

Yeah correct. I ended up flipping the clutch plate so the protruding splines were facing the gearbox. So far no issues at all. Goodluck!

DomsE36Garage thank you 👍 had you fully installed it the wrong way around ? If so what were the effects? I ask because I feel like my clutch isn’t engaging meaning I can’t shift gears

@@skinhead27 no, i ended up spining the clutch plate around before installing the box. My assumption would be that the clutch would either rub on the flywheel or bind up. Sounds like if your clutch isnt selecting gears you might have an issue with bleeding or a faulty slave cylinder. You may have also used the wrong throwout bearing or have an issue with the selector fork. I'd start with ensuring the clutch is fully bled properly before ripping the box out again

If it's an identical swap, yes you'll need the front half of the driveshaft from an M3, 328i or Z3 (basically any of the cars that come with the ZF from factory). The rear half of your existing shaft should mate up to the front half of a ZF shaft. Reason for this i the flange on the ZF box is larger than the Getrag flange. So you'll need the larger M3 guibo too.

For memory you need to use the ZF cross member when you do the swap, it's slightly different to the Getrag cross member.

Thank you

Can't give you a 100% accurate response as I don't own a 323i and they use different diffs etc compared to the 325i. However I suggest you jump on some E36 specific Facebook groups and ask the question there, you'll get a more accurate answer then from me. In saying that, at a minimum you'll need the front half of an M3/328i/Z3 tailshaft. Depending on what shifter you have will depend on what linkage you need. I just used the stock 325i linkages due to the chassis mount shifter. I'm saying all that, if you want the cheapest option, just buy another Getrag for cheap and throw it in. The 323i doesn't make enough power to stress out the Getrags too much, should get some decent life out of a fresh one

@@DomsE36Garage I really appreciate it, i think i just needed to hear it from someone else. is ebay my best bet for shopping for a 250g in mid united states?

@@cheetorito7865 not sure mate, I live in Aus, not USA. But highly recommend the Facebook groups, will be plenty of Getrags for cheap

Need to explain what you're trying to do a bit better, that made no sense. What are you trying to change?

DomsE36Garage sorry about that I am trying to do this swap myself what do I need to have before I can swap my transmission like what parts do I need other than the transmission

@@boggymany6665 oh cool, if its just the E36 325i getrag to ZF, you just need the gearbox and the front half of the tailshaft of another ZF vehicle (+flexdisc/guibo to suit the ZF tailshaft). Csn get the front half of the tailshaft from a E36 Z3, M3, 328i etc.

@@DomsE36Garage Hello my e36 trans blew 2nd gear so i was looking at this upgrade all thats needed is just a e36 m3 guibo and the zf trans?

@@777bjm hey mate, so you'll need a ZF trans, front half tailshaft from an E36 model that uses ZF trans (328i, M3, Z3), Guibo that suits the bigger tailshaft/gearbox flange, and I believe if you are running a standard gear shifter, you may need the gear shift component from one of the above ZF trans cars (but don't quote me on that one, I run a chassis mount and used the standard 325i shift selector which worked well)

Yes, the ZF 5 speed manual transmission is much stronger and can handle more hp and torque before failing than the standard Getrag transmission can. Not sure of the exact figures, but the ZF's are well suited to turbo builds

I don't own an E46, but by rights they are very similar to the E36's, so shouldn't be a lot different to the details displayed in my video.

I'm racing it for the first time this weekend, so will let you know how it goes after that. Will also aim to put up a video over the next couple of weeks, so should give you a good idea.

Shifter is great by the way. Super notchy but really solid and awesome to use. Definitely recommend it