E30 Zone

Hi Guys,

I'm after a bit of advice for which shifter to go with on my track car.

I was hoping to find an aftermarket shifter but not worth spending the money as I'm a shite driver.

So I have narrowed it down to either the Z3 2.8, Z3M or Z4 3.0. If anyone has used the above shifters and could give me some feedback, I'd really appreciate it.

Might also be worth noting I will be using quite a tall gear knob.

Thanks

Tom

I got a twenty quid one off fleabay and it works fine.

bosers wrote:I got a twenty quid one off fleabay and it works fine.

I'd rather go with a bmw part then one of those, I know a few people use them though.

Be carful to read the description of the cheap ones as I think some of them are quite extreme, one was advertised as shortening the lever 4" That seemed a lot!

bosers wrote:I got a twenty quid one off fleabay and it works fine.

Me too

KW355 wrote:

bosers wrote:I got a twenty quid one off fleabay and it works fine.

Me too

Me three

Thanks but re the eBay ones I wouldn't fit one to my car as I would rather go for a branded part.

Genuine Z3 1.9 short shifter, not sure how short, but may be what you are looking for

http://store.garagistic.com/e30-perform ... rts?page=4

motormanmick wrote:Genuine Z3 1.9 short shifter, not sure how short, but may be what you are looking for

http://store.garagistic.com/e30-perform ... rts?page=4

Thanks mate - the wiki on here is really useful and give the part numbers and prices (not sure how recent though).

Think I'm going to go for the Z3m.

Beware as depending on what gearbox/prop combo you have you may not have enough room for a very short throw lever, I drove an M20 with a Z4 3.0 which is slightly longer throw than the Z3 M and it was awful, the box just isn't up to the precise gear change thats needed to engage it with such a short throw

DanThe wrote:Beware as depending on what gearbox/prop combo you have you may not have enough room for a very short throw lever, I drove an M20 with a Z4 3.0 which is slightly longer throw than the Z3 M and it was awful, the box just isn't up to the precise gear change thats needed to engage it with such a short throw

Thanks for the feedback Dan - I was about to call the dealers.

It's going onto a getrag 260 or 265 (whatever came in a 325i sport) - what would you suggest, the 1.9 or 2.8?

ive just done z3 one with related parts its night and day compared to the original cant recommend it enough,

rotta wrote:ive just done z3 one with related parts its night and day compared to the original cant recommend it enough,

Thanks Rotta - the 1.9 one did you use?

Yep, you don't need anything more than the Z3 1.9 lever on a 325i

DanThe wrote:Yep, you don't need anything more than the Z3 1.9 lever on a 325i

Thanks Dan - there's a fair bit of play in the lever so will replace the bush too.

Cheers guys.

Tom

LondonTom wrote:

rotta wrote:ive just done z3 one with related parts its night and day compared to the original cant recommend it enough,

Thanks Rotta - the 1.9 one did you use?

i did indeed

Going to do this tomorrow - just a quick question - how much do the selector rod need to be bent / modified?

The gearbox is getrag 260/5.

Thanks

Tom

Anyone?

I used the Z3 1.9 shifter and didn't need to bend the selector rod at all.

LondonTom wrote:Going to do this tomorrow - just a quick question - how much do the selector rod need to be bent / modified?

The gearbox is getrag 260/5.

Thanks

Tom

Are you confusing this with fitting a gearbox to an engine that sits at a different angle?

Thanks Guys.

Brian sorry for the confusion but in the wiki it states the selector rod needs bending yet I have read elsewhere and as Cloggy says above it doesn't need bending at all.

Cloggy do you have a vibration damper on your prop?

No vibration damper on mine.

I have a z3 1.9 on my M30 and what a difference it made!

Feels tight without being too short..genuinely feels like that's how it was always supposed to be!

I wouldn't want to go any shorter than that!

Cheers again lads - all done.