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What Diff for 1988 320i
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 1:59 pm
by popupstands
My diff is a little noisey so I'am going to replace it can you guys tell me what the best diff ratio is to use for 1988 320i
Thanks in advance
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 5:58 pm
by StuBeeDoo
I'll probably get flamed for this, but........
I put a 3.64 in my 320i Touring. It's improved the economy (1000 mile trip to and around south-west Scotland 33.85mpg) and it hasn't dulled the accelleration as far as I can tell.
HTH
Stuart.
Re:
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 5:59 pm
by maxfield
3.91 for acceleration.
3.64 for decent motorway crusing
Re:
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 9:16 pm
by Andyboy
Hmmm - I put a 3.64 in my 320i and the acceleration in 4th and 5th was reduced - mine had a big bore throttle body and a chip. However once wound up it would sit at 100 all day. On my last track day at Croft I did Croft to Oxford in 2 hours 20.....
Re:
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 9:19 pm
by StuBeeDoo
Andyboy wrote:mine had a big bore throttle body and a chip.
So's mine!
Re:
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:40 pm
by Dr Firefly
Mine's run a 4.10 fine for 10k - no signs of damage yet. It cuts into your economy on long trips, but I did find an improvement in acceleration over the 3.91 (I think!). But I only had that one because the diff was cheap with low mileage (70k compared to mine at 140k). If I could have found a 3.91 I'd have used that.
So basically, 3.64, 3.91 and 4.10 will all work, but with slight trade-offs for economy or acceleration. But I don't know if a 4.10 will have a shorter life or not. The oil's still clean after 10k, so there doesn't seem to be much wear going on yet.
Hope that helps