What about reliability? Same reliability? I've heard of people swapping out the 6 speeds in the e46s for 5 speeds.

 

I'm just wondering if the g260 paired with a 3.63 will be too sluggish. More boost!

The adapter plates would be the same? Only a change in the shifter rod?

 

All depends on power output and intended usage. G260 with a 3.63 is definitely an option worth considering.

The adapter plates are actually slightly different. the E30 bellhousing has the same bolt pattern, but is clocked 10 degrees to one direction. So we'll be offering the E30-specific bolt pattern in the next few weeks.

The same rear trans mount and selector rod is used for the G260 as the ZF5, but the shift lever geometry is slightly different. We'll have those parts on the shelf very soon and available for order. All the shifters are compatible with all transmissions, but for best shifter feel it's important to pair each transmission with the proper shifter geometry. If you're too far off from ideal dimensions, the shifting effort is increased.

 

The ZF 5 speed is most popular among racers due to the reasons I mentioned earlier. As far as we can tell, both are very strong and built by the same same manufacturer (certainly able to handle turbo BP power just fine). No internal parts are available from BMW for the 6 speeds, only the 5 speeds, so I suspect that has something to do with the increase popularity of the 5 speeds.

 

As a former BMW E30 guy, the G260s are ridiculously stout. They aren't the smoothest shifting boxes in the world, but they handle abuse quite well.

 

Chris Edens from Two-Six Motorsports is heading to the Runoffs with a Getrag 260 gearbox in his 300whp T1 car thanks to our new upgrade. He was shredding 6 speeds left and right, so now he should be set with a permanent solution.

Here's also an under-car shot for those of you who want to see how it's all mounted. The same mount and shifter is used for both the ZF5 and G260. The G260 adapter plate just has an additional 10 degrees of rotation.

We'll have the G260 setup available for pre-order really soon. I think this trans is going to be a big winner for the BP-powered crowd due to the long gearing, while the K guys like the closer ratio ZF5. 6 speed parts should be here soon too, which will be a winner for everybody.

 

I can't really tell if it's just the angle of the picture but does that transmission brace out back leave enough clearance for most 3"exhausts or is everyone going to have to budget in redoing their what for the swap?

 

Good question. The mount clears the factory exhaust with a decent amount of clearance all around. So if your aftermarket exhaust follows the same path as OEM, you should be good. Chris has completely custom exhaust on this car so he did need to re-do it. I had to do the same with my 3" K series exhaust which was also custom. So it really just depends on what is currently on your car. The closer to OEM, the more likely it will fit without modification. OEM is really the only standard we could adhere to because of so many different exhaust possibilities.

 

Totally understand that you can't account for every set up. I believe my exhaust is fairly close to OEM and many of the aftermarket ones are as well so it's probably mostly fine. Thanks for the response.

 

First race with 1800 and blew up gearbox. F*#$ it!

So looking for a set and forget solution but i'm confused.....what is the best option for a BP turbo car...ZF or G260?

Also, If we go either, what is the best diff ratio to be equivalent to the Mazda 6 speed and 3.9 diff ratio? (which I am pretty happy with). Though 4.1 equivalent wouldn't be an issue either.

Finally, what parts are available for individual purchase, freight being a killer to here.

 

Sorry to hear this, but yes we can help.

The ZF will give you nearly identical 3-4-5 gearing, without a 6th overdrive gear. The G260 is more similar to the Miata 5 speed, with longer gearing. You can see specifics on our gear ratio calculator on the website too. We've been running a ZF 5 speed with 3.9 diff in one of the test cars and it works very well on track. Also, the G260 parts are going on the website this week, just FYI.

All pieces are available for order individually, although we're out of stock on a number of things after the initial pre-order, but a second round of parts is in the works now. Expect orders placed now to ship in November. We've also had good luck working out reasonable rates to Australia, so shoot me an email to sales@kmiata.com with your full address and I'll see what I can do.

 

Getrag 260 parts are now available for order, along with the ZF 5-speed parts. 6 speed stuff is getting close.

https://kmiata.com/collections/transmission-upgrades

And final product shots are live too:

 

looks Awesome. Do you have a PPF delete solution for the mazda diff?

 

Almost. It's in the works now.

 

How are you getting wheel speed with the 1990-93. I might have missed it but very curious about it.

 

90-93 cars are going to need a 1.8 front knuckle swap so an ABS sensor can be added on one side. 94+ cars are obviously much easier.

 

How do you get speed from the 94+ cars? When I was trying with the EMS4 I was far from anything resembling a decent signal from the reed switch.

 

The cluster has a vr conditioner that takes the reedswitch output and turns it into a square wave.

But that is irrelevant because the Reed switch is driven by the speedo cable.

94+ will still need an ABS knuckle. The non abs knuckles aren't machined for abs sensors.

 

Couldn’t 1.6 cars revert to the GPS speedo option? Seems simpler than knuckle swap.

 

I have a bluetooth GPS for my android instrument cluster. Works great for the 90% of the time it works, but awful for the 10%... the occasional pairing issue, signal sometimes affected by LOS, etc. You need a ground based sensor really.