wrs

1992 325i E36. I have a shudder in the drivetrain at 25k and a vibration at 50 and 100. It does the shudder it both forward and reverse but can't do 50k in reverse to check for the vibration... It does it in 1st or 2nd gear. The shudder gets worse with more torque. The shudder at 25k feels a bit like axel-tramp. The vibration is like a wheel out of balance. I'm picking a half-shaft as the gearbox is reconditioned (Nissan slushy) and the driveshaft has had the universals replaced. I've had the wheels checked for running true, balance and alignment. I scored a whole 325i back end off Trademe but the half-shafts are seized in in both my car and the replacement one. The local John Bates guy says it's a common problem and you usually stuff the wheel bearings pressing the shafts out. I'm going to change the diff as well as it's got quite a loud whine. Before going to the trouble of replacing the shafts, I thought I'd check to see if anyone has had a similar problem and if they know what it is...

The crazy thing is there's currently bids at about $50 for $5 of parts... What gets me is the wild claim of +45bhp increase!!

Thanks everyone for your input. I went back to the company promising the 40kW increase about a guarantee. They said they would only offer a guarantee if they fitted the head and timed the cams themselves. I said great, how much. Their response was 'Sorry, we don't have time to do it for ages". Effectively looks like they're ducking for cover on a guarantee... I felt as if I never got a satisfactory answer to any of my questions to then anyway. So, it looks like headers and air cleaner first then... Next I'll look at cams, porting and ECU reprogramming. Once it's completed I'll look for a manual box as I expect the Nissan slushbox to fall out on the road not long after it's all going!! It's already gone bang once. Cheers.

Yeah, the 328 does have better torque at low RPM and mine is a bit flat until around 2500 rpm but considering you're in first gear for about 1 second and below 2500 rpm for less than 1/2 that it makes sod all difference off the mark... From 0-100k's the 328 is 2-3 car lengths in front - not that signifiacant in distance but very significant in effective HP... The cam change proposed is a combination of lift and duration change. It's supposed to increase low RPM torque with a larger increase at the top end. Thanks for your thoughts, - I was a bit worried the kW claims were a bit inflated... I will ask for a guarantee. Supercharging would be great but it would shag the auto in about a second... Yeah, I know - use a manual box... I've been driving auto's for a while now (since giving up racing) and unfortunately have started to like them. Must be getting lazy.

Thanks for your thoughts. The stock 325i is quoted to be 141kW. Achieving over 180kW with the mods listed is supposed to be easy. While adding headers should improve the performance, it's a lot of effort and cost for a very small gain plus it looks modified. It's always something to add later. The auto in this car has recently been rebuilt and isn't at all bad. In sport mode and with the kicker switch you can pretty much get a manual type response... My friend has a 328 and it's bugger all quicker. We're pretty much side by side off the mark with the 328 only just pulling away, - they're not that much quicker. His is a manual as well. Other options like turbo and supercharging etc don't have the same appeal due to both cost and certification issues. I suppose my question really is do you think +40kW is realistic doing only cams, porting, raising compression and rechipping?

I'm interested in what you think the realistic power increase you could achieve on a M50B25 engine. It's in an E36 1992 325i with a slushbox... I'm told 40kW is fairly easy to add by doing the cams, porting, compression and rechiping the ecu. I have a quote for just under $2k (not including the rechip) to do all this and supply the head set up ready to go. This assumes I do the removal and refitting. I see this as a good relatively cheap option as the engine doesn't look modified so easy to get a warrant... It's supposed to still be very drivable with increase low-rev torque, quite important with an auto. I don't want to change to a manual, - on a tight budget. Any thoughts on what you'd do to get and extra 20-30%

Anyone got an E36 325i (auto) 3.73 ratio diff they want to off-load or have spare and will part with? How much? Edit - wrong ratio was 3.91 but need 3.73...