89 320i conversion

[bimmer1989 0]

i am looking at converting my 320i too manual?

is this possible with this model?

[charles28 117]

Of course its possible

I wouldn't bother though, just sell it and get a 325i Manual, alot cheaper in the long run

Edited November 23, 2009 by Charles28

[Apex Effects 3]

Of course its possible

I wouldn't bother though, just sell if and get a 325i Manual, alot cheaper in the long run

wise words

[charles28 117]

The great thing about E30's is that there are still plenty of them around, while a tidy manual 325i E30 might set you back a good 5k or so, often you can find one for 2-3k thats just on the edge of being a dunger, but also good enough that it can be saved with not too much expense.

If your a DIY type person then maybe doing a conversion is right for you, but if paying someone else to do it, the bill can become rather large in a short amount of time.

Converting it to manual may improve your fuel economy slightly and make your car alot more fun to drive, but if you were going to go to that trouble then you might aswell upgrade the engine at the same time, an economical method could be finding a crashed 325i manual and taking both the engine and gearbox from it.

Even though a 325i only has 40hp more, it also has more torque.

You can plug a 325i ecu straight in on your facelift 320i, infact you can just take the 325i eprom from a 325i ecu and put it in yours.

I own both a 325i Manual and 320i Auto, the difference is Night and Day

[Forrest 35]

320's are deathly slow if you want to go any faster than 'cruise', would spend the extra cash and do a 2.5 and manual. Probably find a motor + conversion kit for around 1200 ish?, or just find a manual 325i car and be done with it. My early PFL was 3k: 325i manual + a bunch of $$$$$ mods and options. Be patient and weigh it all up and let us know how you go.

Edited November 23, 2009 by Forrest

[e30plz 1]

If I was you i'd make an offer on this gearbox - Link.

In my opinion 320i are fine, may be lacking over the bigger 2.3/2.5 but worth swapping to manual depending how cheap you can find a G240 (that one is well priced). A 325i isn't dealthy fast anyway. Good luck with it.

[bmw_guy 0]

haha i wouldnt be complaining with a 320i,

better than my 318i

[charles28 117]

haha i wouldnt be complaining with a 320i,

better than my 318i

Some say the 318i has similar performance to a 320i but less fuel consumption

[antil33t 90]

at least your 318i goes

[e30plz 1]

Some say the 318i has similar performance to a 320i but less fuel consumption

M20s sound so much nicer.

[malus139 5]

I just wanted to add, wow the difference of a 320i and a 325i m20 is quite amazing. My brother just recently upgraded his m20b20 to a m20b25, and you can really feel it pull. But if you were going to do a manual conversion i suggest you should get a bigger engine at the same time.

Or as Forrest suggested just get a nice 325 and sell your 320

[antil33t 90]

I'm replacing my dead 2L with a 2.5L just as soon as I find one haha.

[bravo 34]

I did a manual conv on my old 320i. Was the best mod I did. But the advice to sell and buy a 325i is good advice. Unless your 320i is a real minter, in which case, a manual conversion, and/or engine swap might be your best bet.

The parts are cheap. The labour can get expensive.

If you can do it yourself, it's fairly easy, and would be worth it.

[bimmer1989 0]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/W...n-255434766.htm

if i had he money i would be getting that and chucking it in .

Thanks for the help guys. liking the site

[tibbs.james 1]

My old 320 loved having a manual gearbox and a 3.9 diff, however the first gearbox in that car was crunchy and had a noisy input shaft bearing and the experience of trying to drive an average condition gearbox smoothly or somebody else driving the car was not so pleasant.

in the end I fitted another ( far far better ) gearbox and the car felt much nicer to drive

This mattered to me, If you can get a known mint gearbox (HEll BM saved my balls on this one)

then I think you should go right ahead. But don't bother if the gearbox isn't up to spec.

Its one thing to have a nice quiet smooth manual 320i, it will get you round a bit quicker with roughly the same fuel economy ( again get a 2.5 motor if you can )

but to have a noisy hard to shift and rattly gearbox in an already slow car is worse than having an auto.

But consider again that once you have fitted a manual & 2.5 you are probally going to be looking out for 325 larger front struts & LSD

by the time you do all this you really have spent the Extra $2500 to just go and buy a 325 which already has most of this

Edited November 24, 2009 by Jimmy

[Carl 3]

 Ah yes, but if you do the manual conversion you can replace all the bits on the gbox while it's out of the car to make it fresh, seals/bearings/oil/shift-knuckle etc (and the z3 shift lever).

Just like if you do the engine swap, you can replace the seals/gaskets, do a valve grind, even new rings/bearings/valves etc. That way you know your engine will be sweet for the next 100k kms.

Edited December 11, 2009 by pando