Anyone gone BMW gearbox?

Been recently chetting with a local performance company who specialize in building drift cars. I got talking to the owner who uses and cant praise the BMW gearbox conversion enough and i was wondering if anyone has ran or uses the conversion kit on here..

obviously some parts need to be custom made like the prop, gearbox mount and lever assembly but for the money it seems a decent route to take with the supra 6 speed boxes going for silly money. some silly questions i have is what ECU would run this if 1 would? would syvecs do it??.... what other issues would need to be thought about

here is a link of the kit they use

http://www.abc-clutch.com/products/1-2JZ-BMW-gearbox-adapter-KIT

From my research it seems that the BMW 530d 5 speed seems to be the box which can take the power the best.

whats peoples thoughts on this?? please keep to topic

I've been thinking the same thing rob. If my auto dies, it's a toss up between the 530d conversion, or hybrid/built box

It's just something else to think about and I have been for a while. Since lee bought this 8speed out its thrown a spanner in the works if I'm honest as a auto still is a favourite of mine.

The initial layout isn't cheap but if a box does go bang, you can source them relatively cheap. I'm thinking more at what else would be needed. The drifters swear by it and they rip the hell out of the cars and they seem indestructible.

I'm considering this option as well rob so if you do go ahead maybe ask the guy is he can do the kit cheaper for 2 or more people. The only downside would be re sale value on the car I guess would not be as high. I just spoke to jurgen and he said 4-5k to get a 6 speed conversion from Japan now.

Also the box would be a lot nicer to use than a supra 6 speed box

Drifters don't put much torque through the drive train, they set the cars up to have very little grip, I wouldn't cite them as a good reason to think these boxes are up to snuff.

So long as a Syvecs can get engine RPM it should work, some functions may need a propshaft RPM signal, a toothed wheel behind the prop flange on gearbox or diff and a Hall effect or magnetic sensor would give it its signal if the `box in question doesn't have an inbuilt prop speed sensor already.

Don't underestimate bespoke bellhousing costs, or adapter plate costs, tailshaft mounting costs and bespoke prop mods though, these are all jobs for specialists, and as one offs or low volume runs they will be pricey! Whether you can use a stock dual mass flywheel or 5 speed manual flywheels with a suitable clutch also needs careful investigation, as bespoke flywheels will consume a lot more dosh. The ring gear needs to mate with a stock starter, too, or it gets even more involved.

Check out the link I posted Chris Wilson. That's the full kit minus gearbox of choice and prop. Glad to hear your input on this and your reply was the sort of thing I was after to read as I never thought about some of the things you wrote.

I'm considering this option as well rob so if you do go ahead maybe ask the guy is he can do the kit cheaper for 2 or more people. The only downside would be re sale value on the car I guess would not be as high. I just spoke to jurgen and he said 4-5k to get a 6 speed conversion from Japan now.

Yeah I know the resale would be a pain but let's face it my build is far from stock anyway and if done by the book it might even hold value ect or would definitely sell if proven successful. I can't spare 4-5k on a box that's ridiculous money.

Yeh or just wait for one to pop up they usually go for 3.5k but even then that's a lot. But you're right if anyone pays 4-5k for a second hand conversion they are silly

Yeh or just wait for one to pop up they usually go for 3.5k but even then that's a lot. But you're right if anyone pays 4-5k for a second hand conversion they are silly

I dont need a conversion, only need the box but no one will sell just a box plus its still £3k + clutch.

Rob, would you not consider an SRD 8 Speed Auto conversion on the car?

Rob, would you not consider an SRD 8 Speed Auto conversion on the car?

yes mate already mentioned that in a comment above. I was looking at a alternative solution and then Lee posted about the 8speed and if im honest thats more up my street as i loved my previous car.

i like the idea of manual also now after just selling the grey 5speed i built, that was fun and drove great... its a tough decision. either route will be costly. It will be passed down to Lee at SRD like the previous car to finish and put the stamp on the build, so ill prob have a chat about it more soon.

I can see why drifters use the BMW gearboxes, as when replacements are needed they're cheap. But for a road car, the costs don't stack up imo. What little you may save over a getrag will be lost in the overall value of the car, and there's no off the shelf replacements for the custom parts.

Rob, would you not consider an SRD 8 Speed Auto conversion on the car?

That's what I'm waiting on.

8 speed tiptronic paddle shifters

If it's viable and a good price, I will be swapping from my 6 speed

There was an NA-T build from Sweden running 1000hp through a BMW box but he's sold it on now. Think the guys name was Mattsson or something. Seemed to take the power quite well but I'm not sure which variant of the box it was.

He was a proper bomb builder with custom parts involved but I think the general work was similar to what's detailed in the kit you've linked

That's what I'm waiting on.

8 speed tiptronic paddle shifters

 

If it's viable and a good price, I will be swapping from my 6 speed

well if thats the case ill buy your 6 speed box lol haha

Check out the link I posted Chris Wilson. That's the full kit minus gearbox of choice and prop. Glad to hear your input on this and your reply was the sort of thing I was after to read as I never thought about some of the things you wrote.

The adapter, if it really is well made, should ensure concentricity of input shaft bearing bore in the g/box and the c/shaft centre line, so that's one very important point covered. Dowelling is absolutely essential! I would have reservations on the life of a 7.25 inch clutch in a road car, even a triple plate. these cerrametallic plates are race / rally only and *WILL NOT* like being slipped. A much bigger, single plate clutch like the Yanks use behind stonking great V8's, ideally with centrifugal bob weights for increasing clamping pressure with RPM would be a far better choice. But that would involve a different flywheel and you would need to check release bearing clearance and physical clearance within the bellhousing. I would use a concentric release bearing, like the one I did for the race sequential box "manwithsupra" commissioned me to build, rather than OE type.

Whats the going rate on this vs the 6 speed then?

Kit works out about £1750+ custom prop+ gearbox mount+ few extras (not too clued up yet)

6speed conversion- 4-5k

Be interested to see how this works out.

What about the e46 M3 box? As far as I'm aware it's nigh on the same as the Supra's box, just with a different bell housing. They are 6 speed Getrag's which allow for similar power hikes anyway.

ETA: Less than £700 delivered http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bmw-m3-e46-3-2-6-speed-gearbox-smg-manual-2006-60k-miles-/262059363910?hash=item3d03f48e46

ETA, Again: both the E46 M3 Getrag and the Supras Getrag have identical final drive, just 6th that the ratios vary(and only slighly), Supras is 0.8, M3's is 0.83, also, the M3 Clutch/flywheel will bolt straight up to the 2JZ.

Yeah that's the box my friend uses. I only asked what was ' the strongest' and he said the 5speed. I did see that the M3 box was virtually almost the same ratios and both getrag. Interesting stuff but more research needs to be done on my part before I decide anything

A friend of mine in Finland is putting nearly 1000hp through a BMW box, built largely for mile racing on airfields. Id say they're up to the job.

I guess you have been speaking with Frazer? I've been helping/working on his drift car the last 9 months and have some advise regarding the clutch kit/gearbox.

The short answer is, don't bother with this conversion if you are planning for this to be a daily drive or a comfortable cruiser.

The clutch kit and BMW box feels very racecar like, in the sense that the clutch is hard to use, the clutch is very noisy etc. It's saving grace is that it's relatively cheap in comparison to the 6 speed, and it can take a lot of abuse for what it is, and worse comes to worse a new gearbox will set you back a few hundred at maximum.

Installation of the kit is incredibly straight forward and the quality of the components used on the clutch kit are high.

In my opinion, if I had a drag/drift car that I wanted to build but couldn't fork out for a 6 speed getrag, then this would be the next best thing. Using this kit on a daily/road basis is interesting at first, but quickly becomes tiresome.

Now now, you of all people know gearboxes and transmissions in general are rated by torque @ X RPM