3.46 in manual

Bmwfixerguy1

Lieutenant
Jun 5, 2017
875
292
0
Ride
07 335i MT
I did anmini hijack of this question on someone else's thread lol

I'd like to get some real people that have done this or their friends car ect ECT ECT

I'd like to know if it was worth it or a horrible disaster, I don't daily my car on a highway drive nor am I on the highway all that much to be honest so that's a plus I suppose...

Some of my thinking is that being a diff is a torque multiplier, going to a shorter gear I may be able to tune a little less agressive and get the same reaulr with the trade off being a 600rpm bump or less when cruising..

Thanks guys and spring is coming to my build will continue :)
 

doublespaces

Administrator
Oct 18, 2016
9,306
4,340
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AZ
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2009 E93 335i
I've heard of this a few times, and it seems the overall consensus was regret. Probably just depends on what you're after, but I can't say for sure since I've not done this. I'm all about the taller gears though, less shifting, less shift bog, timing pulls, etc.
 

island road

Corporal
Nov 21, 2016
188
140
0
Boston
Ride
535xiT 2010 M Sport
I did anmini hijack of this question on someone else's thread lol

I'd like to get some real people that have done this or their friends car ect ECT ECT

I'd like to know if it was worth it or a horrible disaster, I don't daily my car on a highway drive nor am I on the highway all that much to be honest so that's a plus I suppose...

Some of my thinking is that being a diff is a torque multiplier, going to a shorter gear I may be able to tune a little less agressive and get the same reaulr with the trade off being a 600rpm bump or less when cruising..

Thanks guys and spring is coming to my build will continue :)


Just took what I already posted on a different forum.

"When I had my 335i one of the first things I did was install a 3.46 with LSD. The car was stock beside this mod then soon came FBO and then after upgraded turbos.

I did HPDE along with Autox events and I loved every minute of the 3.46. If I had to do it again I wound still go the same route, I was under 600whp. My driving was split up mostly of highway, city and back roads. I never felt as if the gears were too short. All my friends had 335i as well and we would often drive each others cars so I still was able to hop back and forth after swapping out my diff over the years to get a feel of the 3.08.

Going 80mph yes the RPMs was a tad higher on the highway, and slightly more gas used but I still managed good MPG on the highway mid to upper 20s. The fastest I did go in the car was about 170 and had a bit more room so it still had legs. My vote goes towards 3.46 if u can't tell.

Good luck on your decision."
 
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langsbr

Captain
Apr 5, 2017
1,274
776
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07 335i 6MT e90
I used to think it was too short, but after reading a thread on a different forum (it may have been island roads), there were also the full calculations on how much rpms would change. I think it is definitely acceptable to do and would be quite a bit of fun. It may not be great for 1/2 mile competitions, but for pretty much anything you could use on the street, I think it would be advantageous.
 

dyezak

Major
May 4, 2017
1,767
1,518
0
Plano TX
Ride
335is
I just moved from a 2.56 DCT to a 3.15 DCT. Much larger jump than what you are thinking about. I love it. Even on the highway I'm loving it. The only problem is top speed being so much lower and the fact that at a 1/2mi event I would effectively run out of gear before I hit the 1/2mi end. But lets be real, I want to do some 1/2mi stuff, and I will...but I don't live my life 1/2mi at a time :laughing: