yo guys,

im in the process of purchasing a 3.46 ratio differential at a junkyard. I have two options:

$275 shipped unknown milage 90day warranty & "GRAYMARKET" item

$300 + shipping ($75-100) non graymarket 40k miles not sure on warranty

The big question is, what is a gray market item from a junkyard.
Which one would you choose?

-Andy

At least in the 80's the Gray Market referred to OEM parts or cars that weren't available in the US that were being sold here.

Like E30 or E21 323s, MB 500SLs (the 450/380/560SL bodystyle one), etc in the 80s.

Buy from someone reputable. It can potentially be disastrous for you if those diffs fcuk up. That's something I would not play around with.

www.diffsonline.com -- would be a good place to get an estimate to have them install new gears. I mean, if you buy this and spend $400 for it, install it (this is not something preppy will want to have installed at his place), you are going to pay around $500-600 for installation by itself. If it's not working, you'll have to pay another $500-600 to uninstall it.

Do it right the first time. It will create less headache down the road. Plus, if you sell your car -- what do you think sounds better? I bought this diff from diffsonline, or, I bought this diff from a junkyard?? (I am assuming you will be honest and disclose that to the potential buyer).

i think its a salvage yard not a junkyard.

the installation will be done at my friend's dad's auto shop. we are using one of the bays which includes a lift, all the tools needed and we have the BMW TIS and alldata to use. Plus we will have the mechanic staff there if we need assistance.

I know a good number of people who purchased 3.46 diffs from junkyards/salvage yards for their E46 and i have yet to hear one complaint.

Andy,

Grey market used to mean cars that where not sold here but imported from the country of origin after initial purchase. As long as the fit is correct and all the bearings are in good condition I would think that a grey market diff would be fine. Just call a few other junkyards Just to compare, you could try Europarts Express, Ken baker Automotive or Even brandywine I also like to deal with Pat from Potomac German.

lemme know if you need any help
you know where to reach me.

thanks for the helps guys..

i got the diff in the other day and saturday will be the install date.

i got a 3.46 off of a 323i 1999 at 14k miles for $325 shipped

thanks for the helps guys..

i got the diff in the other day and saturday will be the install date.

i got a 3.46 off of a 323i 1999 at 14k miles for $325 shipped


Does it have LSD?

no LSD...

yes i should have looked into LSD but it was much too much to spend on.

no LSD...

yes i should have looked into LSD but it was much too much to spend on.

How much more is the LSD? It might be worth the money to wait and get one with LSD. It allows you to put power down much earlier in a turn and get off the line easier.

Pete

How much more is the LSD? It might be worth the money to wait and get one with LSD. It allows you to put power down much earlier in a turn and get off the line easier.

Pete

Especially in normal street driving. :D

Going to all the trouble of a diff swap and not getting LSD? :confused
what's the point?
:dunno

from a 3.07 to a 3.46 is about 12.7% torque/hp delivery increase.

many dynos has shown a 323 w/ 3.46 vs a 330; torque force is relative equal to each other! with added shark injector, intake (which i have), pullies, and exhaust, performance numbers are pretty darn close (under 75mph) but afterwards, the 330 prevails. i find it quite astonishing for a 323 w/ simple bolt ons (mainly the 3.46 diff and shark injector) to be near a 330.

LSD would be rather difficult to find at salvage yards....and to buy a refurbished one or new one would cost $1000+. From my calculations, I would want a 3.38 or 3.46 differential, I do not beleive bmw offered a LSD 3.38 or 3.46. Thus the only offeres that does custom differentials are either new or rebuilt...which in prices, are out the wazoo

differential install would be done by me and a couple guys (free if i may add). we have access a shop which has lifts, tools, alldata for help, BMW TIS, and a couple DIYs found online. my friends dad who owns the auto shop is giving us a helping hand as well.

Going to all the trouble of a diff swap and not getting LSD? :confused
what's the point?
:dunno

In some cases, I guess some just want the immediate benefit of quicker acceleration. And seems in his case the price differential for an E46 LSD is pretty high.

Heck if it's that inexpensive and you're not autoxing or tracking hard core and have been able to get by with an open diff and want quick zip, why not.

from a 3.07 to a 3.46 is about 12.7% torque/hp delivery increase.

many dynos has shown a 323 w/ 3.46 vs a 330; torque force is relative equal to each other! with added shark injector, intake (which i have), pullies, and exhaust, performance numbers are pretty darn close (under 75mph) but afterwards, the 330 prevails. i find it quite astonishing for a 323 w/ simple bolt ons (mainly the 3.46 diff and shark injector) to be near a 330.

LSD would be rather difficult to find at salvage yards....and to buy a refurbished one or new one would cost $1000+. From my calculations, I would want a 3.38 or 3.46 differential, I do not beleive bmw offered a LSD 3.38 or 3.46. Thus the only offeres that does custom differentials are either new or rebuilt...which in prices, are out the wazoo

differential install would be done by me and a couple guys (free if i may add). we have access a shop which has lifts, tools, alldata for help, BMW TIS, and a couple DIYs found online. my friends dad who owns the auto shop is giving us a helping hand as well.


I guess if you aren't going to really RACE it the non-LSD would be ok.. although I can't imagine it will do much for your traction in the wintertime.

If it would have been me, I would have driven around on the 3.07 for another 6 months, saved the additional money that I would have been spending on gas with the 3.46, and put it towards an LSD diff... but that's just me :D :)

gas wise, guys on E46fanatics have stated MPG to stay the same, if not dropping 1MPG or two. Not a biggie for me. Wintertime I must say it 'may' hinder traction....we'll see. The only downside that i am not looking forward to is highway driving, since the RPMs will jump 12.7% more. Cruising at 80mph would be like 3500-4000

btw, i have never autoXed before but I would like to try it out in the spring time. Im pretty sure i wont be hardcore with it...

I know a LSD would make my car handle better too..but really with the PSS9 installed you guys helped out install, my car handles like crazy. I cannot believe my car can handle quite like this. My friend and I have did some handling testing between his mini cooper S (which are known for great go kart handling) to mine and we both agreed my car was just super glued to the ground (even on mediocre performance tires) I cant imagine what a LSD could do!! oh and not forgetting adding sway bars, better tires, etc. must be crazy crazy handling.

will that JC shark injector work with your new diff. ratio's woobie though? I don't think it would that well -- e.g., you would not be optimizing your shift points. You might need custom software to remap everything.

I assume that he's got DSC for winter. I had a LSD on an E30 and I liked ASC+T on the E36 for wintertime (though not really apples to apples in terms of cars).

as for the JC shark injector...what i am looking forward to is the added 500rpms. With the extra room to keep it in gear longer. Dynos have shown a 323 w/ 3.46 diff and shark injector to be very promissing.

slow323 on the other board has all the mods ive stated above and he reaches 60 at 6.1-6.4 seconds, quarter mile in high 14, low 15. (quarter mile is not as dramatic due to gearing. like i said after 75mph or so the car starts to shall we say, 'revert back to 323' :)

a guy on the board has either a 3.38 or 3.46 in his 330 and he actually can take E36 m3s without any problems.

I would be really surprised if you didn't notice a signifigant drop in gas mileage. Like you said yourself, if your driving style doesn't change at all, your rpm's will consistantly be 12.7% higher than they were prior to the diff swap. Higher rpm's for going the same speed = lower gas mileage.

You probably won't have too much more of a problem in winter conditions, except if you were in a parking lot or a driveway and trying to get out from a stop -- If the one wheel spinning is not getting traction, that extra torque is going to make it even harder to get traction.

Is your car an auto? If so you will definately need to do what james suggested and get your software changed for the new gear ratio.. My uncle made that mistake when he swapped gears in a buick a few years ago. :eek:

no my car is manual.

all E46 auto came with a 3.46 rear diff standard.

no my car is manual.

all E46 auto came with a 3.46 rear diff standard.


Then forget what james was saying.
:D

Then forget what james was saying.
:D

Need I remind you:

Originally Posted by MDabney
"jterp" has no authority here man...

:stickoutt ... I thought he was auto

manual forever :buttrock

when i get the diff on and have it driven for a good couple days ill report in how well (or terrible) my gas milage is.

btw, at diffsonline.com, a 3.46 LSD would be $2975! holy moly! :eek:

My mileage barely changed when I got my 3.46. It might have gone down 1 mpg. :dunno

My mileage barely changed when I got my 3.46. It might have gone down 1 mpg. :dunno

werd, thats exactly how much mine fell. pretty sweet mod.

and BTW woobs, not ALL E46 Auto have 3.46. The 330i/ci Auto's have 3.38 :)

ah ok...then lets say 95% of all E46 autos came in 3.46

My mileage barely changed when I got my 3.46. It might have gone down 1 mpg. :dunno


In the corvette? :confused

In the corvette? :confused

The M3. Ive had both...*ahem* :cool

The M3. Ive had both...*ahem* :cool


Yeah, but the m3 didn't start out as a 3.08 ;)

Does anyone have the TORQUE SPECS for the rear differential on a 2000 323Ci? woobiee has all these DIYs and stuff, but i dont think he has the torque specs.

Much appreciated! :) DIY should go smoothly on Sat.

i have the torque specs no worries. BMW TIS baby!