I've been reading everything I can in preparation for an E30 M30 swap and on Jared Squires' page he alludes to the common opinion of the Getrag 280 transmission being "junk". This is significant to me because I have a friend who parted out an E34 M5 and still has the transmission out of it. I'm sure I could get it for cheap or on trade and it would make part sourcing just that much easier for me. But, if it isn't a reliable transmission, I wouldn't want to bother swapping it in.

Obviously I'd like to select the best components possible the first time around to keep me from having headaches down the road. I tend to drive cars pretty hard - it will be seeing track days, the local drag strip, autocrosses and general hard daily driving. If the 280 isn't going to be sufficient for that, I'd rather try to source a 260 or something similar. At least then if I break it, it'll be cheap to replace!

So, do you know of any issues with the 280? If so, what are they? What would the advantages and disadvantages be of swapping in a 280 and the 260?

Thanks!I've been reading everything I can in preparation for an E30 M30 swap and on Jared Squires' page he alludes to the common opinion of the Getrag 280 transmission being "junk". This is significant to me because I have a friend who parted out an E34 M5 and still has the transmission out of it. I'm sure I could get it for cheap or on trade and it would make part sourcing just that much easier for me. But, if it isn't a reliable transmission, I wouldn't want to bother swapping it in.

Obviously I'd like to select the best components possible the first time around to keep me from having headaches down the road. I tend to drive cars pretty hard - it will be seeing track days, the local drag strip, autocrosses and general hard daily driving. If the 280 isn't going to be sufficient for that, I'd rather try to source a 260 or something similar. At least then if I break it, it'll be cheap to replace!

So, do you know of any issues with the 280? If so, what are they? What would the advantages and disadvantages be of swapping in a 280 and the 260?

Thanks!

That is lame.

1. The 280 was first used in production with the E24 M635CSi/M6 and E28 M5 in the mid to late 80s. It was the beefiest transmission in production use by BMW at the time. The next generation was the 280/5, which saw use in the E34 M5, then the generation after that was the 6 speed 280/6 for use in the dying moments of the E34 M5.

2. The 280 and 280/5/6 have the same basic problems. They are finnicky about the trans oil used and about the driver. If you suck at shifting right and you money shift or are just plain hard on a transmission, the 280 is unforgiving. You will get burned.

3. The 280 has four anti backlash gears to take up excess rattle. They are easily bent by bad shifting and will cause a lot of problems. The stock synchros are a brass coated steel, which wears quicker.

4. Talk to Jim Blanton. He will build you a G280 that will withstand anything your E30 M3 can take (though Id just suggest going with the stock trans for your E30 M3...the G280 is a huge transmission).

Jim Blanton
Blanton Transmissions, Inc.

jblanton at sky.net

816-221-8584

5. Oh, they are expensive to rebuild.

Thanks for the great information. I suspect I'd be a bit tough on transmissions. I tend to shift very fast and somewhat hard for things like drag racing. I think you misunderstood a bit of what I was planning to do though. I want to swap in the M30 engine into an E30 (325is, not an M3). I may try to source a 260 or 265.

Thanks for the great information. I suspect I'd be a bit tough on transmissions. I tend to shift very fast and somewhat hard for things like drag racing. I think you misunderstood a bit of what I was planning to do though. I want to swap in the M30 engine into an E30 (325is, not an M3). I may try to source a 260 or 265.


Yes, I tend to read fast. Hmm, I think you could go with a Metric Mechanic beefy 260 with that instead of teh G280.

The 265, If I recall right, is what was used on the E30 M3 originally. This trans has been shown to be pretty much the hardiest 80s 5 speed trans BMW offered, significantly moreso than the 260.

I searched specifically for a 265 for my E9 swap.

http://www.e30.de/335i/00.htm

Funny you just answered, xatlas0, I was just reading this post from you about the 265.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=578316&referrerid=56200http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=578316&referrerid=56200

Looks like they're relatively easy to source and not too pricey, based on a car-part.com search.