116i

[donald]

Bought on ebay for very good price plus a flight from Aberdeen to Leeds.Fantastic handling car, just needs a bit more power and less weight.
Plan is for a fairly standard low budget spec car for forestry events in Scotland.
Bolt in cage ordered as weld in is available but makes too big a hole in the finances.
Already waking up in a cold sweat thinking about the wiring and how to strip out all the gadgets not required. Biggest problem seems to be removing the ABS and traction control.
LSD and decent suspension come first followed by engine mods later altough this may have to come sooner depending how easy it is to strip out wiring without affecting engine management. Might have to go to throttle bodies and seperate engine management.

[compact119]

very nice, from working on these every day i agree that the wireing will be the biggest ball pain ever. if you need any wiring diagrams give me a shout, i think the biggest prob will be everything talks to everything else, you wont have too much of a problem untill you start removing main things like abs and add throttle boddies as iam sure you are awear its fly - by - wire. looking forward to see this build progress and what you do with the engine, i fancy one for my compact

[donald]

Thanks for the offer of wiring diagrams. I've got somebody up here who is supposed to be getting me some but if it doesnt work out i'll be in touch.
Does any body know if any any LSD's from other BMW's might fit the 116 diff. Trying to find an alternative to a new one which is going to set me back about 2k for diff and crownwheel and pinion. Ideally i'm looking for a 4:1 or a 4.45: 1 ?

[compact119]

The 135i have a LSD standed I can find out what ratio they are tomorow. I have 1 on the ramp at work il check, I recon that a e46 diff would fit if the back plate is changed so maybe an e46 m3 diff would be the one to go for but the e90 m3 should also fit it you can get hold of one lol they are s bit thin on the ground but I could prob source one for you if needed same gose for any other parts off other BMW's

[donald]

I didn't know any modern bmw's had LSD's but you'll know a lot more working with them every day.
I think the E90 is supposed to be the same casing.
Anything you can find out will be very welcome
Thanks

[compact119]

right then i have done a bit of digging, the 135 has an lsd with a 3.04 ratio for the manual and 3.46 from an auto and new they are £1400 +. your 116i has a ratio of 3.6 but appears to use a small case setup so getting a lower ratio my be quite straight forward and just requires a but of experimentation. the mounting points look the same on the E90 m3 just uses a large case diff (differant design to the erlyer large case) and the manual version has a 3.8 ratio but the smg/sequential has a 3.15. the M3 deiff woult be a lot easyer to get hold of than the 135 diff just due to the numbers sold

hope this has helped and not confused matters more

jon

[ultegra]

isn't the e90 m3 lsd computer controlled?

i think i read somewhere that there was some servo control of hyraulic pressure to clamp the plates. would prob take wheel speed, and yaw sensor feeds........

[donald]

right then i have done a bit of digging, the 135 has an lsd with a 3.04 ratio for the manual and 3.46 from an auto and new they are £1400 +. your 116i has a ratio of 3.6 but appears to use a small case setup so getting a lower ratio my be quite straight forward and just requires a but of experimentation. the mounting points look the same on the E90 m3 just uses a large case diff (differant design to the erlyer large case) and the manual version has a 3.8 ratio but the smg/sequential has a 3.15. the M3 deiff woult be a lot easyer to get hold of than the 135 diff just due to the numbers sold

hope this has helped and not confused matters more

jon

Thanks for digging Jon. I think if i go for a m3 diff things get very complicated with different propshafts and drive shafts, not to mention electronics. my preferred option is the 116 diff case with a different ratio, ideally a 4.1;1 and then i can fit a kaaz lsd.
Next best option is to go for an e36 0r e46 diff and modify the subframe mounts to suit. This would probably be the cheapeast option.
If you know of any 4.1 or 4.45 cwp's that might fit please let me know.
Merry Christmas
Donald

[compact119]

isn't the e90 m3 lsd computer controlled?

i think i read somewhere that there was some servo control of hyraulic pressure to clamp the plates. would prob take wheel speed, and yaw sensor feeds........

note as far as i know of, i had one out a few weeks ago and it was just a normal lsd the only bmw to have an electric diff is the X6 and top spec X5 and i think that the new M5 F10 has one.

prob a good idea as the shafts from the m3 are huge, using the standed 116 case and using a kaz item will be your best bet, maybe take one to bits and trying putting in the internals from a earlier small/meduim case diff u would think that the insides will be pritty much the same. have you seen that black 120d that does some single venues think he has been mentioned on here before maybe worth trying to contact him and see what he has done...

merry xmas

[compact119]

just a quick one, the later 116i auto has a 3.9 ratio diff as standed and a 3.7 in manual trim. i belive yours will be the 5 speed version, the 6 speed one's and soo much more drivable on the road mainly due to the revised ratios in the box and diff

[donald]

just a quick one, the later 116i auto has a 3.9 ratio diff as standed and a 3.7 in manual trim. i belive yours will be the 5 speed version, the 6 speed one's and soo much more drivable on the road mainly due to the revised ratios in the box and diff

My car is the 5 speed with the 3.64 diff, but i reckon i need something lower than the 3.9 so i need to find out if cwp's from e36 or e46 are useable and then it should be possible to get a 4.1 or 4.4 as used in e36 316 and 318 autos.

[M3 Compact]

AFAIK the 135i uses an electronic 'diff control', which isn't the same as a proper LSD by any stretch. It simply uses the wheel speed sensors to monitor the differentiation and applies a rear brake accordingly.

The E92 M3s use a similar system to the E46 M3s, which is the 'Variable M Differential Lock' and can distribute the torque 100%/'lock' the axle.

I know somebody who's managed to use an E34 CWP & LSD unit in a 1 series 'medium case' diff, which would facilitate the use of the readily available earlier ratios (4.1, 4.45 etc). There was a fair amount of machining work involved, tho.

Next best option is to go for an e36 0r e46 diff and modify the subframe mounts to suit.

Possibly the easiest & most cost effective solution? It could be helpful if the output flanges were interchangeable with the 1 series diffs?

[donald]

sounds interesting. How can i get in touch with him to get some more information.

[bruvs1]

fin mc caul has a 120d rally car, does some good events in it, avto might be able to get a contact, the car was repaired near him last year i think?

[donald]

i've had a chat with Fin already and got a lot of useful info. His car is built to group N regs so is a bit different to what i'm trying to achieve. He has to stick to the standard rear diff and can't change ratios as nothing else is homologated.
I'm just trying to find out if there is any cheaper way of getting a lower ratio cwp and lsd from previous models but it seems that only the e46 or e90 is compatible with with my diff and there is nothing lower than a 3.91. and no standard lsd in either apart from the m3 which is a much bigger casing. Just have to keep searching and hopefully something will turn up.