[Jim1985]

Afternoon Folk,

Before I bought the 335d I nearly bought a 3.0 Z4 coupe. When that was on the cards, a LSD apparently transforms the handling etc, so was on my list of must-do mods. I think they worked out about £850 for the M Factory one. Naturally with me ending up buying a 335d, the LSD makes even more sense. However getting quotes back, because of the year/autobox, my diff has the welded crown wheel, meaning that the diff runs to about £1100 (including 20% discount) with approx £300 fitting. Great prices for what you get, but more than I was hoping. As far as I'm aware, the Quaife one runs at about £1500 from Birds. Are there any other options? OS Giken are very pricey but also more motorsport orientated. I'd hate to ruin the dynanism of the car with clunks and bangs etc - I might as well get it welded!
M3 diff seemed like an option, but arent the ratios all wrong?...

Anyone?

Jim

[mob17]

Tell me about it, i wish i never had a welded diff. Bloody annoying. Car seriously needs one.

Quaife is probably the safest bet, very well established. Wavetrac is another option but a US company. Apparantly this works even when one wheel is in the air. Not sure if that makes it better in low traction situations. Both quaife and wavetrac are the same ish prices, £2k fitted! Wavetrac is probably a bit better on the track.

M Factory LSDs are becoming more and more popular. They are a sponsor of this forum. The % of torque it can transfer to the other wheel is higher than quaife and wavetrac, which is good. MFactory are currently working on a 335d welded solution, if things go well it may be around £1k fitted, but i'm not sure what stage he is at.

[AWSAWS]

I'd hang on for a bit. I was getting quotes from Grinspeed, the UK official installer and the prices were even higher than Birds. I'll probably go Birds if I decide to go ahead with one in the future unless the Mfactory option is better priced.

[mob17]

Originally Posted by AWSAWS

I'd hang on for a bit. I was getting quotes from Grinspeed, the UK official installer and the prices were even higher than Birds. I'll probably go Birds if I decide to go ahead with one in the future unless the Mfactory option is better priced.

Yeah i got a quote from Grimspeed too (mfactory uk) for a pumpkin swap. Was too much.

I heard that MFactory will be selling lsd's bolted onto ring gears for 335D's soon, and i think that should bring the cost down. Might go and have a browse now to see updates

[mob17]

Just checked. You pay 1800 dollars and Mfactory send you a pre built 335D lsd and ring gear/pinion, then you send your welded one back and get 500 dollars back. It comes to 820 GBP plus import VAT and return shipping. I think the welded 335i price is similar....

I don't think swapping the diffs would be a massive job, maybe 4 hours so around 2-300 GBP of labour...

[AWSAWS]

Originally Posted by mob17

Just checked. You pay 1800 dollars and Mfactory send you a pre built 335D lsd and ring gear/pinion, then you send your welded one back and get 500 dollars back. It comes to 820 GBP plus import VAT and return shipping. I think the welded 335i price is similar....

I don't think swapping the diffs would be a massive job, maybe 4 hours so around 2-300 GBP of labour...

did you see windy missile's DIY on here?

I imagine shipping massive parts is not cheap. Easy for US citizens but not us. Grinspeed should be more competitive. ^sigh!

[MFactory]

Prices for the UK at present are:

LSD Only (for bolted diffs) - £680 inc vat
LSD + New Ring & Pinion (for welded diffs) - £1100 inc vat
Installation (at MFactory R&D/Grinspeed) - £315 + vat

This works out a lot cheaper than birds, which is ~£2k installed

[mob17]

Originally Posted by MFactory

Prices for the UK at present are:

LSD Only (for bolted diffs) - £680 inc vat
LSD + New Ring & Pinion (for welded diffs) - £1100 inc vat
Installation (at MFactory R&D/Grinspeed) - £315 + vat

This works out a lot cheaper than birds, which is ~£2k installed

Any rebate if we return our welded diffs?

[Jim1985]

Still looks like it's above what I wanted to spend. Think I'll wait and buy an M3

[MFactory]

Originally Posted by mob17

Any rebate if we return our welded diffs?

We offer a $200 rebate on the welded diff + pinion, but this only applies to returns to our US facility as we can't do the machining in the UK.

[AWSAWS]

Originally Posted by MFactory

Prices for the UK at present are:

LSD Only (for bolted diffs) - £680 inc vat
LSD + New Ring & Pinion (for welded diffs) - £1100 inc vat
Installation (at MFactory R&D/Grinspeed) - £315 + vat

This works out a lot cheaper than birds, which is ~£2k installed

Seems cheaper than the £1689.33 not includiing VAT I was quoted. Birds were offering £1700 including VAT. Had the price been reasonable I'd have had it fitted already.

[MFactory]

Well, works out at £1058 inc vat fitted if you have a bolted diff, and £1478 inc vat fitted if you have a welded diff.

[JulesM]

How do you know if your diff has a welded crown wheel or not?

[windymissile]

There is a chart.
Because I'm nice I'll stick it up for ya!


WM

[JulesM]

Welded, typical. Thanks for the chart though mate.

[MFactory]

2006 335d's have a bolted diff

[Jim1985]

Really?! Mine is a 2006......

[Jim1985]

Is there a way I can climb underneath and check?

[windymissile]

Nowpe. It's inside the diff housing.

WM

[windymissile]

MFACTORY know their stuff. I have one of their diffs. If they say it's bolted then there is a good chance it is.
WM

[mob17]

Originally Posted by Jim1985

Really?! Mine is a 2006......

You lucky bugger

[MFactory]

They only started welding diffs after Mar 2007. Anything before this is bolted