[E.Murray]

I just bought a 2011 with 74k miles in amazing shape. All deletes done, JR stage 2.8 tune. All potential problem areas addressed.
I love the car. The driving experience (torque) is everything I hoped it would be.
But. I've had more than 40 "fun" cars in my 30+ years of driving and this is only my second automatic. For me, a manual is the only real set-in-stone requirement. My plan was to swap to a 6-speed over the winter and make this exactly what I want.
I have a couple questions, though, for people who have swapped (or even just driven) one.
First, I see all the time people dumping on a diesel manual, saying it doesn't make any sense. I, personally, don't see what the big deal is. I just drive on the street and rarely spin an engine to 6k RPM anyway, so does it matter? Of course, I'll put a properly-geared diff in at the same time (is Wavetrac worth it?). Rather than the armchair racers, I want to hear from people who actually have driven the cars. Is the diesel manual worse than an auto?
Second, how is the shift feel? I'm more than a little OCD when it comes to how the shifter and clutch operate. I've had otherwise great cars (a Lotus Elise and C6 Corvette come to mind) that I really disliked because the shifters were balky and unpleasant to use. OTOH, my current ND Miata has the most incredible shifter I've ever had the pleasure of using. I shift more than I have to just for the joy of it. I know the 330d gearbox is no Miata, but if it's like the 5-speeds I've had in the 2 E36 cars I've owned, that's perfectly fine. If it's going to be something I hate using, though, I'll skip the whole thing. Any shift-picky people who have use the transmission that can give me some warning/comfort?
I only have $10k in the car at this point and have the budget to do the job right. But I don't want to waste hundreds of hours only to find out it's not as much fun as I had pictured. Any feedback is welcomed!

[BB_cuda]

I posted your question over on FB NABDOG group with a link to back here. There are a very few there that have done it (maybe 3 or 4).

I can comment on the Wavetrac experience though. I kept the 2.81:1 ratio as I didn't want higher revs at highway speed. You might want to go up to a 3.08:1 but depends where you're tracking at. I think the Wavetrac conversion is worth it. I really feel it best when coming out of a corner at a high speed. There is a guy who is now banned that can do the conversion in house for $1800 and change. His business is whitbread performance dot com. Let's see if i get busted for putting in his info.

I need to get the dad blasted coding done for when you hold the traction control button down for 10 seconds to completely turn the nannies off. It will be on and act normal unless you do the long push. Others here have done this and go into details if you search. I'll go find it and link back in here in another post.

[E.Murray]

I just joined the fb group last night and posted the question. I got about 80 replies in the first couple hours... Some good stuff in there. Essentially, I'm still very much considering it, but the fact that there is no way (currently) to get the cruise control to work is a big negative. Stu from Kassel was hugely helpful since he daily drives a manual 335d. I'm going to have to think about it.

On the Wavetrac, you read my mind! I've been sitting here for the past couple hours researching and have just about decided it's going to be a must. I just sent Whitbread an email about an hour ago with some questions. Really the only thing holding me back from pulling the trigger today is the manual swap question. It would be stupid to get it with the auto ratio if I'm going to have to swap the diff out for a manual.

I didn't know going to a 3.08 was possible. I'm curious what the effect would be in real world daily driving. I'm too old to go driving 100mph so don't care about that, but cruise on my commute at 75. If the mileage and wear/tear and drone isn't much worse with the 3.08, I might consider it. In the little driving I've done so far, spinning the inside tire is driving me crazy. I've had and LSD in my last several cars and forgotten how much I hate an open diff...

[Mike_Smith]

Depending on what you plan on doing with the car, the Wavetrac may be a lot of money for not much real benefit. They have their place, but there's a pretty narrow band where a gear-type LSD becomes useful, and when it stops.

Unless you are driving *hard* on the street, it won't do anything for you, and if you are going *hard* on the track, it won't do anything for you either.

[E.Murray]

I'm not a street racer going 100mph or stop light drag racing. But, for example, we have a thing called a "J turn" in our area where you basically do a U-turn to get on the highway. Every morning in the Miata, I keep the front wheels planted and goose it to rotate the car to line up with traffic. Just for giggles. And I have a back road on my way to work with some perfect turns (good sightlines with long stretches before and after) for getting the car unsettled and slewing the rear. It's how I enjoy my car. Lower speed hooligan moves where there's nobody around.

A couple cars ago, I had a Cadillac CTS-V with some work done. It had an honest 650hp at the rear wheels, an excellent 6-speed, and an LSD rear. That car could hang the rear out all the way through second in glorious power slides. The BMW just spins the inside tire and plods along. Trust me. I need a better rear end.

[BB_cuda]

More info on the diff cases and ratios. The 335d comes with a 215 size case (215 mm ring gear diameter). The 335i (and others) come with a 188 size case. I've seen guys switch to a 188 case to get the 3.08:1 ratio (335dsleeper is an example but he runs an auto). Sleeper got a Wavetrac too I believe.
There's some learning for you here. Depending on what year of 188 case you get, the ring gear can be bolted to the open diff. Others like with our 335d 215 case are welded. Whitbread has to cut apart the ring gear from the open diff, machine it, and tap threading into it to mount the Wavetrac.

All of that said, the 330d setup from Europe comes with a rather tall diff ratio (2.56:1) to go with the lower overdrive top 6th speed gear. A 3.08 with the 330d 6 speed is likely not good for highway cruising RPMs.

I don't much worry what other guy says as I have fun on the street with my LSD and there are times when it is useless. I was driving to lunch with buddies from work and didn't realize because I wasn't in back seat. There were times Will told me the car was dual pulling when i didn't realize even from a low speed takeoff. I have summer tires so when T<50F they don't grip as well. No snow here so I run these tires year round.

Concerning your 180° corner story, you will definitely have to get the coding done for this as the default factory settings will apply brakes on the slipping hub and interrupt all of that fun, even with DCT button held for 10 count. I tried to load the s/w to do the coding but i got stuck. Friend up north of me has all of this loaded and says he'll do it for me.

[E.Murray]

Good stuff. When I mentioned the 3.08, I was talking about if I stayed auto. The loss of cruise control is a potential deal-killer for me in the manual swap. If so, I'd get an auto trans tune and Wavetrac and see how I liked it. In that case, if there's a more entertaining ratio for street use, I'd be in.

Even if I defeat the nannies, it will still apply the brakes? Seriously? If so, I've lost interest in the whole thing. I really want the car to work and love everything else about it. But if the software is so overbearing that I can't turn off the nannies, it's not worth the money and hassle. The CTS-V (and my dad's Camaro ZL-1 with the same drivetrain) was brilliant in that respect. You can turn off traction control and put stability control in sport and it will let you get the rear about 15 degrees out and just hold there as long as the power can spin the tires. Or you can turn it off entirely if you're alone and want to risk dismemberment... I assumed BMW, as a "performance" car company would at least allow for option 1.

[BB_cuda]

Need to clarify phrase “Even if I defeat the Nannies”.
10 sec push of DTC or getting the coding done? Coding will get you happy.

[E.Murray]

My assumption was that the long press defeated all the electronic frippery. If not, it can be done with coding? Is it built into any of the coding packages or a custom thing? Who would do it? I learn so much on here...

[BB_cuda]

Yes, can be done with coding.
You need someone that can run ncsexpert or inpa. I’m not a coder so that could be a bit off. I really need to find the thread OmahaDiesel wrote.

[Disgustipated]

Just a heads up, you can code out the Ediff/nannies with BummerGeeks ProTool. Very simple way to do it.

[BB_cuda]

Originally Posted by Disgustipated

Just a heads up, you can code out the Ediff/nannies with BummerGeeks ProTool. Very simple way to do it.

A friend that has ProTools did this on my car but i still get brakes applied when taking off from a stop and pulling a hard corner (like pulling out of store with fast coming traffic).

My car was reprogrammed by dealer after a FRM swap. So, maybe I'll get my buddy to try again.

[Mike_Smith]

Originally Posted by BB_cuda

A friend that has ProTools did this on my car but i still get brakes applied when taking off from a stop and pulling a hard corner (like pulling out of store with fast coming traffic).

Brakes being applied is e-diff, and you want this (unless you are tracking the car). It only brakes the wheel that would otherwise be spinning, so you aren’t losing any power (it all goes to the wheel that has grip).

If the car is bogging, that is traction control. You want that, too, because it’s stopping the wheel that has traction from spinning. You probably don’t want it as aggressively as it’s calibrated, but understand that if the car bogs, you are overcooking the turn. You would be faster with less power, and if you had traction control off, you’d likely just light it up and Mustang yourself into the chain restaurant on the corner.

The car has opinions about how you should drive; they value safety and speed over showboating. If you want to do big, smoky powerslides at traffic lights, you probably want a Ford or Chrysler product…

[BB_cuda]

With proper coding, after the long DTC push there is no ediff. Only with the long push. I wouldn’t want it all the time.
I wouldn’t recommend this to others unless they have LSD as it’s unsafe. I have the M3 goodies out back complete with the lower camber arms and M3 style struts that connect to the arms.
My camber is -1.5 at all corners for a neutral feel. I know the aggressive guys run more like -3.0 in the rear. I’m not wanting to kill inside edge of rear tires since I run square setup. Attempting to get the 30,000 miles out of a set of Mich PS4S with rotations. I’m down to 5/32 with 15,000 in so I won’t make it.