E91 manual swap?

[D-O]

I have been searching for a new daily, but its hard to get excited about anything for the money I am willing to spend. I want something fun and interesting but still mostly practical. Civic Type R looks fun, but I don't know if I can get past the huge rear wang. Golf R would be great, but I cannot live with all the haptic controls and the absurd infotainment system. I am thinking my old E91 would be a lot more fun with a manual, but I have not found too much out there regarding a manual swap. Anyone here ever manual swap an E9X with an N52?

[inlinesix123]

I have been searching for a new daily, but its hard to get excited about anything for the money I am willing to spend. I want something fun and interesting but still mostly practical. Civic Type R looks fun, but I don't know if I can get past the huge rear wang. Golf R would be great, but I cannot live with all the haptic controls and the absurd infotainment system. I am thinking my old E91 would be a lot more fun with a manual, but I have not found too much out there regarding a manual swap. Anyone here ever manual swap an E9X with an N52?

E91s already come in manual, so it should be pretty straight forward, is it xdrive?

[inlinesix123]

See this beautiful thread i was subbed to a few years ago.

https://www.rtsauto.com/parts-required-for-bmw-e90-automatic-to-manual-swap-part-numbers-included/

[D-O]

Thanks neighbor. I have also run across this: https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1802322

Lots of good stuff in both places, but I am hoping to communicate with someone who has done it.

Not xdrive. Base model.

[liam821]

The coding part is pretty easy.

• Change VO with NCSEXPERT to remove the automatic, option $205, and write this to CAS and FRM.
• Code factory settings with NCSEXPERT to DME, DSC, CAS, FRM, KOMBI, ACC, LDM, etc modules
• Flash DSC module using WinKFP
• Flash DME with manual tune using WinKFP

Google around and you'll find a bunch of DIY / videos.

It also looks like https://www.bimmerlabs.com/ can help you with the coding of the DME if you don't want to do that part.

[Obioban]

I had a manual e91. It was... fine. Certainly better than the same car in automatic.

I don't miss it-- unlike the e46 M3 wagon that replaced it, or the e39 530i manual I had for a while (probably my favorite ever DD).

[D-O]

I had a manual e91. It was... fine. Certainly better than the same car in automatic.

I don't miss it-- unlike the e46 M3 wagon that replaced it, or the e39 530i manual I had for a while (probably my favorite ever DD).

I hear you, but it goes 11 miles each way to work in traffic and on the occasional road trip that is too short to warrant a plane ticket. The slush-o-matic in it sucks, and I would prefer something a little more engaging. Not too engaging, or I will be tempted to go too far with it, which is what the M3 is for.

For a while I shopped for a rear end totaled E9X M3 to build an M3 touring. I decided that it was just not worth it for something that is going to spend almost all its time in traffic at 30-40 MPH.

[heinzboehmer]

The slush-o-matic in it sucks, and I would prefer something a little more engaging. Not too engaging, or I will be tempted to go too far with it, which is what the M3 is for.

Does your E91 have the GM or ZF auto? GM absolutely sucks, but apparently the ZF 6HP is a direct plug and play swap. All you have to do is move some pins around in the transmission connector. The transmissions themselves are also pretty easy to find. DIY here: https://www.xautomotive.com/blogs/ne...m-gm-to-zf-6hp

If you already have the ZF, I've heard good things about xHP.

I'll probably be doing this swap in the near future on my E82.

[D-O]

It is, of course, the GM trans.

[Obioban]

I hear you, but it goes 11 miles each way to work in traffic and on the occasional road trip that is too short to warrant a plane ticket. The slush-o-matic in it sucks, and I would prefer something a little more engaging. Not too engaging, or I will be tempted to go too far with it, which is what the M3 is for.

For a while I shopped for a rear end totaled E9X M3 to build an M3 touring. I decided that it was just not worth it for something that is going to spend almost all its time in traffic at 30-40 MPH.

Biggest upgrade I did on that car was m3 subframe bushings. Made it no longer feel body on frame.

[D-O]

Biggest upgrade I did on that car was m3 subframe bushings. Made it no longer feel body on frame.

Thanks for the tip!