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HB Chris

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When the 2800CS made its debut it had a four speed transmission made by ZF. These transmissions are noticeable by the very short casing and an integral shift platform which is part of the casing itself. This made for a very efficient and crisp shift action but when it was produced it was claimed by some that there were durability issues with these. BMW did not sell a five speed ZF box but they were available from ZF directly and were apparently used in race cars in period and have a 1:1 output or a short ratio. The durability issues may or not be true.

ZF Four Speed

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IMG_4913.JPG


ZF Five Speed

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When the 3.0CS came out it had a Getrag 262 four speed transmission. The 262 used up through the 1973 model year used a cylindrical slave cylinder that mounted in an ear of the bell housing much like the 1600/2002s and the release arm extends outside of the bell housing. Beginning with the 1974 model year the bell housing was changed and the slave cylinder was now mounted on the rear facing part of the bell housing and the release arm is inside of the bell housing. The Getrag 262 four speed was then used as the basis for two five speed transmissions: the 265/5 short ratio or dogleg box and the 265/6 overdrive box. Both of these boxes use the later style slave cylinder. These boxes are fairly easy to identify if you know where to look. Since the case from the 262 was used the casting numbers on the cases are really of no use. The four speed uses a two-piece case and the five speeds use a three-piece case. The 265/6 was introduced in 1980 through 1982 on the e12, e23, e24 and e28. In 1985 BMW also used the 265 instead of the newer 260 box for one year as well as in the e30 M3 but these will not have a speedo drive gear.

Getrag 262 Four Speed

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Getrag 265 Five Speed

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Markos

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Here are the specs on the ZF five speed that the major outfits ran which included an overdrive box used by Alpina plus the standard CSL Getrag four speed in the first column:

A99479C0-111C-4D09-AD73-F3F7D982219E.jpeg


Edit:

Image I put together to articulate the visual difference between a 262 and a 265 Getrag transmission.

162AC5EA-3236-4221-B580-D6978597F35D.jpeg
 

Gransin

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Gear Ratios:

ZF Four Speed

1st - 3.85:1
2nd - 2.08:1
3rd - 1.375:1
4th - 1.00:1

ZF Five Speed CR
1st - 3.85:1
2nd - 2,40:1
3rd - 1.76:1
4th - 1,26:1
5th - 1.00:1

ZF Five Speed OD
1st - 2.99:1
2nd - 1.76:1
3rd - 1.30:1
4th - 1.00:1
5th - 0.87:1

Getrag 262
1st - 3.85:1
2nd - 2.20:1
3rd - 1.40:1
4th - 1.00:1

Getrag 265/5 CR
1st - 3.72:1
2nd - 2.40:1
3rd - 1.77:1
4th - 1.26:1
5th - 1.00:1

Getrag 265/6 OD
1st - 3.82:1
2nd - 2.2:1
3rd - 1.4:1
4th - 1.00:1
5th - 0.81:1
 

Markos

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Hi @Gransin,

What is the source of info for the ZF 5spd ratios? They were configured with many ratios, I'm just not sure what specific box you are referring to. Factory BMW, Alpina B2S, etc. I likely have the B2S specs somewhere. The Alpina specs above were on Burchard B's red and blue beast.
 

Gransin

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Hi @Gransin,

What is the source of info for the ZF 5spd ratios? They were configured with many ratios, I'm just not sure what specific box you are referring to. Factory BMW, Alpina B2S, etc. I likely have the B2S specs somewhere. The Alpina specs above were on Burchard B's red and blue beast.

I know there are more ratios, the ones mentioned are from your picture and I think the one I wrote down as "CR" is the most commonly used in the e9, but I could be wrong.
The "OD" is from the red and blue beast and probably a very rare bird.
Feel free to edit, I just thought it would be nice to have the ratios in text next to each other for comparison.
 

Markos

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I know there are more ratios, the ones mentioned are from your picture and I think the one I wrote down as "CR" is the most commonly used in the e9, but I could be wrong.
The "OD" is from the red and blue beast and probably a very rare bird.
Feel free to edit, I just thought it would be nice to have the ratios in text next to each other for comparison.

I’m not doubting you. I was just wondering where you got the data. :)
 

Markos

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Visually confirming that the tail housing of a G265/5 is essentially the same as a 262.

7A27E4F7-F923-4F5F-8B93-B36B13808066.jpeg


Can’t see in this pic, but the 262 has the three protruding tubes at 11PM.
08123CFC-5E1F-46D9-A424-2DC2CE7AF5D5.jpeg
 

bmw2800cs

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Can the ZF five speed be installed in a ZF fourspeed car (2800cs) with little or no modification? Was the ZF five speed available on cars other than the Alpina e9? Maybe other German cars?
 

Markos

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Can the ZF five speed be installed in a ZF fourspeed car (2800cs) with little or no modification? Was the ZF five speed available on cars other than the Alpina e9? Maybe other German cars?

To be deleted but...

The ZF gearbox definitely fits. @Keshav recently mentioned that the tunnel may need to be massaged a bit.

The ZF 5spd came on a bunch of cars, and it is widely supported in the vintage motorsport community. It was also used by Alpina and other teams on the 2002. The closest match to a BMW on the tail housing side would be a Alfa Montreal. The front half of the case is somewhat unique to BMW in that there are only four bell housing bolts. Mine is from a Maserati Biturbo. It is a five speed dogleg, but overdrive gearing. The transmission mount, tail shaft, input shaft, bell housing mount, etc. is all different. The parts are available new, and my "someday project" is to use the front half of my ZF 4spd case with the five speed mid section. Still, I'll need a new tail housing, and the proper length selector shafts. The parts list is quite extensive, not excluding new CR gears. The aftermarket gears are extensive, but you can't mix an aftermarket 3rd gear with an OEM 2nd gear etc. A gearset is around $2K.

Here is a good video on rebuilding the box if you are adventurous and know how to shim gears and bearing races.
 

bmw2800cs

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To be deleted but...

The ZF gearbox definitely fits. @Keshav recently mentioned that the tunnel may need to be massaged a bit.

The ZF 5spd came on a bunch of cars, and it is widely supported in the vintage motorsport community. It was also used by Alpina and other teams on the 2002. The closest match to a BMW on the tail housing side would be a Alfa Montreal. The front half of the case is somewhat unique to BMW in that there are only four bell housing bolts. Mine is from a Maserati Biturbo. It is a five speed dogleg, but overdrive gearing. The transmission mount, tail shaft, input shaft, bell housing mount, etc. is all different. The parts are available new, and my "someday project" is to use the front half of my ZF 4spd case with the five speed mid section. Still, I'll need a new tail housing, and the proper length selector shafts. The parts list is quite extensive, not excluding new CR gears. The aftermarket gears are extensive, but you can't mix an aftermarket 3rd gear with an OEM 2nd gear etc. A gearset is around $2K.

Here is a good video on rebuilding the box if you are adventurous and know how to shim gears and bearing races.
So it sounds like there is more work involved with a ZF than a Getrag 5 speed. Is that (and the fact that Getrags are bulletproof) the reason that people go with Getrags?
 

Markos

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So it sounds like there is more work involved with a ZF than a Getrag 5 speed. Is that (and the fact that Getrags are bulletproof) the reason that people go with Getrags?

I think the primary reason why people go with Getrag is availability. You have doglegs from ‘78+ used intermittently all the way the ouch the e30M3. You have overdrives starting with the e12 528i through 81, and found on the ‘82 528e, ‘85 535i. There are just thousands of cars that had them.

I think the ZF five speed is a beefier transmission, which is why it was used extensively in motorsport and still used today.
 

Johan_CS2800

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To be deleted but...

The ZF gearbox definitely fits. @Keshav recently mentioned that the tunnel may need to be massaged a bit.

The ZF 5spd came on a bunch of cars, and it is widely supported in the vintage motorsport community. It was also used by Alpina and other teams on the 2002. The closest match to a BMW on the tail housing side would be a Alfa Montreal. The front half of the case is somewhat unique to BMW in that there are only four bell housing bolts. Mine is from a Maserati Biturbo. It is a five speed dogleg, but overdrive gearing. The transmission mount, tail shaft, input shaft, bell housing mount, etc. is all different. The parts are available new, and my "someday project" is to use the front half of my ZF 4spd case with the five speed mid section. Still, I'll need a new tail housing, and the proper length selector shafts. The parts list is quite extensive, not excluding new CR gears. The aftermarket gears are extensive, but you can't mix an aftermarket 3rd gear with an OEM 2nd gear etc. A gearset is around $2K.

Here is a good video on rebuilding the box if you are adventurous and know how to shim gears and bearing races.
Hi Marcos,

Does this mean I could use this gearbox with the bell housing of a ZF-4-speed?

ZF 5-spd

Thx for the info!

Johan
 
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