LSD on an M235I or M240i

[nw28840]

I have a friend looking to buy one of these cars soon.

It's not possible to search on autotrader, pistonheads or the BMW site for cars that have the 'LSD' fitted ?

Is it currently an option on the M240I or was it an available option on the M235i ?

I couldn't see it when speccing up a new M240i on the BMW website.

Thanks,
Nick

[moffat]

nw28840 said:

I have a friend looking to buy one of these cars soon.

It's not possible to search on autotrader, pistonheads or the BMW site for cars that have the 'LSD' fitted ?

Is it currently an option on the M240I or was it an available option on the M235i ?

I couldn't see it when speccing up a new M240i on the BMW website.

Thanks,
Nick

It's not a factory fit option - it's aftermarket from BMW, Birds or others. BMW offer it as an M Performance part for about £2.5k I think.

You'll struggle to find a car with it on and I'd suggest visiting Bimmerpost (UK forums) or babybmw.net.

[nw28840]

Thanks

[smashy]

http://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=96645

[JackReacher]

I've got an m240i on order for September, and an LSD is high on the want list. I need to research properly, but seems the BMW option is more expensive than the Quaife one and need more maintenance. However, it does maintain warranty.

From what I understand, people keep the original diff and would most likely switch back before selling to recover some of the cost, and therefore unlikely to find it on a used example.

[mr_fibuli]

I think a lot of people will put the original diff back on when selling, and sell the LSD separately to recoup more of their cash.

[LocoBlade]

Selling on is where the cost of the Quaife can become more of an issue and the BMW might work out cheaper overall. Because it's just diff innards that need welding to the existing crown wheel, you can't easily remove the Quaife when you come to sell unless you can source a spare standard diff whereas the BMW part comes as a complete unit you just swap out, but both are very good options.

There's a very nice looking white M235i for sale in the For Sale section of the UK Mx35i/Mx40i Facebook group ( BMW M135i M140i M235i M240i UK) that had all the MPerformance bits on it including the diff plus the dealer supplied (so warrantied) AC Schnitzer remap , you'll need to join the group to see it if not already a member
https://www.facebook.com/groups/497396946956476/pe...

Edited by LocoBlade on Thursday 27th July 19:35

[JackReacher]

Maybe just me, but I find that Facebook group terrible. Very young crowd I think, but so much swearing, poor grammar, along with plenty of badly modified cars. A few exceptions of course, and some useful information, just plenty of rubbish to wade through. Maybe at 35 I'm just a grumpy old man

[LocoBlade]

No I totally agree, polar opposite of BabyBMW which is where I usuallly frequent for my M Lite forum fix. The only things the Facebook group really has going for it are the Stuart Murray BMW Kirkaldy discounts and the for sale section which seems to be more active than BabyBMW.

[msej449]

I have an M235i bought in 2016 - the BMW LSD is a dealer retro-fit option on this and the replacement M240 at about £2500. It comes as standard on the M2 but not on these two models.

Forum discussions seems to suggest that if your car is only used on the road, then perhaps it's well worth running the car first without the LSD for a while, and then seeing if you feel it really need one. This is what I did and 14 months later, it seems to me that I don't actually need it. This includes two holidays driving in the Alps on iconic mountain roads.

Owners who regularly track their cars seem to conclude that it is worth fitting LSD.

I also sense a view among 1 Series owners of the M135i/M140i that it is more tail-happy and bouncy under hard driving than the 2 series and you seem to hear a much stronger preference for the LSD as a baseline option. Many Forums combine 1 and 2 Series and the M135i/M140i and M235i/M240i specialist sub-forums, so the LSD discussion can sometimes appear to recommend LSD retro-fit from the start, which is not so strong a view for the 2 series Ms.

Edited by msej449 on Monday 31st July 21:16

[CarsOrBikes]

My 140 desperately needed an LSD but the 240 is less inclined to tie itself in knots, still I want one, and I'd guess anyone with one fitted would still notice it.

£2.8k fitted I think at BMW