Thanks Christian
That’s very interesting. I bet you are one of those clever folk who can fit the gearbox yourself 😁
So if I google a Getrag 265/6, then that’s all I need to look for? Or do I need to also be specific and include BMW?
Thank you 😁
You are very welcome! 😀
Actually, I prefer not to do the heavy and dirty stuff (like changing a gearbox) on my cars, which I leave to my mechanic. But the fine tuning and thing needing special knowledge and expertise, I much enjoy doing myself. 😉
Yes, you need a 265/6 from a BMW. The 265 was also used in Opels and Jaguars. But there it has another design of the rear end of the gearbox which does not match Wolfgang’s kit. Furthermore, you need a 265/6 from a BMW with mechanical speedometer, so that the 265/6 has a mechanical speedometer drive. The 265/6 was used all the way up through the 80’es, but the mechanical speedometer drive was removed in the 80’es when they went over to electrically driven speedometers. You can retrofit a mechanical speedometer drive into a late 265/6 without one, and Wolfgang also sells a kit for as well as a drive. But it is easier just to find a 265/6 which already has one, so that you don’t have to open the gearbox and install one.
For Googling one, you should just Google Getrag 265, and then watch out for both the mechanical speedometer drive, and also that it indeed is a 265/6 with 1. gear upwards. There is also a 265 with first gear downwards, which is the 265/5 and you don’t want that one. You are welcome to send me candidates you have found in a personal message. Then I will be happy to check them out and let you which of them are 265/6s and if they have mechanical speedometer drives. 😀
The 265/6 is often in German called a “Schongang getriebe”, whereas the 265/5 is called a “dogleg” or “sport” gearbox.
When I researched the 265/6, I also traced down the gear exchange rates for the different retrofit gearbox candidates for the w113 and I just want to share this here: (parts of it is from an earlier thread on the Forum and I expanded this table)
Gear Orig.4 ZF5 G265/6 S&SG
1 4,05 3,83 3,38 4,002
2 2,23 2,20 2,20 2,108
3 1,40 1,40 1,40 1,380
4 1,00 1,00 1,00 1,000
5 + 0,81 0,81 0,780
6 ++ 0,645
What is worth noticing is that the 265/6 and the originally optional ZF5 have almost identical exchange ratios, except for the first gear, where the 265/6 is lower geared and thus runs less RPMs, which I see as a great advantage for normal driving conditions, where the first gear especially with the original 4-speed box is almost useless unless you have a very low geared rear axle.
The S&SG is a 6-speed gearbox alternative which is also offered on the market from several suppliers as a retrofit kit. However, I personally prefer to stay as close to original/optional as possible, with the 265/6 being a very close match to the ZF5.
Hope this helps in your quest for a 5th year in your 230SL! Good luck! 👍😀
Cheers,
Christian 😎