stevebrown

Well, this is certainly some new & interesting stuff:<p>www.erikssonindustries.com<p>has full diagrams on the 5hp19 (auto trans). I have some diagrams on the 5hp18 (used in the M3), so I was going to compare part numbers. Obviously the M3 transmission is capable of dealing with more horsepower than the notes we got from ZFIndustries indicate the 5hp19 is capable of & I wanted to see if the parts are just beefier in the 5hp18 than the 5hp19 (all part no's are indicated on the diagrams).<p>Before I could get to that tho', I noticed that eriksson claims the 5hp19 has been in use since 1995 & is used on the A4 & A8! Whoa...the 3.7l A8's make right at 230hp & 230ft-lbs torque, don't they? BUUUUUT, the 4.2l is making 300hp & 295ft-lbs torque! Different transmission on the big boy? Same as A6 tranny maybe? <p>Next, I have found a German website that indicates that BMW is going to start using the 5hp19 in the 3, 5 AND 7 series. There is a comment about a 300NM (around 220 ft lbs)limit...will only be used on the 2 liter & 2.8 liter engines in these models. Here is the Alta Vista translated text:<p>"<br>For the new BMW of the ér series by the BMW AG in co-operation with the ZF transmissions GmbH and Robert Bosch GmbH a new five-course automatic transmission of the second generation was developed. Dipl. Ing placed this. A. Burger et. aluminium, BMW AG, in its contribution " the new 5-Gang-Automatikgetriebe in the new BMW more ér " forwards. The new automatic transmission 5HP19 with max. portable engine moment of 300 Nm is used in connection with the new series six cylinder engines with stroke spaces from 2,0l to 2,8l since at the beginning of 1998 in the new BMW more ér, starting from autumn 1998 also in the series 5 and 7. "<p><br>Well, I think with the diagrams, we may get some insight into the similarity of parts for the 5hp19 and 5hp18.<p>The good news from this: Eriksson sells 5hp19's, parts & rebuilds 'em. I have some leads on part similarities with the 5hp18. The A8 potentially means there is a worked up version of this transmission (4.2L). The BMW info means that there will be a ton more of these units out there bringing part prices down & aftermarket product supply up.<p>Bad news: The 5hp19 may only be used in the 3.7l A8 & not in the 4.2l. Also, the BMW info confirms the earlier 230hp & 230ft-lbs torque limits. <p>steve

pdw

If you want to figure out what a transmission can handle, weight and/or traction are at least as important as torque. <p>For example, a weak transmission in a light but powerful car will do fine. Why? Because it's not going to get stressed as much(if you give it too much gas the tires will just spin). However, if you add traction and/or weight, the transmission may fail. It's just like torquing the head of a frozen bolt.<p>In any event, the cars you mention weigh a lot more than the A4 and it's encouraging that the tranny can handle them. What's used in the A8?