Does throwing money at a car make it any faster?

"Trunk Impaired 318" (matteocscaptura) 04/25/2015 at 19:03 • Filed to: None

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Lets hope so. For the upcoming autocross season (just a week away!!!) my dad and I have decided that we weren’t going to be satisfied with walking H Street this year as we did in G Street last year but I still wanted a chance to compete for an overall PAX victory so we decided to blow invest well over $1000, or about 20% of our cars value in some go faster bits in an attempt to compete in STX with what is ultimately a 4 banger BMW hatchback.

First off we acquired the LSD off of another 318ti in order to help my nasty habit of taking corners at rather high rates of speed, unloading one side of the car and turning fairly expensive, grippy tires into smoke.

My dad decided to take the liberty of testing it out to make sure it worked properly....

As can be seen on our driveway, albeit fairly lightly, the LSD does in fact work! (Ignore the E46 that is NOT capable of this)

Next we went ahead and got an X Brace to tighten up things up front so we’re not dealing with that nasty nasty understeer.

And finally we succumbed to the inevitability of adjustable Koni sport shocks and some H&R racing springs to make our little hatchback as tossable as possible.

The end result is something like this.....

God I hope it works.

daender > Trunk Impaired 318 04/25/2015 at 19:06

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I’m digging it, I was always a fan of the 318ti’s looks and lighter weight. Is that a E36 M3 diff because I don’t recall any non-M 36s receiving one.

Trunk Impaired 318 > daender 04/25/2015 at 19:11

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Nope, its a 318ti diff, its a small case thats basically the same as the one out of an E30 whereas the M3 was a medium case and wouldnt even fit. And the 318ti is odd in the E36 world as the sport (like mine) and clubsport models had some M badging, trim and upgraded suspension

Clown Shoe Pilot > Trunk Impaired 318 04/25/2015 at 19:12

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What are the tire rules for STX? That’s where you find your cheapest go-faster.

Trunk Impaired 318 > Clown Shoe Pilot 04/25/2015 at 19:13

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same as the regular street class, we’re already on the best tires possible

Clown Shoe Pilot > Trunk Impaired 318 04/25/2015 at 19:15

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bummer. The first time I ran on fancy tires it was like a whole new car. It turned better, it stopped better. It was awesome.

Trunk Impaired 318 > Clown Shoe Pilot 04/25/2015 at 19:16

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I remember my first autocross on good tires, I had no idea what to do with all the excess grip

djmt1 > Trunk Impaired 318 04/25/2015 at 19:56

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I’ve always wondered what an Escort Cosworth wing would look like on one of those.

JGrabowMSt > Trunk Impaired 318 04/25/2015 at 19:56

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I would try, but I just washed the car.

Im about to throw money at the Magnum, everything from the suspension down to the ground, bushings, brakes, coilovers.

Trunk Impaired 318 > djmt1 04/25/2015 at 20:06

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It might have some potential, the best Ive seen is the spoiler they run in Europe for rallying