Not sure if anyone knows but the little 318ti's are moving from GS to HS for SCCA Solo 2 or as some people call it auto-x. I have been out of the solo scene for a few years and before that was competing in a shifter kart. But with the change of the tire rules Street (Stock) class gets much cheaper to compete in and with all the 318's now in the slowest class i feel the ti's and the 91 318is have a chance of knocking off the mini. It was a tough choice between the 91 is and the 95 ti especially with my background with the 91 but the right 91 is hard to find and a good one is pricey for a 24 year old car plus with the rim rule the ti just looked like a better choice. So now comes the part where I need the help from the great ti community we have and i need stock shocks a front left and right and one rear so i can take some measurements to build some shocks for auto-x. The fronts also need to be not all rusted out because i might use the spring perch off them. I don't care if the are worn out. Let me know if i can have them and i will pay for shipping. If your wondering my club sport has aftermarket shocks on it and the owner did not keep the originals. Thanks everyone, Russell Blume
This is interesting. A ti may be competitive in GS with the right course. A refreshed LSD, fat front sway bar, camber bolts and some trick shocks could do the trick.
Why not start with OTS Koni yellows first? Otherwise, I'm sure some junkyard shocks + Koni inserts would be a more expensive but better option.
I've thought about going this route, but I'd need to find stock springs again and a LSD to throw in my rear. I'm having a fun time tossing my car around in STX but am hopelessly outclassed.
The ti does not have much of any chance to win nationals in GS but next year when it goes to HS it should be very competitive against the Mini. I already have a set of Dbl adjustable Koni's for the rear i just need to make sure the are the right length of stock. I'm leaning towards M3 inserts just not sure what i need to get it done that's why i need a set of front factory shocks, it would be nice if i can get the M3 insert in a ti housing. I understand your pain with running the ti in STX I tried my 91is in about 2003 with ok luck but the cars in class now are even faster.
My son & I have been running our 99 318ti for the past 3 years in GS. We had some success at the regional level, My son (teen ti) won the GS class this year in the glen region. Our upgrade last year was to the Hankook Ventus RS-3's and we went from mid field in Pax to top 5 in pax. It was a HUGE improvement and I am looking forward to moving to HS next year. We are looking to refresh the suspension and put in new shocks that will still keep us in the street category. Up grade on brakes as well if we can afford it. We are looking to do well next year in HS but the Fiesta ST is in HS for next year. We struggled beating (MY son did, I could not) a Focus ST from out of region. He was a good driver but had all season tires on it. The Focus or a Fiesta with a good driver and good tires will be almost impossible to beat with the TI, even in HS. The TI will be good on a regional level, but I'm not sure how it will do on a national level. Keep us informed of what you decide on & as the funds trickle in, we will keep you posted on our upgrades over the winter. Check out our other posts that have some videos of my son & I in the Glen Region.
The ti does not have much of any chance to win nationals in GS but next year when it goes to HS it should be very competitive against the Mini. I already have a set of Dbl adjustable Koni's for the rear i just need to make sure the are the right length of stock. I'm leaning towards M3 inserts just not sure what i need to get it done that's why i need a set of front factory shocks, it would be nice if i can get the M3 insert in a ti housing. I understand your pain with running the ti in STX I tried my 91is in about 2003 with ok luck but the cars in class now are even faster.
FWIW, M3 inserts do fit in normal E36 front strut housings. There's a post on this forum somewhere that verifies that.
I did manage to get my classes confused that last post. I was indeed talking about HS for the ti, not GS. I just don't think the ti transitions as well as the Mini, but there may be certain courses that the ti will be good on.
To all the people that are trying to convince me that the ti is not a good car in HS I live in Kansas i know Greg Reno, Craig Wilcox and Ron Williams is a very close friend all National champions in Mini's, I have driven a couple of minis and i won GS in a 318is. Im not talking about building a ti for regional class or i would just leave little red ridding hood the way she sits. When pushing a car to the limits its all about getting the power to the ground and the ti can do that because of its LSD the mini will do some parts of a course better then a ti and the ti will do some parts better then the mini. I also agree the 2014 fiesta might be the spoiler in the class but no one has ran one at the National level yet, on paper 2750lbs and around 200 hp and 200 ft lbs of torque looks very impressive but again can it get the power to the ground or just spin its one inside tire?
I'm not trying to talk you out of the TI. I think more of us should be using it! A LSD and a steering rack from a 4 cyl Z3 are also on our list of changes we need to make to our car. I LOVE autocrossing it & LOVE the way that 4 cylinder motor winds up to redline! My son & I are just in the unfortunate position of limited funds and that always hampers your speed! Keep us updated on the progress through the winter. Great to see more TI's entering into the autocross mix!
I'm not trying to talk you out of the TI. I think more of us should be using it! A LSD and a steering rack from a 4 cyl Z3 are also on our list of changes we need to make to our car. I LOVE autocrossing it & LOVE the way that 4 cylinder motor winds up to redline! My son & I are just in the unfortunate position of limited funds and that always hampers your speed! Keep us updated on the progress through the winter. Great to see more TI's entering into the autocross mix!
I think you would be amazed how much faster you will go with just a limited slip. I remember when i first ran my 318is with out a lsd and coming from a good FWD civic and was scratching my head thinking i just made the biggest mistake ever switching to the BMW. a few months later find a factory LSD install a larger front swaybar and start to learn to drive a RWD BMW and bam, im hooked on RWD BMW's. I must have dropped more then a second with the LSD alone. My opinion is you dont need the z3 rack.
You do sound like you know what you're doing, and are focusing on the right parts to improve on the ti. I know there was another member on here developing his car for SM, and had a bunch of shock length measurements laid out. A last resort would be to go to Rock Auto and look at the extended and compressed lengths of their OEM replacement shocks and compare to the ones you have.
I'm actually curious about how the ti is going to compete in HS. I am basically at street prep if I removed my camber shims and got stock springs again. I really need a LSD to compete, as all I do is spin my unloaded tire, but am not coming up with a LSD unit for sale local to me.
I have the same problem with the unloaded tire. I think I am going to make more of an effort to find a LSD over the winter. We really do struggle with traction at most events with the unloaded tire. I am thinking the TI will do pretty well in HS, but we did ok last year in GS because there really were not Focus ST's around. This year they did win nationals and there were a lot of them there. I am wondering if the same thing is going to start to happening in GS with the Fiesta ST? We shall see!
Keep in mind when building a car for autocross, you have to follow SCCA class rules. For street and street touring, I know you can't change gear ratios unless it falls under the update/backdate criteria and I doubt you can change steering racks for that same reason. All manual transmission ti's used a 3.45 ratio and the same rack, so you're going to have to stick with them.
I know! My son & I are always looking at the rulebook as to what we can and cant do. What is the actual LSD that we can use to still be legal in Street? I have a buddy here that had a LSD out of an E30 but have not done anything about it because I'm not sure we can use it & still be legal. I also wish we could do something with springs other than the stock! The car just sits too high with them.
I commend you guys for sticking with the stock classes, I couldn't do it anymore. I had guys with fully prepped e36 328s making comments about the motion motorsport underpanel on my car when i ran in stx. This is at the local level, not Nat's dude.
__________________ ~Dave~
98 328ti Morea Grun slicktop 11 128i space gray slicktop 13 JGC WK2 Deep Cherry
auto-x stock shocks needed 
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