Was a limited slip optional on the 1998 318ti sports?

Yes. My buddy ended up with a 99 with ACS instead of LSD.

I thought ASC was just the traction control, which has nothing to do with the diff.

EDIT: Yeah, ASC is just a computer that monitors wheel speeds and chokes the throttle when there's wheelspin detected. I'm looking for a real LSD (clutch type, torsen, locking, etc. whatever came on the cars). Is the club sport the only one with a real LSD?

Exactly. If the car is equipped with ASC it usually has an Open-diff, otherwise, no ASC + LSD. Some cars that came with ASC were optioned by the owner to have LSD as well.

Ah I see. Thanks

LSD was standard on the '95 Club Sports and optional on all other '95 318ti models. It was not an option on '96+ models.

I know they were standard on the clubsports, but i couldve sworn they were optioned on the other models. It seems too hit and miss for sports and non-sports to have LSDs. Ive seen auto active packages with 4.44lsd as well as other active/sport models with 3.45lsds. :dunno Want to shed some light?

I know they were standard on the clubsports, but i couldve sworn they were optioned on the other models. It seems too hit and miss for sports and non-sports to have LSDs. Ive seen auto active packages with 4.44lsd as well as other active/sport models with 3.45lsds. :dunno Want to shed some light?
Nay, once ASC came out only M cars got LSD and I think the Z3 2.8 Coupe may have had an optional LSD.

Hmm, that just seems really odd.

so would the rear end from a M roadster or coupe be what I need to try to find to get lsd?

You can find one off a ti, but mroadster/coupe, e30, and e28 rear ends fit as well.

cool, I don't know much about it, I'm still researching as much as possible, but I am looking to do the swap sometime in the next year or so, depending on if I can find the donor car.

I know they were standard on the clubsports, but i couldve sworn they were optioned on the other models. It seems too hit and miss for sports and non-sports to have LSDs. Ive seen auto active packages with 4.44lsd as well as other active/sport models with 3.45lsds. :dunno Want to shed some light?

It was a $550 option on any model - pretty simple. My sport package (not club sport) '95 came with one, and I was later able to dig up a 4.44 LSD from an auto to install on the same car.


You can find one off a ti, but mroadster/coupe, e30, and e28 rear ends fit as well.

Note that the ti's all use a small case 168 style diff. It is possible to fit a medium case type 188 diff from an e30 or Z3, but you'll also need the halfshafts from the same car to get it to fit. Also, make sure your drive shaft fits as well - IIRC e30s will bolt right up but the M Z3's use a different pattern. A trip to realoem.com can help to verify.

Thanks for clarifying the LSD option for me, i knew they had to be optioned, also good advice on the larger cased differential, i failed to post that, but they do fit.

LSD was standard on the '95 Club Sports and optional on all other '95 318ti models. It was not an option on '96+ models.

Hate to tell you different.. but my 96 has an LSD.

So does my '97... because I swapped it in later.

^^^ that did not help anybody... but to be said about my car. 96 Ti, built in February.. no DSC, but has an LSD from the factory.

LSD was still an option in 96, but was no longer available on 97 and later models.

my 96 ti had an lsd. sold that a while ago though. you can use a diff frpm an e30 or mcoupe/roadster by swapping the output flanges. takes about 1 minute with a screwdriver and a hammer. and you don't need different axles. if you have a stock engined ti then i would recommend a diff from a e30 325 manual. 3.73 ratio is a little shorter than the stock ti manual which was a 3.45 i believe. i had an s52 in mine, which i used with both a 3.73 and 3.23. the 3.73 was great on the track, but the 3.23 was better suited to street driving. i never had any issues with the stock axles either. hope this helps.

i read after 98 they were an option it could have been after 96

not for sure though

not very helpful but i did read it somewhere

Come on guys. You should know this.
LSD was an option up until ASC was standard which was sometime late 96.
Whoever has an LSD in a 96, I wonder when your build date was?
My bet it was early in the year.

Come on guys. You should know this.
LSD was an option up until ASC was standard which was sometime late 96.
Whoever has an LSD in a 96, I wonder when your build date was?
My bet it was late in the year.

steven wasnt there a few lsds with the asc as well in the later years right from the factory.

i thought i read a thread about that on 318ti.org

Mine has an LSD.. build date of 2/96

steven wasnt there a few lsds with the asc as well in the later years right from the factory.

i thought i read a thread about that on 318ti.orgNot that I am aware of. Of course anything is possible.

The 188mm case is really overkill for a 4-cyl. I'm running one in my 325ti however, and I have one ready for my 332ti swap. You will need different halfshafts. E30 and MZ3 units can be used.

Be aware that structural steel needs to be modified for the case to fit under the floor of the hatch. Your rear ABS sensors will need attention as well. All of the mounting is the same though.

The 188mm case is really overkill for a 4-cyl. I'm running one in my 325ti however, and I have one ready for my 332ti swap. You will need different halfshafts. E30 and MZ3 units can be used.

Be aware that structural steel needs to be modified for the case to fit under the floor of the hatch. Your rear ABS sensors will need attention as well. All of the mounting is the same though.

i put both an e30 325 lsd and an Mcoupe diff in my ti without any mods to "structural steel" and i used my stock half shafts, just swapped the output flanges on the stock diff to the big case diff and your done. i ran the stock half shafts for 2 yrs, and bunch of track days. never had any problems. i even had the mcoupe diff cover without a problem with fitment. i already posted this info but no one seemed to notice. :rolleyes
and if i am not mistaken, lsd's were not available once the traction control became standard halfway through '96. my car had a build date of 1/96 and had the lsd standard with sport package, and no traction control.

i put both an e30 325 lsd and an Mcoupe diff in my ti without any mods to "structural steel" and i used my stock half shafts, just swapped the output flanges on the stock diff to the big case diff and your done. i ran the stock half shafts for 2 yrs, and bunch of track days. never had any problems. i even had the mcoupe diff cover without a problem with fitment. i already posted this info but no one seemed to notice.
and if i am not mistaken, lsd's were not available once the traction control became standard halfway through '96. my car had a build date of 1/96 and had the lsd standard with sport package, and no traction control.

what he means by structural steel is the cross brace on the hatch floor the diff hit its under stress and makes annoying noises.

how did you make the output flange work???

heres a picture of the two and its been said many times that they dont interchange

heres a picture
http://www.318ti.org/notebook/diff_conversion/images/axle_flange_top_s.jpg

what he means by structural steel is the cross brace on the hatch floor the diff hit its under stress and makes annoying noises.

how did you make the output flange work???

heres a picture of the two and its been said many times that they dont interchange

heres a picture
http://www.318ti.org/notebook/diff_conversion/images/axle_flange_top_s.jpg

i had urethane bushings in my rear subframe. maybe thats why i never had any noises?

the output shaft pops out very easily with a small pry bar, if i recall, there was an extra dust plate on one of the diff's output flanges that i removed for the swap. but the ti output flanges went right into the bigger diff. plenty of engagement depth with the splines. it worked for me, no issues watsoever. and i was running an s52 engine swap. i forget who it was that gave me the idea, but i think it was someone that i spoke with at bmpd, who had the same setup. i did it first with an e30 diff, and then the mcoupe diff. all the while i kept the stock axles.

i had urethane bushings in my rear subframe. maybe thats why i never had any noises?

the output shaft pops out very easily with a small pry bar, if i recall, there was an extra dust plate on one of the diff's output flanges that i removed for the swap. but the ti output flanges went right into the bigger diff. plenty of engagement depth with the splines. it worked for me, no issues watsoever. and i was running an s52 engine swap. i forget who it was that gave me the idea, but i think it was someone that i spoke with at bmpd, who had the same setup. i did it first with an e30 diff, and then the mcoupe diff. all the while i kept the stock axles.

Interesting - I remember some article from 318ti.org where the floor modification (via BFH) was necessary - but I believe that was a large case diff, not the medium. :dunno On my car the medium slipped right in without problems and no contact with anything. Output flanges were easy to swap. I did use e30 halfshafts with the ti hub ends to retain ABS. The ti halfshafts did mostly fit, but the slightly shorter e30 halfshafts let the rear suspension move around better, so I took the extra effort to do that.

In all, not a difficult swap.

ya i got a clubsport and it is definitely the only ti that comes with a limited slip.

ya i got a clubsport and it is definitely the only ti that comes with a limited slip.

Reading comprehension much.