318is lsd advice

looking for a bit of wisdom,
i have to do a technical project this year for college,
so ive decided that I want to fit my e36 318is (m44) with an lsd, (I REALLY JUST WANT TO GO SIDEWAYS)

have looked into small cases and were told they can break after too much abuse...

inquired about a medium case diff from an m3 and was told it was complicated but from what ive read this seems to be what most people go for as it fits in the rear subframe, 3.15 ratio,

i was then told the best solution for me was to buy a complete m3 evo rear end (450pound delivered from up north) 2.93 ratio,

im told the medium case will decrease acceleration but what about the large case evo one?

any ideas on what should i go for and how to go about doing it?

Thanks in advance!

First thing ill say is whoever your getting your information from aint got a clue..I ran a small case 3.65 lsd in my is..beat on it everyday drifting, racing and fast road stuff nuernberg etc for 2 years...not once did it either refuse to lock up or break and I killed many open diffs..if your not stupid and drive with sense it wont die..that and the correct oil..lads use 75-90 when it needs 75-140..and its still fresh in a mates car..issue you have is finding one..the other two options the ratio will suck the balls out of the little IS lump..alot a lads do it and are happy but you need better ratios if you want to have fun..id pm valdas as he built my old small case. .he can rework ratios im sure on a med case

If you want to just fuck about and learn/crash or just impress someone just weld your own..not dangerous if your careful but thats a whole other can of worms round here ;)

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Originally Posted by Ford 2

First thing ill say is whoever your getting your information from aint got a clue..I ran a small case 3.65 lsd in my is..beat on it everyday drifting, racing and fast road stuff nuernberg etc for 2 years...not once did it either refuse to lock up or break and I killed many open diffs..if your not stupid and drive with sense it wont die..that and the correct oil..lads use 75-90 when it needs 75-140..and its still fresh in a mates car..issue you have is finding one..the other two options the ratio will suck the balls out of the little IS lump..alot a lads do it and are happy but you need better ratios if you want to have fun..id pm valdas as he built my old small case. .he can rework ratios im sure on a med case

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Thanks! yeah thats the thing if i got a medium case id have to get a different ratio put in because ive read the 3.15 ratio medium case would turn the car into a 316 off the line, what was the 3.65 like at the top end was it revving a lot harder? think mines a 3.38/3.45

welding it is not an option as im doing it for my project in college haha :) i cant go back and be like i welded my diff because theres not a lot involved and i dont fancy driving with a welded diff on the daily

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Originally Posted by costello318is

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Originally Posted by Ford 2

First thing ill say is whoever your getting your information from aint got a clue..I ran a small case 3.65 lsd in my is..beat on it everyday drifting, racing and fast road stuff nuernberg etc for 2 years...not once did it either refuse to lock up or break and I killed many open diffs..if your not stupid and drive with sense it wont die..that and the correct oil..lads use 75-90 when it needs 75-140..and its still fresh in a mates car..issue you have is finding one..the other two options the ratio will suck the balls out of the little IS lump..alot a lads do it and are happy but you need better ratios if you want to have fun..id pm valdas as he built my old small case. .he can rework ratios im sure on a med case

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Thanks! yeah thats the thing if i got a medium case id have to get a different ratio put in because ive read the 3.15 ratio medium case would turn the car into a 316 off the line, what was the 3.65 like at the top end was it revving a lot harder? think mines a 3.38/3.45

welding it is not an option as im doing it for my project in college haha :) i cant go back and be like i welded my diff because theres not a lot involved and i dont fancy driving with a welded diff on the daily

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i have a thread on this if you have a look at my threads. I have the small case mentioned above and is a right job. Get an m3 diff, google bmw ratios and just get a standard diff and use the CWP from that for a different ratio. DaveG on here used to sell medium case 3.65 LSDs. Maybe worth a pm?

yeah i read it was helpful just couldnt come to a conclusion of what was best, thanks ill try find him!

Medium case far easier to find and it's just a case of changing shafts to put it in. A lot easier than M3 Evo.

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Originally Posted by mk2glenn

Medium case far easier to find and it's just a case of changing shafts to put it in. A lot easier than M3 Evo.

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don't even need to change shafts iirc

the m3 evo swap will need to be a complete subframe and ideally the 6-speed box along with it . if you wanted to use the 5 speed box you would need a custom prop shaft iirc ,

in my opinion you would be better off asking valdas and see does he have a small case lsd or else swap in a medium case diff (3.15 ratio so would be a little slower)

if your feeling like spending a lot kaaz do a very nice lsd for small case but comes with a pretty expensive price tag,

30 m3 mid case and put 4.4 cwp in it,livens up an is. standard IS ratio is fine drifting in mondello if you know how to drive