Daily BMW 318ti/Compact Digest Sunday, June 15, 1997

• Why I love me Ti
• Traction Control

Date: 15 Jun 1997 02:34:48 -0400
From: CMoslander_at_aol.com
Subject: Why I love me Ti

As you may or may not remember, I've had my Jet Black Ti Sport for about 2 months now. I've grown to love this car for the little things. All of the controls make sense and are easy to use. The way the interior lights fade on and off. The one-touch open and close windows. The "thud" the doors make when you close them, etc. etc. etc. I haven't autocrossed the thing or taken it to a drivers course (I may in the future) but have been driving it to and from work (pretty quickly). I've taken it for some high speed runs on the freeway and love the fact that the faster you go, the smoother it gets. But this evening, I discovered this cars truely addictive personality. I took the long way home from a friend's house, a route I used to drive in High School a lot, a twisty, hilly, winding back road shaded by trees. I had the sunroof open, the windows down, turned off the traction control, and kept the engine between 4000 and 6500 RPM. I may never get the smile off of my face. The thing absolutely shreds twisty back roads. I'm no Damon Hill but this car is very fogiving and I was in absolute amazement. The brakes, the suspensions ability to keep the tires on the road (its pretty rough in sections), the Bridgestone Turanza's (225/50ZR16) were great, the engine was great. I used to want more horsepower. I don't care anymore. This car holds speed through corners so well that you forget about that. The car went exactly where I wanted it to when I wanted it to and would change lines through corners without a hint of trouble. And it was very easy to do and I was comfortable doing it. I can't begin to imagine what this car can do with someone who knows what they're doing behind the wheel.

Thank you for listening to me babble. I had to tell someone who knows what I'm talking about, and the only way for anyone to know, is to own one of these cars.

Craig Moslander

Date: 15 Jun 1997 09:51:13 -0400
From: Ian Grush <ian_at_emi.net>
Subject: Traction Control

Some of you may recall a thread I started some time ago relating to adding traction control to my non LSD and non ASC+T, '96 sport. The general conclusion was that it would require several expensive parts, and a lot of work. At the time, traction control was not a high priority, so I left it. But, things change... Now that I am contemplating a move to the frozen north, (Mass.), it seems more necessary.

Someone did mention that Racelogic had an aftermarket system that they sold in the UK, and there was some possibility it would be available here. Well, lo and behold, on page 97 of the June Roundel, there is a small advert placed by the PLR Group (Performance Logic Resources) of Suwanee, GA (770)271-1100. They claim to be the exclusive distributors of the Racelogic system. I will try and get hold of them next week to find out about availability and cost for the 318ti.

In the meantime, I have some questions.

1. The advert states that the Racelogic system was reviewed in the UK, BMW Car magazine, in January '96. Does anyone have a copy of that or any other articles about the system that they could send/fax/scan-email to me?
2. Are Racelogic products any good?
3. Has anyone ever heard of, or dealt with, the PLR Group of Suwanee, GA..

I'll keep you all posted on what I find out,

'bye,

Ian