Quote:
Originally Posted by Nikolas
I don't know if ride height justifies this in any way. Look at a stock STI or EVO. MY STI stock was no stiffer than the XI and had about the same body roll.
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We can agree though that a higher Cg does nothing for driving performance, right? It's an effect from higher clearance. We can also agree that springs that take longer to load also have a detrimental effect from a performance stand point, right? Oh, but softer springs feel oh so good on our backsides.
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I'm ignorant when it comes to Audi's Quattro, from what little I've read it sounds like a very capable, if not awesome, system. So I'm not going to argue that the xi is superior or inferior to the quattro, but the thread's title is 335i or 335xi. (I answered that Q already to the OP.) Getting an LSD now sounds tempting.
Hmmm, $ towards an e36 m3 sounds like a better way to fill my addiction. Xi and i both have their caveats: the i leaves a little performance left on the table because there is still some traction left (even when turning, to a certain degree) on the front tires. One only needs to look at past success of Audi and the fairly recent "up and comers", EVO, WRX STI, and Nissan GT-R etc., to notice that the performance benefits of AWD are ~real~. I bodly say that my opinion is that it more than offsets the weight caveat of AWD. Complexity and resulting potential failures remains to be seen. Fuel economy (or lack thereof) is another discussion. I will also boldly say that considering M division's foray from NA to FI, with ever increasing heat from the competitors mentioned above... wait for it... I think BMW will eventually make an AWD M3. Did I just say that? Hold on, okay, flamesuit now on.
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