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Originally Posted by Dean
I am not disagreeing with you, it would be nice to have all 4 wheels on the ground, but as I mentioned in the paragraph you didn't quote, the transitional forces in autocross are extreme, and having a suspension that will absorb those forces while still permitting the individual corners to conform to the contours of the course within the confines of the rules for that class is not always possible.
Even in SM, the class we are discussing, you can't change the basic geometry of the suspension. Anti-sway bars, shocks, springs and camber/caster adjustment of some form is all you get.
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And as I was saying, changing the geometry of the suspension is not necessary to keep the tires on the ground, especially in a car like the E36 that has decent geometry to begin with. Lifting a tire is usually a roll stiffness distribution and/or damper issue (either insufficient travel or too much valving stiffness). Both of which can be dealt with inside the confines of most autocross class rules (even in SP you can change springs, shocks & swaybars as I recall). It is a correctable problem.
I know autocross presents a different dynamic load picture than track events, and I also know chassis setup is frequently a hurried compromise during any given race weekend. The simple fact remains that lifting wheels means you just haven't figured out how to dynamically balance the car correctly, and you're leaving something on the table. 3 tires cannot produce as much grip as 4. "Autocross forces are too extreme" is not a good excuse in my opinion.