All,

Please could I have your collective views on this item, exhibit A :

http://www.minimaniauk.com/web/Item/.../InvDetail.cfm

I was wondering if anyone is knowledgeable in the functioning of a 'Salisbury'-type (clutch) LSD as opposed to a geared LSD like the Quaife unit? Which would be more usable on the street? Which would be more durable as well? I woould imagine the Quaife since it doesn't have clutch plates to wear out...

Basically, I am struggling to make a decision between the two. The Quaife is a quality product, that I know, but I am unsure what to think of the Ultrick item...

The Quaife is also 250 GBP cheaper for me to buy which may just well be the cincher...that and it's excellent reputation

Please share your views. Anything that comes to mind would be appreciated Don't hold back!

Henry

 

For a street car, the quaife is most definitely the wiser choice. The quaife isn't going to break, or wear out and won't require servicing.

The advantage of a clutch-pack differential is that it still functions when one wheel comes off the ground (such as jumping a curb on the track) and the preload can be adjusted to fine-tune the action of the differential.

Downsides:
- they make noise, most noticably in low speed corners. It can resemble a CV joint going bad at times
- they require maintenance. The clutch disks wear. As they do, you lose functionality until you reach the point when it will need to be rebuilt. I don't know anything about this brand, but the last one I had rebuilt ran about $250 with labor. Of course, you can do it yourself if you want. Assembly is easy, you'll just need a way to measure preload. How often a rebuild is required is dependent on your preference, driving use, and amount of heat the differential is subjected to. As expected, racing will wear it out much quicker than street driving.

The quaife has a more passive feel. You can tell it's there sometimes, but overall it's unobtrusive. The clutch-pack diff changes the way the steering feels, making it stiffer and keeping you aware that it's installed. There are also changes to corner entry and exit behavior, but for a street car this isn't really relevant.

 

This thread discussed the relative merits of different diff types:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=18897

BTW, Peter never did manage to find a pic of a FWD car lifting a front wheel.

 

I'm sure I could look this up somewhere else but.... Are the '05 oem LSD's presently coming out the geared type or clutch type?

 

Thanks Jeff. That's just the kind of answer I'm looking for

Looks as though the Quaife is the favourite choice so far...

Henry

 

 

Wow! That's awesome, I had never seen one before.

Getting 2 wheels off the ground is one too many for me, IMHO. :smile:

 

Notice that in every picture, the front wheel had just hit (bounced) off the curb at the apex which, is most likely why the front wheel is off the ground.

 

Yep, and that CRX looks like it wants to put the shiny side down.

 

I don't see any curbing in the 3rd pic... Take a unibody, add coilovers with little travel, push it really hard through the corners and it's possible to lift a front wheel - but usually it's a rear under heavy braking when entering a turn.

I see E36 M3's lifting their inside front all the time when pushing it out of corners at our autocrosses... But that's a whole different enchilada!