Jump to content

Rear diff


The Cheese

Recommended Posts

When I bought my Westfield I was told it had a road race lsd in it but it clangs a lot and is very difficult to turn on slow corners and feels like it's pushing round corners

I believe it to be a Sierra lsd but I've never known one to be this limited

Anyone know any specialists in Yorkshire

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its probably what's known as a gripper plated diff, they can be quite harsh at low speeds. There is a company called bara motorsport in Birmingham who deal with these a lot amd may be worth you talking to

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its probably what's known as a gripper plated diff, they can be quite harsh at low speeds. There is a company called bara motorsport in Birmingham who deal with these a lot amd may be worth you talking to

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheers Steve it is a plated diff which I feel is too strong for at its current setting but I will see how I go

Road and race transmissions say they can ease it off a bit for me if I send it down

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A mate of mine has one in a sierra cosworth, they have done different versions over the years and they have got more refined he says, he's had one in there for probably 5-6 years and it was very harsh as you describe, but he broke it recently and they replaced it with their latest spec one and it's much better aparantley

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a plated gripper in mine and its a nightmare at low speeds and does feel like it wants to push on round tighter corners, however it is fantastic on track

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes I've just never heard chatter or clanging from a diff

Thought it was knackered to be honest

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, if you're still looking for an expert I can recomend  Central Axles  Web site ast :- http://www.centralaxles.com  really helpful with the dif on my Seight not so long ago, bit of a distance for you maybe but probably worth a phone call?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a plated jag diff in a scimitar. It would make a whole manner of mechanical noises and would struggle with tight turns. Yet in a xj6 where it's all rubber mounted and the cars heavier there quite refined. A recent drive in a e46 m3 and I was reminded how unrefined plated diffs can be. I'm just trying to say they are not particularly refined especially when in a kitcar. Basically the diff is locked until enought torque between the 2 wheels overcomes the preloaded stiction/ friction between the plates allowing one wheel to turn more than another. Further to that the loading on the plates and there for slip torque increases as more power is applied and that's controlled with ramp angles. Check it has the correct oil in it first it's not 80w-90. That changes the smoothness of the slip considerably but it takes a little time for the new oil to fully get between the plates so the improvement might not be instant.

The way they are set up for different weighted cars and different uses will affect their refinement a lot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went out in a focus ST with mega hp and had a plated diff and when he turned out the parking spot, I thought someone had dropped the crockery cupboard on the floor and the front of the car clunked, skipped and was quite a weird experience . He reckoned it needed unwinding a bit , but in a straight line, it felt no different to normal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

cheers guys, I  will take it out in winter and have it sorted by one of your reccomendations failing that I will put a cosworth 2wd lsd 3.6 in it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

right guys I've found out my diff is ratio'd 3.92 so I'm swapping it for a cosworth lsd to get away from the scary road driving,i feel its too harsh for my westie

i know road and race transmissions are excellent at producing these but feel its better going balls out on a track which i will only do a few times a year 

and will probably enjoy driving on country blast a bit more, at least i will be able to go round bends without being pushed, it feels as though i compromise handling for grip or maybe its just my lack of experience ,anyway I'm going to try a normal lsd ,people i have spoken to say plated diffs are for track and not good for road going so I'm looking for best of both worlds ,is this the right way to go what do you think?

 

any advice appreciated

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For a few years I had a 3.92 open Sierra diff but I have recently fitted a 3.62 Sierra LSD which I believe is the viscous type.

 

My experience to date of a few road miles and the WSCC Blyton track day a couple of weeks ago, has been good so far. The LSD seems to be quite progressive in operation and although I can't tell much difference on the road, it did seem to have a bit more traction on track.

 

My only thought now is whether it would have been better to try to find an LSD with the same ratio I had before i.e. 3.92.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To get the best of both worlds you could consider rebuilding your current diff with a Quaife Auto Torque Biasing (ATB) unit. On the road it behaves like a standard open diff and then on the track like a plated diff.

 

The sell your plated diff to recover some cost

 

No plates to wear out or continually adjust, works with helical gears.

 

http://www.nolimitmotorsport.com/quaife/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stay with the plated but rocking horse springs to mind and you will problem have to get it overhauled which adds to the cost.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Please review our Terms of Use, Guidelines and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.