Do LSD make any difference on a road car ?

[Fastcar155]

Hi , any noticeable difference fitting an LSD on a road car ?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Hi , any noticeable difference fitting an LSD on a road car ?

If your car is powerful enough and you drive it hard enough then it will make a noticeable difference. On the road I believe that the benefit is knowing that it’s there rather than really using it or needing it.

A very powerful car definitely drives better with an LSD than without when really making progress. Most people don’t really drive like that though, and those who do probably shouldn’t in many cases.

On track though, worth every penny.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Not Merc related but i have a Quaife LSD in my Alfa GTV (front wheel drive mind) and it makes a big difference, especially in the wet. I did read though that with mechanical LSD's you have to keep your foot in to make them work properly. So lifting off or trailing throttle is a no no?

 

[st13phil]

I did read though that with mechanical LSD's you have to keep your foot in to make them work properly.

It depends what "work properly" means...

Remember that the purpose of a differential is to allow the drive wheels to rotate at a different rate to accommodate the differing lengths of the path taken by the inner and outer wheel in a turn.

With a normal "open" diff, power is directed to the wheel with least traction, which generally means the inside wheel due to weight transfer when cornering. So when under power the inside driven wheel spins up and you lose drive, but tight low-speed turns (that require a significant speed difference between the inner and outer wheels) are easily achieved.

A Quaife diff is not actually an LSD in the traditional sense, it's actually a torque biasing diff that progressively varies the amount of drive torque to the inner and outer wheels when one starts to lose traction. That's why they feel so benign on the road: they work as an open diff when turning at low speed, but as speed increases and the inner wheel starts to lose traction, the torque is biased more and more to the outside wheel, thus preserving drive.

A mechanical LSD will allow a fixed (limited) amount of slip between the two wheels so it tends to be less progressive than a torque biasing diff, and you will often feel the car "pushing" in a low-speed tight turn as the amount of slip needed to have the wheels turn at different speeds is exceeded.

There are circumstances where a mechanical LSD gives a traction advantage over a torque biasing diff, but at the expense of comfort and tyre wear.

 

[Fastcar155]

Hi everyone , thank you for your reply.

Much appreciated

 

[JB052]

My everyday car is a VW Golf with the electronic LSD. You can certainly feel the difference compared with a normal diff although probably no significant benefit under normal driving conditions.

 

[benGTR]

If you just commute - no
If you like to nip off the local hills at the weekend - yes

I’d spec an LSD over the equivalently priced carbon fibre dash inserts on any new car

 

[Dryce]

Hi , any noticeable difference fitting an LSD on a road car ?

Maybe you need to ask an acknowledged automotive expert such as Mona Lisa Vito.

 

[Fastcar155]

Maybe you need to ask an acknowledged automotive expert such as Mona Lisa Vito.

Hi , love to meet her !

 

[Jobsworth]

If you are a road driver who likes to press on, you will certainly enjoy the drive with an LSD more than without, as long as the engine has enough power to use it.
The track is a different matter. I don’t rate the quaife for track work. If a torque biasing unit is the only way the Wavetrac works better as it doesn’t have the inherent weakness of the Quaife, namely both wheels must have some grip to work.
Let’s talk proper plate type LSD’s though. I removed the GKN visco lok from my m3 when I changed the ratio from 3.65:1 to 4.10:1 and replaced it with a Drexler. On the track the difference is night and day. In isolation the GKN felt pretty good, but compared to the Drexler it was very slow acting. I’m not really a drifter, but the Drexler is so quick locking that you can steer the car with tip-toe inputs of throttle at the limit. With the GKN it was big foot-fulls of gas. The finesse with the Drexler is spectacular. Should be really, I put £5.5k into that diff all told. Don’t tell my wife ffs!

 

[Fastcar155]

If you are a road driver who likes to press on, you will certainly enjoy the drive with an LSD more than without, as long as the engine has enough power to use it.
The track is a different matter. I don’t rate the quaife for track work. If a torque biasing unit is the only way the Wavetrac works better as it doesn’t have the inherent weakness of the Quaife, namely both wheels must have some grip to work.
Let’s talk proper plate type LSD’s though. I removed the GKN visco lok from my m3 when I changed the ratio from 3.65:1 to 4.10:1 and replaced it with a Drexler. On the track the difference is night and day. In isolation the GKN felt pretty good, but compared to the Drexler it was very slow acting. I’m not really a drifter, but the Drexler is so quick locking that you can steer the car with tip-toe inputs of throttle at the limit. With the GKN it was big foot-fulls of gas. The finesse with the Drexler is spectacular. Should be really, I put £5.5k into that diff all told. Don’t tell my wife ffs!

Hi , it's for road use in my case.

Thank you for your reply.