LSD talk. Wavetrac vs quaife vs mfactory vs peloquin.......thoughts/experiences?

[bennjamin]

bennjamin,

We worked with mfactory for 6 months, we even sent differential centers to their HQ in Asia - believe me, they have no plate VW diff - regardless of what you read on the internet.

Here is a challenge for you - see if you can order one (even a manual one) if you can get a plate version from Mfactory, i'll buy it off you for double what you paid!

Hey Guy
In no way am I dissing your knowledge or experience, in just stating they are advertising such products for sale. I'm surprised that they ( or any company) would advertise something that doesn't exist ?
I'm close friends with the Australian distributor of mfactory , I'll send him a pm and see what he says.


Btw , for mine and everyone's learning - would a Torsen diff act the same as a clutch plate diff under most circumstances - IE no lift of wheel etc ?

[Guy_H]

bennjamin, if you mean Leonard (Mfactory rep) - then he will tell you (with utter disgust) that they don't exist.

A torque biasing differential goes open when the inside wheel (one with least traction) gets light, you lose grip like a stock differential.

It's better than stock, somewhere in between stock & plate (or clutch) differential. On a track (as mentioned above) there is several seconds in it (TBD vs plate).

[bennjamin]

bennjamin, if you mean Leonard (Mfactory rep) - then he will tell you (with utter disgust) that they don't exist.

A torque biasing differential goes open when the inside wheel (one with least traction) gets light, you lose grip like a stock differential.

It's better than stock, somewhere in between stock & plate (or clutch) differential. On a track (as mentioned above) there is several seconds in it (TBD vs plate).

Yeah that's him - I'm an admin off another site (ozhonda.com) and he is a trader there - wont waste my time then. I owe him a beer so ill bring it up next afternoon meet.

What's the life expectancy of a clutch diff with normal driving? I'm assuming it depends on the amount of lock you dial in too.
Having taken the gti around a track pretty much dead standard it's shocking with traction control off. Inside wheel slips under harder angles and theres no way to push the car into lift off oversteer with throttle control- it simply under steers like crazy.

[Guy_H]

Yeah that's him - I'm an admin off another site (ozhonda.com) and he is a trader there - wont waste my time then. I owe him a beer so ill bring it up next afternoon meet.

What's the life expectancy of a clutch diff with normal driving? I'm assuming it depends on the amount of lock you dial in too.
Having taken the gti around a track pretty much dead standard it's shocking with traction control off. Inside wheel slips under harder angles and theres no way to push the car into lift off oversteer with throttle control- it simply under steers like crazy.

Cool - we certainly have expressed interest to Leonard if they will make a plate diff, I'm sure we can sell some!

All the ones we use for the street / track have steel friction plates in them. at 30,000kms they look like brand new so I don't have any direct experience with having wear times on them. One of the manufacturers told me 200,000km's on street use, or 40,000km's on the track.

Experimenting with carbon plated ones later this year.

Quaife & Peloquin wear heavily on the track, you end up with a heap of play. On the street, they will probably last as long as the rest of the car. I don't think they like the extreme on/off load conditions.

[Tim]

I havent used one but the wavetrac diffs have a "clutch type" mechanism that stops them from having no drive during low axle load conditions.

[Guy_H]

I havent used one but the wavetrac diffs have a "clutch type" mechanism that stops them from having no drive during low axle load conditions.

Correct, but unfortunately they still unload under pressure (where you need them the most). We have a couple of local cars running them, and in actual service, we find no more grip than Quaife or PQ. You can carry out a simple 180 degree road test on them (on closed road of course )

[bennjamin]

Any more thoughts on this topic ? I'm strongly aiming towards a LSD of sorts for the gti - keep in mind it's a daily driver with occasional tracking in mind.
Another thought is the same car setup properly with some other drivers is obtaining my goal time( at x track ) without an LSD, so a Torsen ontop will be a definite advantage.

Guy - you quote a clutch plate LSD as a second or 2 quicker on a certain setup - can I ask what ?
Because the difference will be much smaller on a less setup car or less capable driver :0)

[Guy_H]

Ben,

I'm only going off our cars, but we also have a couple of customers that have lowered their Wakefield times to sub 1:10's in Polo GTI's & Golf GTI's.

Personally save up the extra cash - because the install costs are relatively high, it's something that hurts when you have to pay that twice.

Don't forget - the best tyres you can afford as well. Hankook Z221's or Yokohama 050's are ~ 1 to 1.5 seconds over a Toyo R888 or Pirelli Corsa / Michelin Pilot sport (obviously there are different compounds coming in to play as well).

[VWindahouse]

So Guy what would you recommend for the Polo 9n3 for daily use and frequent weekend warrior stuff?

[Guy_H]

Personally Stock or VW Racing Plate diff (Like Eddy's) - but downside is the cost. If you are doing a gearbox rebuild and your stock diff is stuffed, Peloquin or Quaife are not a bad option!

[VWindahouse]

Ok thanks Guy, sounds like it's worth doing properly. Cheers!

[Guy_H]

Ok thanks Guy, sounds like it's worth doing properly. Cheers!

Smarter way to do it. There are obviously a few weak spots in that transmission, so best to check the lot out whilst you are in there!

[RandomX]

Hey Guy,

What LSD are you running your Polo GTI?

Cheers

Josh

[Guy_H]

Josh - It's a VW Motorsport one (Metal plate)

[kaanage]

Personally Stock or VW Racing Plate diff (Like Eddy's) - but downside is the cost.

Eddy's is a SQS for an 02J gearbox. Any idea how much that cost him, Guy?