Diffs - Quaife, Wavetrac, MFactory

[sambb]

hmm now I'm really looking at that Kaaz diff'd box on the floor a bit differently. The wavetrac is exactly how you say Gary - on, off, left wheel tugging, off, right wheel tugging, off, on. Just a mental case. My Clio mate just re-did his exhaust and we went for a run this afternoon. It was similar to my car squirming around left and right under acceleration from a standing start. You've motivated me with your plate diff description and reassurance that its not going to be worn out within a year. Maybe i'll get a few more bits together and at least aim to get that in by summer for the twilight rally sprints.

[sambb]

VW, VOLKSWAGEN, GOLF 02J | Gripper LSD

Pricey yes, but If you look at the options drop down its pretty cool all the different iterations you can choose from.

[sambb]

Didn't want to sell it but I do have a 113mm ID ring gear + pinion (standard ratio) spare that was removed from a 90,000km box. In very good nick. Was only shelved because I needed a 114mm ring gear to go with my Kaaz diff. Reluctant sale but if anyone wants it so they can confidently pre order a 113mm diff before their existing box is stripped, then I might consider letting it go. PM me if you're interested.

[Sydneykid]

VW, VOLKSWAGEN, GOLF 02J | Gripper LSD
Pricey yes, but If you look at the options drop down its pretty cool all the different iterations you can choose from.

Don't know about their VW products but the Honda plate LSD's are KAAZ.

Cheers
Gary

[rgvlee]

I've got over 180k out of my stock clutch, stage 2 for 100k of that and plenty of spirited driving, burnouts and track days in there.
Reckon I'll get 180k out of a set of diff plates?

Sambb those gripper diffs are 100gbp more than a quaife and a 250gbp less than a wavetrac, I wouldn't consider that expensive.
What do you want for the hardware? I'm on the fence a bit as I've got the spare box and could in theory wait til we crack it open. I was just hoping to save a bit on shipping cost/time as I'm ordering the clutch kit from the UK.

[sambb]

Pretty hard to beat if less than a wavetrac. I had a quick look at SQS in Czech Republic who do 1 way plate diffs. Maybe their pricing is competitive too. They probably have an agent in the UK. When I was in contact with them they were well aware of the ring gear size issue and seemed to know exactly what was going on with that build. Eddy has one of these in his Polo. He could report on how it went versus the Peloquin torsen that he had in it before hand.

http://www.sqsracing.com/produkt/298:388:lsd-02j-02a-02c-02s-4x4-4wd

Several years ago I'd gotten in contact with Gripper and they basically said if I could send them a factory/ open diff, they could build a gripper that would be plug n play within a couple of months. I didnt know anyone at the time who could help with that. We know Dave now???

If you have a spare box sitting there save your money RE my ring gear and pinion and just order a diff based on what you have.
I'll have squiz what a gear/pinion is worth tomorrow and let you know if you'd rather grab mine though.

sam

[Sydneykid]

I've got over 180k out of my stock clutch, stage 2 for 100k of that and plenty of spirited driving, burnouts and track days in there.
Reckon I'll get 180k out of a set of diff plates?

Sambb those gripper diffs are 100gbp more than a quaife and a 250gbp less than a wavetrac, I wouldn't consider that expensive.
What do you want for the hardware? I'm on the fence a bit as I've got the spare box and could in theory wait til we crack it open. I was just hoping to save a bit on shipping cost/time as I'm ordering the clutch kit from the UK.

I achieved 225,000 k's out of one in my M3 so quite possibly.

Cheers
Gary

[sambb]

this might sound silly Gary but do plate LSD's get less of a hard time in FWD cars than RWD? just thinking in the FWD the drive wheels point in the direction intended and also there is toe out and ackerman that can help the tyres scribe an arc that wouldn't cause as much difference in wheel speeds at the diff yeah.? I'm talking more in terms of a bit of locking action on tight sort of street corners or roundabouts. Basically what I'm asking is, if you were to break down the street side of things RE total wear on a street/track cars diff, would the FWD LSD be coping less wear than a RWD's? Not sure how they'd vary on track or when you are really up it on the street though.

[rgvlee]

The reason I was staying away from a plate lsd was I thought doing plates would be an annual thing
But if I could get 75-100k before replacing, this changes the thinking

[Sydneykid]

this might sound silly Gary but do plate LSD's get less of a hard time in FWD cars than RWD? just thinking in the FWD the drive wheels point in the direction intended and also there is toe out and ackerman that can help the tyres scribe an arc that wouldn't cause as much difference in wheel speeds at the diff yeah.? I'm talking more in terms of a bit of locking action on tight sort of street corners or roundabouts. Basically what I'm asking is, if you were to break down the street side of things RE total wear on a street/track cars diff, would the FWD LSD be coping less wear than a RWD's? Not sure how they'd vary on track or when you are really up it on the street though.

Not something I have really thought about, so many variables, we just put new plates in when they are needed. Lots of BHP (more torque actually) wears them out faster, as do drivers who use the curbs a lot. Tracks are different as well, Bathurst is relatively gentle on diffs whereas Winton is hard on them. In a road driven FWD car I'd run less preload so the plates aren't slipping as hard at parking speeds. In a transaxle the diff shares the oil (cooling and lubrication) with the gearbox which does make a difference compared to a diff only rear axle. Too many factors, my brain hurts, time to stop.

Cheers
Gary

[seangti]

I put a wavetrac in my car in 2016. I pulled the gearbox myself and gave that to my local trusted workshop. I had already spoken to the local Wavetrac distributor, so my mechanic pulled the box apart and called the distributor to confirm the crown wheel size. It can from America in like a few days (very fast).

I was considering plate diff, but was also apprehensive (and uneducated) of wear rates. My mechanic had enquired about some, but I was getting impatient to get the box back due to some impending travel long term travel and didn't want to car in parts whilst I was away.

I had tried running a few sessions with the FARB disconnected. Once I got over the increased roll and learned to trust the front end, it really gripped up well on corner exist. The extra roll in the front was quite disconcerting, but was probably more fun to drive. This was done at lakeside Raceway QLD, which has amongst the highest average speed of race tracks in the country. I've not tried disconnecting the FARB during motorkhana events, but now that I think about it I might.

I didn't notice much/any real improvement in lap time when I fitted the diff, but the car felt more complete. It's certainly getting a workout in motorkhana events and works pretty bloody well.

I couldn't comment whether it's better or worse than anything else.

[NLanham]

Hi Gti team,

Lucky me I now have a Polo Gti. I do Motorkhanas and Khanacross, mostly unsealed surfaces and am keen to have an LSD. Reading the above comments i am leaning towards a Kaaz plate style but have had a Quaife in my Moke and that was fine too.

The car is otherwise stock but i would like to set up for dirt events.. removing the front swaybar was mentioned in above posts, will that improve front grip even without the LSD?

Please could someone list where i can source an LSD
cheers

new guy
NLanham

[seangti]

I've never ran without a bar on an open diff. I'd imagine on dirt that it would be quite good in order to get maximum wheel travel and weight transfer. Would depend if you can get it rotating enough early in the corner for a straighter drive out.

I contacted my local distributor for Wavetrac.

[NLanham]

Thanks seangti,

I have a dirt test/tune day soon so might try disconnect FARB and see what happens..

cheers nick

[Sydneykid]

Hi Gti team,

Lucky me I now have a Polo Gti. I do Motorkhanas and Khanacross, mostly unsealed surfaces and am keen to have an LSD. Reading the above comments i am leaning towards a Kaaz plate style but have had a Quaife in my Moke and that was fine too.

The car is otherwise stock but i would like to set up for dirt events.. removing the front swaybar was mentioned in above posts, will that improve front grip even without the LSD?

Please could someone list where i can source an LSD
cheers

new guy
NLanham

My suggestions for dirt motorkhanas;
Disconnect the front anti roll bar
Fit the largest rear anti roll bar you can buy
Crank on as much front caster as you can get, stop when the tyres hit the back of the head lights.
Toe out the front 2 mm per side
Toe out the rear 3 mm per side at least

They were my settings for my wife to win 2 x State Motorkhana championships.

Cheers
Gary