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limited slip rear ends

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kcbugeye1275

kcbugeye1275

Jedi Knight
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Last weekend the local MG club had a great car show here in KC. Previously, it had been in a town about 80 miles away, that kept a lot of the older cars away. Anyway, I ran into the oppertunity to buy a limited slip rear end. What kind of car do you think they came out of? Are there any problems associated with one. Do I really need one? My spridget expert lives in another town and his limited reply was that they are not really something I need.
 
I contemplated buying one for street use when I drove my car as primary transportation. I was frustrated by the wheel slip that occurred on damp roads. I had my eye on the $1100 Quaiffe(sp?) unit. I'm still considering it for "spirited driving", but it is very low on my priority list.
 
I ran into the opportunity to buy a limited slip rear end. What kind of car do you think they came out of?It didn't come from a production car, must be a special.

Are there any problems associated with one?You have to get used to if you are hammering round a corner, at the point that the inside wheel lifts and you lose traction and slow down without an LSD, with one you just keep going!

Also, maybe if you do a full bore take off, you can snap both driveshafts instead of just one /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/blush.gif

Do I really need one? No.
Not unless you're going racing, although if you have already bought it, it might be fun to use.
 
Might also be fun to sell to the racers who actually use them.
 
I've been racing for years with an open (stock) diff. Not such a big deal on the faster courses and especially if you have a lower HP racer like mine. Maybe if I had 100 HP (instead of around 70, I'd feel different).
Even tighter courses like Shenandoah don't seem to really need one. There is one Mickey Mouse second-gear turn on the Pocono infield that I could use it, but it's still no big deal.
I co-drive a 1275 Sprite with a Quaife differential in some of our enduros. It has maybe 90 HP and it doesn't really seem much different than mine in terms of rear traction in turns. Even in the rain.
By the way, his Quaife seized in our last event and I helped him pull it apart. There's some cool looking "guts" inside those things.
Last year at the Glen his car snapped an axle and the car would not move afterward...just like an open diff. I though the Quaife would keep the car moving, but apparently not.
Also, the Quaife is just as quiet as a stock diff. It uses a series of worm gears to "bind" both sides together. Some other LSD diffs use a racheting "locker" that is quite noisey.
I've run a welded rear too. I did not like it. One of my friends runs a Midget in hillclimbs and likes his welded rear because if he snaps an axle (due to the standing start), he can still finish. I rarely do standing starts, so not a big deal to me.
Honestly, a lot of amateurs (like me) would be better to spend that money on tires than a limited slip diff, especially for street use.
 
I put one in a street driven Sunbeam Tiger years ago. I seem to remember more oversteer afterwards. Did help when Autoxing. Probably a waste of money if you're dealing with 50+/- HP. Bob
 
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