After Market Differentials
03-05-2001, 08:01 PM
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03-05-2001, 08:13 PM
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Originally posted by krazik
I started the same thread
http://www.s2000online.com/forums/showthre...p?threadid=8501
I started the same thread
http://www.s2000online.com/forums/showthre...p?threadid=8501
03-05-2001, 08:37 PM
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Well, after asking around and doing some all-important GT2 (Gran Tourismo 2) simulations 
I found that a 1.5 way diff was definitely a better solution for the street than a 2-way diff. 2-way diffs make it difficult to turn the car without inducing a drift. Also, since they're locked up more of the time, you have more wear on the clutches. So you have shorter life expectancy from your LSD clutches AND your tires (since you're always drifting). And all that just to make the car difficult to turn. Try it on GT2 - you'll see. It's just way easier and faster to drive an S2000 with a 1.5 way. I know that's not the most scientific way to figure things out, but I don't exactly have a budget to do $1500 rear-end rebuilds just to see what happens 
So, I established that there wasn't much debate and that a 1.5 way was the way to go unless you're building a drift car. After that, I asked around for what brand to go with. There really wasn't much debate there either. Spoon, mugen, and all the big tuners make LSD's, but they're really expensive. No one I talked to has ever even HEARD of someone breaking a Kaaz, and that was my main concern. Plus, at $800, it was a very inexpensive solution. Everyone said they last a good 70k miles without needing new clutches, so that was also good news. The only thing people said was a problem is that they can be VERY noisy. I had heard this first hand on a civic with a B18C motor/trans and it sounded like something was badly broken. But then my friend got a Kaaz for his SOHC civic and it was quiet. Just made the steering feel a little rocky (since the diff acts on the front wheels). But it was quiet and made a HUGE improvement in the car's drivability and handling.
So I went ahead with the Kaaz unit. I really just wanted durability. Well, the unit was obviously well made and looked very strong. Installing it is a bitch and requires a press and lots of other tools and stuff, but I was ready for that. After installing it, the diff will be VERY noisy and choppy when you first get in the car. This is because it is not yet broken in and you HAVE TO drive slowly and carefully to a big parking lot to do your break in before you do anything else. DO NOT apply ANY gas at all with the wheel turned on your way to the lot. You will warp the clutches. Once you get to the parking lot, you accelerate to 12 mph in a STRAIGHT line. Then you put it in neutral, let off the clutch, turn the wheel all the way to one side, and coast through the turn with no gas and no brake. Then straighten out, put it back in gear, accelerate to 12 mph, and do the same thing the other direction. You do these figure 8's for 30 minutes NON STOP. It makes you pretty sick :sick: Then you drive it home and change the fluid immediately. It's important not to use anything other than the Kaaz fluid. It's $40/bottle, but it has special additives to keep the diff working properly and quietly. After that, it will still take a few weeks for the diff to really fully break in and it will still be pretty noticable and kinda noisy. But after a few weeks, the noise goes away, the popping goes away, and it just feels totally smooth.
I expected the car to have nervous, jittery handling and be unforgiving after I installed it, but that was absolutely not the case. I just can't explain how it feels. It doesn't want to understeer or oversteer. When you get on the gas, the rear end just wants to point where the front wheels are pointing. It doesn't really start a drift, it just keeps itself pointed the right way, like a go-kart. You can just nail the gas in a corner like it's FWD car and it just bites and whips right around the corner without a hiccup.
This is definitely the coolest and most beneficial mod I have done on the car.
Anyway, I wrote a write up on it after I did the installation on my friend's website http://138.23.206.216/car/ if anyone wants to read it. I still need to rip some stills off the dv cam and make a vhs copy.
HTH.
I found that a 1.5 way diff was definitely a better solution for the street than a 2-way diff. 2-way diffs make it difficult to turn the car without inducing a drift. Also, since they're locked up more of the time, you have more wear on the clutches. So you have shorter life expectancy from your LSD clutches AND your tires (since you're always drifting). And all that just to make the car difficult to turn. Try it on GT2 - you'll see. It's just way easier and faster to drive an S2000 with a 1.5 way. I know that's not the most scientific way to figure things out, but I don't exactly have a budget to do $1500 rear-end rebuilds just to see what happens So, I established that there wasn't much debate and that a 1.5 way was the way to go unless you're building a drift car. After that, I asked around for what brand to go with. There really wasn't much debate there either. Spoon, mugen, and all the big tuners make LSD's, but they're really expensive. No one I talked to has ever even HEARD of someone breaking a Kaaz, and that was my main concern. Plus, at $800, it was a very inexpensive solution. Everyone said they last a good 70k miles without needing new clutches, so that was also good news. The only thing people said was a problem is that they can be VERY noisy. I had heard this first hand on a civic with a B18C motor/trans and it sounded like something was badly broken. But then my friend got a Kaaz for his SOHC civic and it was quiet. Just made the steering feel a little rocky (since the diff acts on the front wheels). But it was quiet and made a HUGE improvement in the car's drivability and handling.
So I went ahead with the Kaaz unit. I really just wanted durability. Well, the unit was obviously well made and looked very strong. Installing it is a bitch and requires a press and lots of other tools and stuff, but I was ready for that. After installing it, the diff will be VERY noisy and choppy when you first get in the car. This is because it is not yet broken in and you HAVE TO drive slowly and carefully to a big parking lot to do your break in before you do anything else. DO NOT apply ANY gas at all with the wheel turned on your way to the lot. You will warp the clutches. Once you get to the parking lot, you accelerate to 12 mph in a STRAIGHT line. Then you put it in neutral, let off the clutch, turn the wheel all the way to one side, and coast through the turn with no gas and no brake. Then straighten out, put it back in gear, accelerate to 12 mph, and do the same thing the other direction. You do these figure 8's for 30 minutes NON STOP. It makes you pretty sick :sick: Then you drive it home and change the fluid immediately. It's important not to use anything other than the Kaaz fluid. It's $40/bottle, but it has special additives to keep the diff working properly and quietly. After that, it will still take a few weeks for the diff to really fully break in and it will still be pretty noticable and kinda noisy. But after a few weeks, the noise goes away, the popping goes away, and it just feels totally smooth.
I expected the car to have nervous, jittery handling and be unforgiving after I installed it, but that was absolutely not the case. I just can't explain how it feels. It doesn't want to understeer or oversteer. When you get on the gas, the rear end just wants to point where the front wheels are pointing. It doesn't really start a drift, it just keeps itself pointed the right way, like a go-kart. You can just nail the gas in a corner like it's FWD car and it just bites and whips right around the corner without a hiccup.
This is definitely the coolest and most beneficial mod I have done on the car.
Anyway, I wrote a write up on it after I did the installation on my friend's website http://138.23.206.216/car/ if anyone wants to read it. I still need to rip some stills off the dv cam and make a vhs copy.
HTH.
03-05-2001, 08:50 PM
#5
Administrator
closing this one, other has more posts, if anyone objects PM or ICQ me
http://www.s2000online.com/forums/showthre...p?threadid=8501
http://www.s2000online.com/forums/showthre...p?threadid=8501
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