Signs of a Failing Diff.
03-07-2001, 10:28 PM
#2
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clunking noises from the back of the car while making low speed (parking lot) turns. Or, you can jack up the car, put it in first (engine off and parking brake disengaged) and turn one wheel. The other wheel should freely turn the opposite way from the one you are turning. If they don't want to turn, something's not right.
03-08-2001, 07:40 AM
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Originally posted by The Reverend
clunking noises from the back of the car while making low speed (parking lot) turns.
clunking noises from the back of the car while making low speed (parking lot) turns.
Recently since my tires are nearly bald my car axle hops sometimes when I try to spin the tire a little bit while accelerating hard. This I do not know why it happens but again the mechanics say it normal for certain light cars to do this especially in cold weather. 13,000 miles on the speedo.
Bottom line I do not know who is right.
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03-08-2001, 08:39 AM
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>>Yeah, they tried to tell me it was normal also. It's not. Call torsen - they'll tell you. The T2 has helical gears and should not make any noise.<<
I have installed Quaifes in my Lotus and M3. They are dead silent. So is my Lotus at the moment but that is another story. Lifetime warranty even when raced, but labor is not included. Torsen's T2 is closer to a Quaife design than the earlier design. Quaifes seem to be very well made and they don't need break in, don't wear out, don't need special fluids and have no tricky handling issues. They don't gloss everything over with a light dose of understeer like many clutch type units at turn-in. Not to mention tire scrub issues. No change in handling balance as variable clutch units can exhibit. Quaifes need to have both wheels on the ground and the torque transfer is pretty much limited to a multiple of the wheel with less grip. In a straight line they'll split the torque very well for fast takeoffs. If a wheel lifts, you can't get much torque from the other side since the unit basically is limited to any initial preload you set. That is more of a suspension tuning issue though since you can't go as fast as possible if you lift drive wheels all the time. Torsens have the same issue. There is also a torsen variation with a clutch section to deal with wheel lift issues. I don't know about a Kaaz, but BMW limited slips only provide about 8-12 hours of limted slipping action due to clutch wear. And the slip action progessively declines slowly. That's not all in a row cuz you don't always slip a wheel. When I converted the M3 from clutch to Quaife diff, I was able to stiffen the rear of the car more - springs and shocks, to cut understeer while retaining (actually very noticeably imnproving) good corner exit characteristics. The new M3 has a souped up viscous diff that senses speed differences and is supplememted with a pump to cut lag and increase lock up. If that car lifts a rear tire, up to 100 % torque trasfer can occur to the other rear tire. At some point I may try one out since it can go into my diff unit.
Stan
I have installed Quaifes in my Lotus and M3. They are dead silent. So is my Lotus at the moment but that is another story. Lifetime warranty even when raced, but labor is not included. Torsen's T2 is closer to a Quaife design than the earlier design. Quaifes seem to be very well made and they don't need break in, don't wear out, don't need special fluids and have no tricky handling issues. They don't gloss everything over with a light dose of understeer like many clutch type units at turn-in. Not to mention tire scrub issues. No change in handling balance as variable clutch units can exhibit. Quaifes need to have both wheels on the ground and the torque transfer is pretty much limited to a multiple of the wheel with less grip. In a straight line they'll split the torque very well for fast takeoffs. If a wheel lifts, you can't get much torque from the other side since the unit basically is limited to any initial preload you set. That is more of a suspension tuning issue though since you can't go as fast as possible if you lift drive wheels all the time. Torsens have the same issue. There is also a torsen variation with a clutch section to deal with wheel lift issues. I don't know about a Kaaz, but BMW limited slips only provide about 8-12 hours of limted slipping action due to clutch wear. And the slip action progessively declines slowly. That's not all in a row cuz you don't always slip a wheel. When I converted the M3 from clutch to Quaife diff, I was able to stiffen the rear of the car more - springs and shocks, to cut understeer while retaining (actually very noticeably imnproving) good corner exit characteristics. The new M3 has a souped up viscous diff that senses speed differences and is supplememted with a pump to cut lag and increase lock up. If that car lifts a rear tire, up to 100 % torque trasfer can occur to the other rear tire. At some point I may try one out since it can go into my diff unit.
Stan