Hi,

I have a strange differential problem with my AP1 MY03... I don't experience any of the usual diff problems, such as whining, grinding noise, constant locking, etc...
I have gone to a local (and empty) parking lot to have some fun in the car. Everything looked and felt good! However after a few RIGHT turning doughnuts I tried to do the same to the LEFT. And the car did exactly what an open diff car do!!! At this point I tried right and left doughnuts after each other and the problem was clearly there... Basically the diff locks as it should when I turn to the right but does not lock when I turn to the left... When I do it to the left the inner wheel starts spinning up but the outer wheel is stationary. Both wheels were on the tarmac (that was actually wet). Hard launch straight felt like normal with both wheels spinning.

Any idea? Anyone experienced something like that?

Since discovering this problem I watch even closer what is going on during my daily driving and I experience the same. Rear starts breaking turning right (like out of a roundabout) under acceleration, but very conservative on left turns...

Please advise! Thanks!

P.S.: I have identical wheels on the rear axle, pressures are the same! I plan to replace diff fluid in the very near future, will update when done!

 

You've eaten too many doughnuts?

 

Such as the cat in your avatar???

 

It's not an LSD, the diff doesn't lock. Try it on snow, or with one wheel in the air and it'll do exactly the same as an open diff.

Maybe your car is rolling slightly more in one direction than the other, or you're not balancing it the same, or something like that.

 

As above its a Torsen diff.
Quote:
Here’s why Torsen LSD’s suck. For you road racer types, as soon as you get one wheel off the ground the Torsen becomes an open differential, in order for it to work both wheels must have complete contact with the ground. When your hanging 1.1g corners and a wheel lifts under power you instantly have no power. That sucks real bad. The KAAZ clutch type LSD is not like that. The KAAZ LSD will remain engaged when a wheel lift under cornering.

 

Thanks for the replies. I am very well aware that I have LSD in the car, maybe I was not as exact with my wording as an engineer. I do not expect it to lock like a welded diff for drifter cars. Personally I don't consider myself as a 'road racer type'... I just wanted to see how the car reacts to more extreme input than normal driving. While the parking lot was empty I tried everything I could quickly imagine within my safety limits.
May I re-word the question?

Are there people experiencing something similar on a RHD Honda S2000 AP1 with standard rear diff, stock suspension, while sitting in the car alone?

Now considering wheel lift: is it possible that the weight distribution (90kg flesh sitting on the right side) causes that much of a difference?
Again, I am not racing the car, just using it as a daily driver. I have better pull during right turns than left turns. Indeed sometimes I have massive left rear wheel spin and no acceleration when I launch harder on a left turn. Is it possible that other components in the suspension causes wheel lift? Everything is stock but have probably 130K/11yrs in most of them...

Thanks for any input!

 

Probably. Stands to reason as it's going left where you're experiencing it, whereas going right more weight on the right means more grip for the unloaded wheel. Or it could be something to do with springs or dampers being mismatched due to wear.

You don't have to lift a wheel (not likely in the S); not enough grip will do it as a Torsen Diff needs a certain amount of resistance to work. If it does it on a warm, dry day then maybe you have a problem.

 

Very interesting. I'd love to see if this behavior changed if you lowered/stiffened the car as a wheel lifting just enough to drop the load on the diff and stop it locking would make some sense!

Anecdotally, I've never noticed one wheel slippage on either of my S2ks, on stock suspension or lowered.

 

Worth checking for broken springs and if the spring spacers are fitted (or fitted to one side). I'd expect these things to make more of a difference than just diff locking, but it's probably worth checking.

 

He was big boned....