Gear diffs for the B44.1?
 

Anyone know if AE is planning to make this?

So far the only solution I know of is machining Durango gear diffs to fit, and it's a very complicated process... :cry:

Or are there any other gear diffs that are a direct fit???

Isnt a ball diff a better drive than a gear diff?..why would you want to change to a gear diff? (just interested)

I think the idea is to fit and forget.

Ball diffs are better but do need a rebuild more offten.

ehh...

to say ball diffs are better wouldn't be true. people don't test them fully. they drop them in, try one or two oils and call it quits. there is a reason TC and Offroaders are starting to integrate them into their arsenal.

more direct drive, less maintenance, can be fine tuned. its all about feel. some people like them some don't, i'm sure with some manufactuers they'll become a mainstay, which will mean stronger materials, better tuning ect.

i won't go as far as to say they'll take over, but in the next year or two, i wouldn't be surprised if they came standard on more than the durangos. they'll definately be option parts for even more cars sooner than later.

Interesting that the Durango guys are running ball-diffs in their cars then..

Really??? Who? And how do you make them fit? AE diffs?

My reasons:

1) Less maintenance. The ball diffs perform great, but with all the power these days and high grip astro the ball diffs must be rebuilt very often. I race and practise mostly for fun, and I'd like as little maintenance as possible. And time is in short these days :cry:

2) Performance. Being lazy, my ball diffs are more often than not crap. So even if a gear diff is only 90% (just an example!) efficient compared to a new built ball diff, I'd still get a lot better diff than my worn ones :lol:

But of course, if gear diffs are not to my liking handling wise I'll go back to ball diffs of course!

And I don't believe in gear diffs for 2WD, only 4WD.

I believe Hupo tried it at the Worlds warm-up..

I think the car will get a much smoother feeling with ball diffs. Much easier to drive, and not that edgy and nervous.

not that we run ether car but wanted to pick up on ball diffs need building very often ?? really we manage to get 2-3 months plus out of a rebuild easily,i wouldn't say that is often and see people running geared diff's take em out more often than us,

Get some ceramic balls in your diffs...:thumbsup:

Last for ages, very smooth and cheap. (60 for £16 off ebay)

schuy runs em any way

A kyosho fs diff can be modified to fit in a Durango.

I hate balldiffs. Not in a performance like way but for the maintenance part.
People who say they run their diffs for months and still have a silky smooth diff are not telling the truth. Strictly impossible. they ware out rather quickly.
On flat dirt tracks with normal grip and normal jumps they lasts much longer and even indoors on high grip track because they often are flat and the jumps are evenly flat all over the surface.
What kills a ball diff the quickest are bumpy high grip track like astro tracks.
Our astro track does not have one meter of flat surface and the car is in the the air more or less all the time and it eats the diffs up after only one run.
Have build and rebuild diffs a thousand times and in different ways and with different diff grease and balls and what not. Still the same result.

I have discovered what I think is a gritty diff, others find perfectly good so my standards are maybe a bit high. I must be damaged after all the Tc I have been doing. Really really important in tc that the diff is right on the money.
More geardiffs for the masses and the technology to build them lighter and with less rotating mass exists. I do not race buggy any more cus of that fact and the Durango is not a option for me. Do not think the durango is the way it is because of the geardiffs only.

That's the thing! When you rebuild properly (I know all the ropes, and have tested ceramic balls also), they last quite long on a low grip surface. B-Fast diff plates are great!

But high grip astro + bumps + jumps = ball diff killah! :D

@West Ridge: Do you have the time + equipment to modify Durango gear diffs to fit a B44 for me? I have a friend with a lathe, but the stuff has been at his place for 12 months now... he says he finds it too difficult...

@ shy
I got the knowhow but not the time nor the necessary equipment to do this mod. I was that close to buy a lathe myself to get it done but the pricetag was too steep. Sorry.
I hope we will see more geardiffs in the future. I am convinsed the manufactures can build cars based from the beggining around geardiffs. Not only geardiff converted balldiff cars.

OK, no prob :lol:

Then there was some other swede who had done that mod himself, you remember who?

No, it was me but gave up due to the expencive pricetag. Was just not worth it. Talked with a lot of different companies and everyone could help me but when the price landed on at least 1200sek (115Gbp) per diff I gave up. Plus the cost of the diffs and bavelgears.
Run 1/8 electric now a days instead. Faster and more durable and a lot of fun;) geardiffs ha ha.

I see :lol:

With LiPo and brushless, the final "lazy boyz" piece missing for me is gear diffs >> Just press the ON button :thumbsup:

Theoretically - wouldn't it be great also with a center gear diff? (Like in 1:8) For a smoother drive, and less strain on the driveline?

I'm guessing we will see more and more geared diff in the future, but as you say smaller and lighter...

Yeah, centrediff combined with a slipper;). Been thinking on that matter a lot. Could be done rather easily with shaft driven cars but the problem is the added rotating mass.

But with a longitudinally mounted motor like in for instance a B44 I guess the center diff and the motor would equilize each other?

Yes, but the way it is now it is pretty closely balanced between the centre shaft and motor. I am afraid a centrediff could over compensate perhaps.
Do not see those issues in 1:8 due to the wider diameter rotors I suppose.
But still worth a try in 1:10:thumbsup:

@Sabben: http://www.oople.com/forums/showthre...031#post522031

>> may look as you're right...

take a look at the highlighted bits above from you statement
thats why most people hate ball diffs, and thats exactly why most people don't understand them. are they really supposed to be silky smooth, well i say no there supposed to be a kinda of limited slip diff, so no there not supposed to be silky smooth there supposed to be tight and feel a little notchy, if there silky smooth they will diff out in the corner loosing drive,which is why people think oil filled geared diff are better because they don't diff out so easily, but feel one of them there far from silky smooth,build it right and yes they last months, o buy the way shy we run on astro 98% of the time are cougar diff is tight and slightly notchy and 3 months old still going strong,

I'm open to all possibilites :thumbsup:

Just wanna test a gear diff for myself to find out first of all. Feel, laptime, average laptime. I'd like to try geared diffs in my B44. And I'm also waiting for the 410 Ultra kit. I'd vice versa like to try the Rango with ball diffs...

On astro I can agree that the diffs are not that critical, but on a loose track or on sections of the track without astro - the ball diff should be smooth.

Last time I rebuilt my B44 ball diffs they looked like this... :lol:

http://www.ymr.no/bilder/Lars&SHY/1N.../BRUK/diff.jpg

It was so crappy, and I had to tight it so much you could hardly move it... Was still fast as hell (podium finish) :thumbsup: I might as well have driven with a solid axle :lol:

Another thing: What deteriorates the ball diff is mainly the diff plates. I notice no improvement with ceramic balls. But I'd love to see a better material used for those diff plates! (B-Fast machined plates are the best option so far). Ceramic plates???

I have been told before that I am too fixed on the diffs and I know that is somewhat true:) But I am like that. I kill that bird who took a dump on my 1:1 car. Like it spotless;)
It all began with me racing a xray t3 with balldiffs and I was impressed with the smoothness and the durability of it. I my world that balldiff was ace comming from racing buggies. A certain high ranked racer feelt it and shook his head. He rebuild it for me and the difference in the cars performance was stunning. So that transformed over to the buggies for me but I know it does not make that much of a difference there.

Ceramic plates and balls together is not a good idea because that would require a much much harder tension spring. It would slip all the time otherwise. And with that extra tension on the screw and nut would not be healthy on any part of the diff;)

Nono, I was thinking ceramic plates only. The balls don't wear. And I find it harder to adjust the diff properly with ceramic balls. They are harder/more slippery/smooth, so the sweet spot I find is narrower. I.e. not longer lasting diffs and harder to adjust... might be the same problem for ceramic rings of course... I'd just like to have some "rough" but less wearing material for the plates. What grade steel is being used for the plates? (I guess the manufacturers have thoroughly tested this though...)

I used to replace the balls for every rebuild, but learing from you UK drivers it's not point! The are just fine! Only need to sand down the plates and clean everything...

Ok, my mistake;)

Thats how I have been doing it also lately. Ceramic high quality balls and sanded/flattened plates. A friend of mine drilled small not all the way through "potts" on each side underneath the ballholes. 4 or 5 of them on each side an they could hold even more diff lube. Seems to be working for him.

How about trying this set from casterracing?

http://casterracingusa.com/product.p...&cat=63&page=7

that is not a gear diff

I know, but I heard the other day that the many rebuilds are mostly necessary because of the plastic 45° headgears (don't know the exact english) wearing too fast.

So for people wanting diffs that are stronger, this might be an idea without having to step away from balldiffs.

Anyone tried to fit the mgt 3.0 geardiff in their b44?

totally true! touringcar and buggy diffaction isnt the same, and thats the reason why a buggydiff can be not so smooth like a$$ and it still works perfectly. Important is, no slipping diff + good slipper settings + good build (and then you dont have to tighten the diff all the way until it doesnt slip). In some cars its harder to get a diff free and not slipping, because the material matches not perfectly together (hardness of balls, rings,... )

Just my 2 cents..

Most B44 drivers here use the NTC3 diff (ASC2333), it has a frictiondisk to take the strain of the diffplates and balls

http://www.teamassociated.com/parts/details/2333/