Diffs??

[chris68nufc]

Can somebody explain the workings of both kinds of diffs so im clued up??
I know its New Years day but some people werent slaughtered last night
I would like to know what the effects will be running a tight diff,slack diff,light oil in diff and heavy ouild in diff(geared diff!)

Thanks

[jhammond]

Taken from another thread:

Originally Posted by VinceVegaUK

Yes diffs can make a big difference.

Tighter diff less turn but more drive, losser diff more turn but less drive. With 4wd you have two diffs so you can blance under and over-steer on coast into corners and the same on throttle out of corners.

You obviously don't want to run the diffs so loose that they constantly slip, you wont get much drive and they will wear quick and you will flatten the balls. If they are too tight you will get more drive but can wear a groove in the plates quickly, its a fine balance. A 1/4 or 1/2 turn in either direction, once you get it it can make the car hit the sweet spot, along with all the other set up options you can do.

If your running a powerfull motor i would run the diffs quite tight as this keeps the car more stable, loose diffs with too much power causes more torque steer (car pulls to one side under hard acceleration). Do a few hard starts and set your slipper to slip enough to ease the drive train but not to much that it slips and becomes inefficient, too tight and the diffs instead of the slipper could slip and wear. A diff slip is less of a nice smooth whine than what the slipper makes, more of a cry.

Hope this helps

Later

VV

Sometimes the search button can do wonders.


Julius.

[jhammond]

Oh...

And that's for a ball differential. However, the principal is still the same.

A differential allows the axles to rotate at different speeds, thus aiding cornering: as the outside wheel has further to travel.

A fixed drive, as used on many touring cars, gives maximum power delivery.

On the (brilliant) Durango diffs, you use the viscosity of the oil to adjust the affect of the differential. Of course, having two differentials you can set the front differently to the back.



Julius.

[Big G]

generally I run my front slightly tighter than the rear, but lately I've found running the front almost locked up makes the car a lot more stable out of the corners on power. this is racing on polished floor though.