Centre Diffs have landed!

[sime46]

The wait is over. Mines built and fitted. Can't wait to give it a run. Roll on Sunday.

[sime46]

[dobber]

Where from and what's the part number? :-)

[sime46]

Ah. Header card went into bin last night. I'll have a look for it. Mine came from the Distributor RC Disco so they'll be in shops any day depending on shipping I'd guess.

[BentKa]

Originally Posted by dobber

Where from and what's the part number? :-)

• Gear Center Differential - Set #364901

For those wanting metal gears in either the center or front & rear diffs:

• Differential Bevel & Satellite Gears (2+4) #335030
  
• Alu. differential Pin - Hard Coated (2) #335081

Bent

[HeavyD99]

For those who've had the early chance to run the centre diffs, how are they performing? Do you feel like you have more traction? What surface & oils did you run? There's a lot of debate over the diff oils suggested being really high (vs. the B44.3 & D413)? ie. 1,000,000 for carpet, 500,000 for clay?

[Dkfream]

I run 100,000 in my centre diff on my b44.3 and it handles fine, why people are going higher is beyond me, 10k front, 100k centre and 7k rear and it goes fine !!!

[BentKa]

Originally Posted by HeavyD99

For those who've had the early chance to run the centre diffs, how are they performing? Do you feel like you have more traction? What surface & oils did you run? There's a lot of debate over the diff oils suggested being really high (vs. the B44.3 & D413)? ie. 1,000,000 for carpet, 500,000 for clay?

500.000cst for low grip (dirt/clay/loamy) and 1.000.000cst for high grip (carpet/astro) is our preferred diff oils.
This is what we have been running and always coming back to for the last 6months of use outdoors and indoors

The diff gears on the Xray are small and with very little resistance so it needs a bit higher viscosity.

And with a thicker fluid you also get more traction on power.
A thinner oil will be easier to drive but won't be as fast and create as much traction as a thicker oil.
But there is no right or wrong here.
Some will always prefer a looser diff than others.
Right now on high grip carpet we are using the slipper instead of the diff with 1.000.000cst as the slipper is faster.
The center diff is easier to drive but not as fast.
So from 6 months of testing the center diff is not THE definitive answer but instead another tuning aid for different track conditions

Bent

[sime46]

I can only echo what Bent says. I ran at Worksop yesterday(low-med grip)with the slipper fitted for the qualifiers. Car was close to perfect. Very good indeed. For my final I fitted my centre diff with 500k in. The car was just as fast and easy to drive. Honestly I think it was better and worse. I definately need more testing but I was surprised how good it was. 500k isn't as stiff as you'd imagine. I ran 300k in my D413 and that diff was stiffer than the Xray with 500k. As said, a great addition to our car for tuning and a very easy thing to swap in and out. Some will love it and some won't.

[HeavyD99]

Sounds like I need to pick up some 500,000wt!

Thanks guys!

[dibble34]

Anyone run the centre diff on astro yet? Have you seen improvement and was the track wet or dry?

[Lightning]

Originally Posted by sime46

I can only echo what Bent says. I ran at Worksop yesterday(low-med grip)with the slipper fitted for the qualifiers. Car was close to perfect. Very good indeed. For my final I fitted my centre diff with 500k in. The car was just as fast and easy to drive. Honestly I think it was better and worse. I definately need more testing but I was surprised how good it was. 500k isn't as stiff as you'd imagine. I ran 300k in my D413 and that diff was stiffer than the Xray with 500k. As said, a great addition to our car for tuning and a very easy thing to swap in and out. Some will love it and some won't.

Sime
I was wondering if you could explain what was "better" and what was "worse" about the center diff, I'm just trying to understand which handling characteristics are effected by running each option. Have you had chance to test the car any more with each and do you have a definitive preference yet.

[sime46]

Lol. Tricky to explain. I've not used the centre diffs much tbh as I prefer the feel of the slipper so far. Er, the car with a diff fitted seems to settle quicker through rhythm sections and jumps/landings. I also like how it appears to help rotation when coming into a tight turn from high speed. However, the diff makes the car spin up the inside front wheel when getting on the gas hard going onto a straight and can make it feel unpredictable sometimes too. It's a feel thing. With the slipper the car feels the same every lap. The diff just takes a little confidence away from me when pushing. As I said, I've not done much with the diff if I'm honest cos I feel faster with the slipper. I've got 500k in one and 1m in the other. I need a test day to get into it more and play with oils and set up changes to take full advantage.