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FWD cars with Torsen Diff
Neville Jones - 31/8/10 at 08:58 AM

I'm looking for a fwd Torsen diff. Can anyone point me to a car that comes with one as standard?

Cheers,
Nev.

andylancaster3000 - 31/8/10 at 09:28 AM

MK1 Focus RS has a quaife one I believe...

dan8400 - 31/8/10 at 09:35 AM

Rover 820 vitesse turbo 97 onwards


HTH


Dan

craig1410 - 31/8/10 at 09:41 AM

Extract from Wikipedia article on the Torsen Diff:

Front axle only applications

Honda/Acura Integra Type R
Alfa Romeo: GT, 147 Q2
Honda Civic Si (06-current)
Honda Civic vti 1.8
Ford Focus RS
Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V
Oldsmobile Calais W41 (7 cars equipped from the factory, C41 option code)
Oldsmobile Achieva W41 (7-10 cars equipped from the factory, C41 option code)
Rover 200 Coupe Turbo, 200 BRM/LE, 220 Turbo , 420 Turbo , 620 Ti , 820 Vitesse (200PS version only)
Mazdaspeed3
Honda Accord Type R


[Edited on 31/8/2010 by craig1410]

[Edited on 31/8/2010 by craig1410]

T66 - 31/8/10 at 10:48 AM

Someone had a Saab 9-3 lsd recently, Ive had a look about and cannot find it.

They pop up on ebay once in a while -Quaife product.


There are cheapos on ebay.com but I have no idea what they are like. ?

Elkparts are reputable -

http://www.elkparts.com/product_info.php?products_id=3729&manufacturers_id=80

Liam - 31/8/10 at 11:25 AM

Quite common in Jap cars where LSD was an option. Not exactly FWD, but if it's just a transverse-engine setup you're after, then Toyota MR2 would be an option.

Edit: my bad - apparently not a torsen in the MR2. Maybe my mate's was aftermarket.

[Edited on 31/8/10 by Liam]

Neville Jones - 31/8/10 at 11:43 AM

Thanks fellas, I'm after a Gleason type diff, not a Quaiffe. As I've put many times already, Quaiffe are not Torsen of the Gleason type. They differ in operation quite a lot.

Cheers,
Nev.

coozer - 31/8/10 at 12:32 PM

Rover 820 Sport or any Rover car with the T16 Turbo should have one.. sold one last year for a tenner

craig1410 - 31/8/10 at 12:34 PM

quote:
Originally posted by coozer
Rover 820 Sport or any Rover car with the T16 Turbo should have one.. sold one last year for a tenner


Only the 200BHP T16 models had LSDs. I used to have the 180BHP model (boosted to 240BHP...) and it didn't have an LSD.

Liam - 31/8/10 at 10:39 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Neville Jones
Thanks fellas, I'm after a Gleason type diff, not a Quaiffe. As I've put many times already, Quaiffe are not Torsen of the Gleason type. They differ in operation quite a lot.

Cheers,
Nev.


They really dont, I'm sure The Quaife is for all intents and purposes identical to a type 2 Torsen. In fact every man and his dog makes/holds a patent for a parallel axis torque biassing diff, and Gleason weren't the first. The type 1 Torsen is unique, but it still operates on exactly the same principles - i.e. resistance to differentiation being derived from friction in the geartrain connecting the diff outputs.

Maybe your experience is with the Racemaster - the special version of the type 2 with preload clutches specifically designed to address the single-wheel-spinning limitation of the Torsen design? The Racemaster would certainly behave as you described in the other thread - i.e. not behaving as an open diff when one wheel has no resistance to spinning. But all other Torsen versions, and the Quaife, and anyone else's will suffer in that regard.

If you've worked primarily with RWD race cars you might have mainly experienced type 1 Torsens with high TBRs, i.e. 5:1. A high TBR will certainly make it much less likely to spin up a lightly loaded wheel. You might even jack up one corner and boot the throttle, and the inertia of the free wheel plus associated friction would give enough instantaneous resistance that 5-fold that transferred accross to the wheel on the ground is enough to knock it off the jack. But the underlying characteristic is still there - it can only transfer accross the diff a maximum of what is supported at the lowest traction wheel x the TBR, and 0xTBR=0. The Racemaster wouldn't really need to exist if that wasn't true, and neither would the various other solutions to the problem such as the Quaife version with adjustable preload or the new wavetrac diff etc etc.

I'm not sure what your project is, but dont restrict your choices because you think a 'genuine' Torsen has properties it does not. A Quaife would likely be just as suitable. In fact they are often preferred over an OEM fit Torsen in enthusiast circles on durability grounds. A Quaife is usually aftermarket and they sell with a lifetime warranty - they're pretty much daring you to try and break it. An OEM fit Torsen that you pluck from a FWD production application such as those listed above will almost certainly be a type 2 with a low TBR of around 2.5:1 tops - very similar to a Quaife. It will not behave like a 5:1 type 1 that I suspect you may possibly be more used to.

Liam