LSD questions

[Danni]

I have some questions regarding LSDs.First off, how can I be absolutely sure if a Z has a VLSD or not? I'm getting a Z on monday and leaving the country tuesday morning and need to find out about this before I leave.

Second question is, what 2way LSD would you buy? I know the quaife is supposedly the best but it is an awful lot more expensive than the others. Also I've seen that some are meant for Zs with VLSD and some (like quaife) are meant for open diff Zs, I'm not sure about the difference between these.

I'm more than new to the Z scene (since I haven't recieved the car yet) so any advice is well appreciated.

I live in Iceland and am going to Florida on tuesday for two weeks so if anybody knows where I might find a cheap but good LSD, preferably in FL, please let me know.

If it matters, it's a 2003 Manual and I THINK it's a base model.

[evildky]

only the base model had an open diff, all others gor viscous, the whole 1 way 2 way thing is lost n me, it's somethign the younger guys used to describe the action rather than type and breakaway, the stockers were viscous, I think brake away is like 80 ft/lbs, the old Z31 clsd's were clutch typ with 40 lb break away, but yu could add frictn disks and shims to increase breakaway torque, the Precieion Gear power brute I believe is a clutch type with 80 lb break away, the quaiffe is just a name brand, I beleie theris is a clutch type, there are hellical diffs available but can't remember who makes it, the OBX units I hear use the same carrier but crappy shim material, supposedly you can replace their shims with quality shim metal and have a good quality diff for cheap, the reason it's important to know wether your car was equipped with a factory diff is the viscous uses unequal length output shafts so a clutch tpe used in place of a stocker woudl have to be splined to accept these unique shafts, all others are designed for use with equal length output shafts

I believe the base model also had a steel driveshaft and I believe all othersgot the CF driveshaft

and good luck finding someone with a LSD in stock in FL, I'd imagine Z1 might have one in stock just up the road a bit in GA, what part of FL are you headed to? you know it is like 450 miles miles long and 350 miles wide?

[Danni]

I'm staying in Orlando and I don't mind driving, I've already scheduled to pick up a Vortech supercharger kit in GA.From what you say I guess it's important that I get a LSD for the right type of differential (open or vlsd), I still need to figure out (in very short time) which I have. Guess I could just burn some tires and see if it spins one wheel only.The whole "way" thing of LSD I understand and therefore want a 2way. The difference is that a 1way only locks on acceleration, a 2way locks on deceleration too and a 1.5way needs more force to lock on deceleration.

[Danni]

Does anybody know if there is a visible difference or if I can look it up with the VIN ?

[evildky]

I'd think your dealer can tell you what the trim level is on the vin, nto sure how to decode ti myself, and from Orlando to Atlanta is about a 6 hour drive IIRC, and what are you in the country for? if you up to driving ans exploring Savanah's historic distric would be a bit out of the way but is a very beautiful place to visit

the whole "way" method of classing diffs seems like it would apply to hellical type, and maybe torsen, clutch type have friction disks and clutch packs to adjust the amount of brake away torque needed to slip, untill there is enough resistance at one wheel both spin at the same rate, these are very popular for motorsports as they are tunable and consistant, viscous works kinda like a torque convertor, the more one side slips the more it tightens, both of these type depend on the wheels turning at different speeds to do anything, which has far more to do with cornering than accel and decel

oh and you could always pop the shafts out and see if they are equal length

[Danni]

Really don't have time for checking the shafts as I'm getting the car tonight and leaving the country tomorrow morning. Thanks for the idea though.

The car is imported from the US so the dealer here doesn't have any records of it I'd think.

I guess I'll be getting a clutch type LSD, just don't know what brand to get. I've heard good things about Kaaz but they only make them for the cars with vlsd, which I'm not sure if I have (don't think so).

[evildky]

I think the kaaz is helical? at any rate if you get one for a car equipped with vlsd and you're is open you'll just have to swap cv shafts to the correct ones

[NSRsheets]

The easy way is do a burn out and see if on;y one wheel is spinning.

[carbon z]

Check out info about the Z. Trim levels are listed on Nissan sales sites. Try google. You should be able to find it. The only road block to the info may be the year of your Z. Trim levels have changed with the newer models.

[mark08350zgt]

email me about the nismo 2way lsd i have with final drive gears. its fully built all ready in the pumpkin, just needs bolting up and your good. 3 grand shipped.