Shimmed VLSD

[AZ89two4Tsx]

I have heard little bits and pieces about this in other threads on here but there isn't a thread just about shimmed vlsd's. My question is, how many people have done this and what are your opinions on it? From what I've read on other sites, some people have nothing but good things to say and others have had not so much luck. The concept of shimming the diff seems pretty basic and looks like a cheap alternative to a 1.5 or 2 way diff, if you DIY. For a novice/beginner like me, it seems like a good choice as I don't have $600+ to spend on a KAAZ, Nismo, etc.. but I do have the time and tools to do something like this. Anyways, just wanted to see what you experts thought about this and your opinions/experiences. Thanks.

Oh btw, here's the threads/articles on how to do it and reviews (yeah one is zilvia, sorry)

http://zilvia.net/f/s-chassis/....html

http://www.d1nz.com/forum/view...02e75

[Biggamehit]

I over shimmed mine and blew it.... however while it lasted....... it was somewhat cool. I have a Nismo GT 2-way now.

my write up can be found here

http://biggamehit.teammnr.com/

[AZ89two4Tsx]

^ Wow, there's some nice write ups on your site there! It's definately going to come in handy for me. Thanks.

[Biggamehit]

no problem bro.. glad that they could help

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Anyone else want to chime in?

[TerminalVelocity]

hmm I hadn't heard of this until this thread. You've got me interested since I'm having trouble finding an open diff locally to have welded.

Biggamehit: I've bookmarked your site. Your writeups are very good. I can tell you put some effort into them.

[Biggamehit]

no prob thanks man.

[TerminalVelocity]

Where do you buy these shims at? I ordered some from courtesy nissan parts but got an email later saying they were no longer available.

[Emperor_Tha]

So do u add the new shim with the old shim?Old shim .8mm + new shim 1.0mm = reshim 1.8mm? Ballpark number?Or just one new shim 1.2mm or something like that

[TerminalVelocity]

You can do either or even add more than one shim. It depends on how worn your diff is and how tight you want it.

[Sabot]

Cool..I'm going to do this just cause I'm bored

[TerminalVelocity]

Where do you buy these shims at? I ordered some from courtesy nissan parts but got an email later saying they were no longer available.

[Biggamehit]

Nissan directly. with-in my write up, i included the parts numbers.

[TerminalVelocity]

Ya I have the part numbers (that's how I was able to order from courtesy nissan). I'll try the Nissan dealership.

[Emperor_Tha]

Ijust ordered my .8mm shim from nissan.

When putting everything back together, do u apply locktite?

[TerminalVelocity]

After a month and a half of being on back order my shim finally came in this week, so I'm reviving this thread. I'll be doing the install hopefully in the next two weeks, depends on school and work. I have an event on April 25th that I'd like to be ready for. Has anyone ever heard of someone using a shimmed vlsd in a higher horsepower (300hp or so) car? I'm wondering how long it will last.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Does anyone make rebuilt/re_manufactured vlsd's? I'm not too excited about buying something like this when I'm not absolutely sure about how many miles are on it.

[TerminalVelocity]

I'm not sure. If it were me, I'd find a somewhat low mileage j30 or q45 in a junk yard and get the setup from that. They should have the least wear as you can be reasonably sure that grandma wasn't hittin up the drift spots in her j30 late at night to burn up some tires.

[Chris28]

biggamehit, how many shims were you running when you blew up your vlsd? I'm about to shim mine and I want it as tight as possible without fear of messing it up lol.