Welded Diff?

[4cefed]

I searched for this and didn't find anything. Has anyone tried welding the stock open diff on thier S13? I'm used to FWDs so welding a diff hasn't really been an option untill now. My frined used to have an '85 carolla GTS (AE86). It had a solid rear axle with a spool piece. He said the rear end would swap with the front easily. Would welding a diff make any imporvements over the LSD is an independant rear end in the S13? I drive on a variety of surfaces from dirt and snow to pavement. If I bought an LSD I was thinking of welding the open diff before the swap just to play with it. Any thoughts guys? Am I just a crack addict? Please support your flames... uh, answers.

[MaineExport]

Welding the spider gears on your open diff will make it useless for anything other straigh-line drag racing. It will become extremely unstreetable especially with wide tires.

We did this ALL THE TIME to our trucks back in the day (back in VT!). It is alright on a truck because in the mud or slippery terrain the inside wheel will just slip a little if cornering. We also used to do it to the derby cars... Rutland county fair whoo hoo!!

Weld it if you want... but the results on a performane car will suck.

[F4ucc]

Well said, maineimport.

It's only good for dragrace. On street, soon you will either damage your drivetrain or lead you in a accdient....Plus you will encounter Big understeering unless you force the rear end breake loose all the time which you don't want to.......

I did try my friend's AE86 with a weld diff, damn no fun.

cheers

[4cefed]

Well, my frineds that owned the gts said it was a ball of fun. You could pull a 180 in your own lane. They said it tought you to become a good driver. I never got my hands on it so I can't say anything. The thing did have narrow tires and if you turned tightly the inside wheel would skip. It worked for that car.

I guess I'm just comparing apples to oranges, I was just curious if anyone tried it. I think the only way I would try welding the open is if I had the LSD ready to go in.

Maine: I must have seen you somewhere, I grew up in Ludlow.

[MaineExport]

Maine: I must have seen you somewhere, I grew up in Ludlow.

There is a good chance of it. I raced (skiing) at Okemo a lot. Plus my best friend was a mechanic at Benson Chevrolet. He owned a house off US 100 above those lakes by the Hawk Mt. Inn (the names escape me). We spent a lot of time on the trails up through there. We were on dirt bikes, wheelers, and trucks every weekend. Ludlow was pretty much my second home through the early 90's. Calvin Coolidge state forest and CCC road were all stomping grounds as well! Nothing like the Vermont mountains to provide plenty to take your mind off how boring the rest of rural life can be! I miss it, I'll be back there for good one of these days.

[sixxdeuce]

thats not a good idea for a street vehicle because in a turn the outside wheel has a longer distance to travel and needs to rotate more than the inside one, I imagine it would cause a lot of stress and break something, unless you wanted to break the rear end loose on every turn

[signal180sx]

dont wreck your car this way. bah. save up and get at least the phantom grip then. might as well keep saving and swap a VLSD or buy a mechanical unit

[4cefed]

Well, I'm well schooled in the ways of rally driving, so blowing it around on every corner would not be a challenge. The point it well taken though, basically bad for road course conditions, I was still wondering if anyone tried it though.

So then what is the best LSD set up then? a VLSD? stock silvia LSD? I basically want something that will barely slip. Under digusting ammounts of power, I want really no slip at all.

Maine: I used to race on Okemo, I kind of sucked though, but it was fun. I would race with the black river HS team. I graduated in '95 and after that I pretty much left town. I used to cruise around plymouth lake all the time.

[lessthanjakejohn]

I sorta did somethin like that, ONly with lego! I had a solid diffrential in the back and it sucked at turning!. Then I put an open dif on it and it was awesome.

PS: It was for science...

[MaineExport]

Maine: I used to race on Okemo, I kind of sucked though, but it was fun. I would race with the black river HS team. I graduated in '95 and after that I pretty much left town. I used to cruise around plymouth lake all the time.

Cool as hell!! Yeah I raced for Mill River UHS in Clarendon, from which I graduated in 94.

Plymouth lake.. that's one of the finger lakes along rt100... right. My buddy's house was up on the hill above it. There is a state park or picnic area about a half mile from his house. If you ever saw my red Mazda truck or about a dozen Suzuki Samauris that was me and the boys. They all drove insanely lifted Suzukis, but man those little things will go anywhere. I stopped hanging out near Ludlow around 96... that's when I moved out here.

Matter of fact, the last time I was there was last year's hill climb at Okemo. Hey... do any of those guys run N2O? I just got an NX kit... and I know they handicap the hell out of you if you have it equipped... just curious if anybody actually uses i.

[4cefed]

I think I saw Nate Turco with a suzuki. You will take a hit for nitrous, but I don't think anyone uses it for hilllimb. You take a big hit for turbo, intercooler, and displacement, but you gain some ground with a cage. I personally don't care what class they put me in, I just want to race my car. I think a turbo dodge beating half the field is pretty good. Something like a hillclimb I would consiter a welded diff. It's not about art and being smooth, it's about traction and how well you can pedal a car to the top. If you blow t around on every sharp turn, so what.