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Limited Slip Differential


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hello, its been a while but curious on some things and i know this is the place to ask........

 

i have an 01 pathy and recently i got stuck in some deep snow, ...... what should my LSD be doing ? are my pumpkin internal clutches f'd and so on? i had the tire on one side of the car spinning and the other not........ for a while I thought this was normal and I hear different things on a LSD, anyways thanks for the tips my fellow R50ers !!!

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I have no idea if the diffs are the same between WDs and R50s, but mine does exactly what yours did, and it's an open diff.

 

Though I hear that the stock LSDs in R50s aren't worth very much.

 

A way to tell is jack the rear end up, and if you spin one wheel and the other spins the same way, you have LSD. If not, open diff. An open diff will spin the tire with the least traction. Stupid idea, really. Whoever thought of that should be shot multiple times.

Edited by Kingman
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I have no idea if the diffs are the same between WDs and R50s, but mine does exactly what yours did, and it's an open diff.

 

Though I hear that the stock LSDs in R50s aren't worth very much.

 

A way to tell is jack the rear end up, and if you spin one wheel and the other spins the same way, you have LSD. If not, open diff. An open diff will spin the tire with the least traction. Stupid idea, really. Whoever thought of that should be shot multiple times.

 

:rofl:

 

...Path of least resistance. Great idea... :thumbsdown:

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I have no idea if the diffs are the same between WDs and R50s, but mine does exactly what yours did, and it's an open diff.

 

Though I hear that the stock LSDs in R50s aren't worth very much.

 

A way to tell is jack the rear end up, and if you spin one wheel and the other spins the same way, you have LSD. If not, open diff. An open diff will spin the tire with the least traction. Stupid idea, really. Whoever thought of that should be shot multiple times.

 

 

did you fail your high school physics? :rofl:

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did you fail your high school physics? :rofl:

 

We don't take physics in my school district... :shrug:

 

And how does it not?

Go around a corner to the left, and that tire spins. Go around the corner to the right and that tire spins. Put the left tire on some snow and the other on gravel, and hit the gas and the snow tire spins. Put the other tire on the snow and the other on gravel and

that tire spins.

 

I don't quite see how that's not taking the path of least resistance...

 

But I did fail chemistry and biology...

Edited by Kingman
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lol the intent of the open diff was not wrong wheel driveinevitabley that was the result but for most divers thats much better than having both wheels locked arround a turn.

one other benifit for inexperienced drivers is that wrong wheel dive keeps the vehicle from going into a spin on ice when one wheel hits a dry spot.

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We don't take physics in my school district... :shrug:

 

And how does it not?

Go around a corner to the left, and that tire spins. Go around the corner to the right and that tire spins. Put the left tire on some snow and the other on gravel, and hit the gas and the snow tire spins. Put the other tire on the snow and the other on gravel and

that tire spins.

 

I don't quite see how that's not taking the path of least resistance...

 

But I did fail chemistry and biology...

 

it's not that someone designed it to operate that way; it's the LAWS OF PHYSICS that decided that. the LAWS OF PHYSICS make it choose the tire with least traction.

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it's not that someone designed it to operate that way; it's the LAWS OF PHYSICS that decided that. the LAWS OF PHYSICS make it choose the tire with least traction.

 

The differential didn't design its self.

 

Whoevers idea it was to design a diff to make the "laws of physics" spin the tire with the least traction should be shot multiple times.

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Bottom line, the LSD in R50's is really weak to begin with. If you do have a LSD, it's about 50% weaker than the ones in a WD21 IIRC. I have no clue why they did that.

 

An open diff can and will spin BOTH tires if traction is equal to both tires. I've done it numerous times on gravel, in sand and even on dry pavement.

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No, an open diff has nothing but gears in it. There is nothing inside to lock. It's just that if traction is approximately equal to both tires they will both spin until one loses traction more than the other.

 

A limited slip diff has clutch discs, friction plates and springs stacked sideways in between the side gears that provide an outward pressure on the side gears which has a tendency to press the side gears together, making both turn at the same time. The clutches are there to allow slippage in a controlled fashion. In a tight LSD, the clutches will not slip very much at all, meaning that when you hit the gas you will spin both tires most of the time. If the clutches and springs wear out or lose tension, the clutches slip against each other more, which lets one wheel or the other spin just like in an open diff.

 

Open diff explanation and video: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential2.htm

 

Clutch-type limited slip page: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential4.htm

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So the physical difference between an open diff and a limited slip diff is that an open diff lacks the clutch plates and thus has weaker breakaway torque...? :scratchhead:

 

 

an open diff has no mechanism to prevent a wheel from spinning faster than the other. effectively, an open diff has a breakaway torque of 0lb-ft. :D

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Is it possible to add more of the disks to increase the breakaway torque? I really want better performance out of my LSD, it seems like it is open

 

 

ya, mine is the same way. you can add more clutch discs to the stock LSD to give it as much bite as you want. you can even make it (nearly) a spool!

 

check this link:

 

http://nissan4wheelers.com/eve/forums/a/tp...901#92710653901

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