ACM

I've been hunting around but didn't see this discussed specifically.

I'm looking for opinions/observations/experience on the different ways that Kaaz-type diffs affect the car's handling versus Quaife-type diffs.

The intial obvious point is that lift a wheel on a Quaifed axle and one has an open diff, whereas the Kaaz will lock. This is a issue for the rear, thus the chioce becomes clutch LSD only, but the centre and front do not suffer this problem, and so can be either design.

Does anybody have experience on the difference in say turn-in, mid-corner, exit-phase grip, balance, handling in general ?

And no, I don't care about the car growling in car parks, won't be able to hear it over the general cacophony anyway !

Thanks,
Charles Moss

Max Rebo

From what I understand, the only way a Quaife (ATB) diff will behave like an open diff is if you have zero traction on both the left & right wheels. Unless you're driving on a sheet of ice, that should rarely happen. And if it does, you'll have both wheels spinning (I think) instead of one wheel (the one with the least resistance). I could be wrong on that last point. I was thinking that if one side slips, the worm gears lock up and send power to the other side. If both sides slip, it will want to send power in both directions, so you'll have both wheel spinning. That's my logic... I'm low on caffeine, so my neurons aren't working optimally right now.

However, if one wheel slips -- say, the inside wheel during mid-turn -- the worm gears in the Quaife will lock up and send power to the wheel that has traction... up to a certain percentage. Maybe 80%? Or 100? I really can't remember... There are no real disadvantages that I can see in using a Quaife for the street or auto-x. One big advantage over a clutch-type diff is that nothing will wear out on the Quaife, unlike clutches, which eventually wear. It's all gear-operated.