ratt_finkel

My diff carrier exploded this weekend. Looking at alternate replacements. Leaning towards the Shep stage 1 with a quaiffe.

What does everyone here use? What has been your experience with your setup.

griceiv

iTrader: (2)

t-cases, more specifically the front diffs, are just wear items. we send ours in to TRE once a year with the factory front diff. The front diff seems to be the part that takes the brunt of the 'bucking bronco' drive train damage. The wavetrac is far superior to the stock diff in terms of design strength, it's just a PITA getting the stub shafts to seat. Ring and pinions last about 2-3 years of our abuse.

ratt_finkel

That's crazy Marshall. I had no clue anything other than the clutch was considered a wear item.

Why the wavetrac over the Quaiffe?

flmjr

iTrader: (1)

I agree with Marshall. We went through 3 trqansfer cases in about a year when I cheaped out on buying used units. Two failures resulted from the OEM diff exploding and the third resulted ring and pinion gears being wiped off. Atransfer case failure cost Aaron dearly at the Oscoda pro last year. He won the class handily but the transfer case went on the launch of the first run of the challenge. The failure also took out the transmission. TRE is now building a spare with a quaiffe and the unit in the car came from Jack's and has a wave trac.

Frank

apex electric

Last year my 2003 case finally gave up and we sent it to Shep for a Stage 1 rebuild. The turn around was crfitical for my next race and they came through right on time. I continued to use a Evo 9 RS diff I picked up new from the UK for $500.

chu

iTrader: (72)

Depending on budget, the RS diff is the cheapest alternative. I believe TRE has some strengthening options available for the RS diff also. As far as WaveTrac vs. Quaife, I've heard good things about both, although the Quaife has been the more popular choice. I've only been able to drive Quaife-equiped vehicles, and they feel fantastic. Again, from a budgeting standpoint, the WaveTrac is cheaper, and I believe serviceable. If you're in a rush, both Shep and TRE offers exchange services now, which helps with the downtime. Good Luck!!!

EVOizmm

iTrader: (10)

on the non ACD's I’d go with the evo RS front diff. it’s a mitsu part so you know it’s good. Its SCCA friendly for classing (depending on your class). And cheap compared to the other options.

JDavenport

iTrader: (33)

Got the T-Case howl of death in my early DE days. Replaced with Shep stage 3 with Quaife. Been through 3 clutches since and it seems to be nearly bombproof. I change fluid every 2 events in the drivetrain, use Redline 75w-90. Oil comes out of that Tcase still gold and mostly clear.

griceiv

iTrader: (2)

I don't have any personal experience with the quaiffe, no other reason.

I do know that the stock RS diff is crap for autox/roadracing. The shot peening that TRE does is worth a little bit but it just moves the weak link further down the chain. It only takes about 5 sec of comparing the stock LSD to something else (wavetrac quaiffe, etc) to realize it's never going to take the abuse we can dish out.

while we're on the topic of wear items, your trans input shaft (aka first gear) will need to be inspected (and probably replaced) after about 450 drag starts (which is about every 3 years for us).

we have multiple t-cases that we cycle through because it takes SO DAMN LONG to get them back from TRE.

ratt_finkel

Thanks for the tips Marshall. What do you think about the upgraded ring and pinion from Shep?

YoLa

iTrader: (3)

You couldn't confuse it with road noise right? (tire noise) I want to make sure I am on the lookout haha

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

Upgraded R&P from Sheptrans and a Wavetrac in my hillclimb car. Was running a standard Shep rebuild for a number of years with Wavetrac and a terrible launch at the drag strip (my first) proved to be the end of that R&P.

I don't believe the quaife locks when a wheel is off the ground if that stuff matters to the racing you're doing.

Dave

griceiv

iTrader: (2)

don't know what he does to them but I'd see what the rule book says you can do to them...

we send stuff in for inspection about every 450 drag starts (3 years for us, more like 4.5 years for a 2 driver car). stock R&P lasts that long for us with only minor cracking. Not sure getting crazy with it is worth much.

ratt_finkel

For those that are asking. This is an autocross only car. Very rarely sees street use. So I couldn't tell you if it was making noise or not. The diff let go at a drag launch. (start of pro-solo)

I think Jon and I will have to practice on pre-loading the drivetrain. I think just the shock of the launches is what did it in. I don't think the car has seen that many pros over it's lifetime.

Marshal, thanks again for the feedback. Sounds like the standard R&P will do just fine.

griceiv

iTrader: (2)

i'm not sure preloading the drivetrain is really going to make a huge difference. you're still going from essentially no load to a crap ton of load in a very short period of time and I think there are just material limits to how many 1.7s 60' times you can get out of the drive train. I think the real killer is wheel hop (or really just motor hop). We have a strict 'push in the clutch' policy if you botch the launch and start to get wheel hop. It doesn't happen very often launching off the two step, but it's a PITA to get it right consistently doing a 'manual' launch.