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There are 3 primary types of LSD’s; the Stock LSD is a Viscous Type (fluid like an automatic transmission), and then currently the only other option for the R230 is a Clutch Type LSD (like Kaaz, Cusco, ATS, etc). The clutch type LSD’s react faster than stock, are not effected by heat like the stock units and provide good traction bias, HOWEVER, they require special fluids, wear out and require adjusting and the worst part is they are incredibly noisy when turning, I mean like you think the entire rear-end is going to fall out kind of noise. Now, before going too much further, I want to be clear that the stock R230 rear-end with the stock Viscous LSD is very strong and reliable. My knowledge and statistical data is only relative to my car (daily driver) in a drag racing environment. The road race guys rave about the Quaife but I'll limit my comments to my drag racing experiences.
After about 100 drag races over the last 2 1/2 years, here is a trend I saw after recording all the times, temperatures and results of every run.
1. In almost all cases, my runs later in the day were slower that the runs earlier in the day.
2. The hotter the day, the greater the differential between the first runs and last runs.
I was told this was because the stock viscous LSD becomes less effective when it over heats (i. e. from drag racing). In other words it takes longer to hook up and allows one wheel to spin. This then lead me to begin to data log my drag runs using my RaceLogic Traction Control (TC). The TC provides a wheel-speed graph of each of the 4 wheels. It then showed that one rear wheel would actually spin faster than the other as the LSD got hotter.
Here is what I don't know.
1. Was my stock LSD just going bad because I had 158,000 hard miles on it?
2. What impact does my 604 RWHP have on the stock LSD?
3. What would I see with just 300HP or 400HP?
The Quaife unit is gear driven and heat has no impact on the unit. It reacts almost instantly on a launch compared to the viscous unit. I had one of these (a Torsen unit) for 12 years in my 450HP 240Z that I drag raced and it never once broke. The Quaife is a very similar design.
I would consider the Quaife if:
1. You have over 500 HP
2. If you drag race or road race
3. Your stock LSD goes bad
4. If you install the 4.10 Leader Gears (you will want more traction)
5. You want improved acceleration on wet, snow or ice covered roads
I would NOT do the Quaife if:
1. You don’t care about consistent launches when drag racing
2. Never race, no mater how much HP you have
3. Just show your car
Somewhat off the subject, but may be of interest, my best ¼ mile drag race time after 2 1/2 years was 11.4 @ 128. I installed the 4.10 Leader Gears and a Kaaz LSD and ripped off a 10.7 @ 131 AND I was bouncing off the rev limiter in 1st gear because it surprised the crap out of me how hard it launched. Most of that was the gears but I am confident some was the Kaaz LSD. So, now you ask, why pull the Kaaz? Because it SUCKS on the street. Sounds like my entire rear-end is about to fall out on EVERY turn!! I don't mean just a little noise, I am worried about damaging CV joints, ring gear, etc. The Kaaz works great IF you never need to turn....
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