LSD Anyone?
 

Has anyone added LSD to their car? If so how did it go and what did it cost?
How do u like it?
I have a Cayman S and plan to do the mod. I am also needing to find a shop worthy of the job. I live in Destin, FL.

awhile back there was a post from a guy who installed a quaife torque biasing diff in his boxster. he swears hands down it was the BEST mod he'd ever made in his car. as for the install, it's really not that tough if you're handy. if you need a shop, i know nothing of destin. cheers.

Insite what track is that in your pic?

Last time I had LSD I ate a phonebook

talladega gran prix raceway. if you're ever interested in going, we limit the event to 12 cars, $121 track fee. we run three cars on track at a time, no aggressive passing (only on straights). we generally get about 120mi driving each. looks like you're in Destin, so it's a long drive for you. they've just expanded / re-paved the track; we're likely going again in February. PM me if you're interested.

I give up, what is a LSD mod.....


Ed

:cheers:

Limited Slip Differential

:D :D :D Good stuff huh? :cheers:

I've investigated this for my MY01 BoxsterS (986).

Quaife makes a Boxster LSD but only lists (listed ?)_ the base boxster on their website. Not sure whether they do anything for a CaymanS.

Furthermore you can check Drexler. I've had some e-mail exchange with a sales manager but finally they said something along the lines of

"Porsche gearboxes are very hard to get information on. Sure we can do it. Send car or gearbox to us".

A bit of a wild guess for me though ;-)

Friend of mine drives a BMW 130i with Drexler LSD and transforms the car. Actually a proper mechanical LSD it just what the Cayman/Boxster needs.

Mark.

oh dang, i would have thought the Boxster came with an LSD stock... :confused: :mad: :eek: :(

Limited slip differentials are not all created equally and not all of them are appropriate for all applications. What I mean by this is there are downsides to each of them, and what the car's primary use is should dictate what kind of (if any) LSD should be used.

For instance one of the upsides to a mid-engined car is its willingness to change direction quickly. One downside to a mid-engine is that when power is applied exiting a corner, the rear weight bias can increase understeer.

Blindly installing a clutch-type LSD would cause a mid-engined car to have increased corner ENTRY understeer because it limits the maximum speed differential between the two rear wheels. Some people feel this detracts from the car's steering feel as well. On corner exit it will exacerbate the car's desire to go in a straight line, causing even more push unless tuned out with suspension adjustments or driving adjustments. So it's not all hearts and bunnies. In fact these reasons are why Lotus initially did not offer an LSD on the Elise - they claimed it would actually make the car slower around a racetrack and be less "precise" feeling.

On the other hand a torque-biasing differential like a Quaife effectively acts like an open differential on corner exit, but a clutch-type on exit. This would be a good choice for a car like the Boxster, but it's still not for everyone. The main downside to a quaife is if one wheel is on a high-grip surface and one is not, the differential will act like an open diff. So on snow or ice, it's not ideal.

All that said, I would certainly have ticked the box for a Quaife had it been offered on the 986. But it's not a huge deal that the car doesn't have one, and nobody who doesn't compete with (or do track events with) their car should care because for the street driver, it's perfect the way it is. :cheers:

LSD?? Last time would've been the 1980 Summer Jam in KC, MO. The only band I remember was Foreigner.....the 20 ft tall Jukebox kinda freaked me out..... :eek:

Thumper, You light up my life thanks. :dance: :dance: :D :D

I have been researching the same issue for my 2001 Boxster S.

IMHO an LSD is well worth while for track work. Most race cars, including GT3's have them. For street use , I'm not sure there a great deal of benefit

I think you need to adjust your driving style as there is a bit of understeer on corner entry but a well set up LSD will reduce your lap times substantially.
The September issue of Excellence has a write up on a Farbacher Lolas 3.8 Cayman which has been fitted with an LSD built by a company called Stasis. Interestingly the split ratios have been reversed from those on a GT3. Instead of 40/60, it is 60/40 due the different handling nature of a mid engined car vs rear.

For myself, I think I've decided to go with a Guard Chromoly diff. These are used in many race cars and seem to be indestructible. Dont know if he does one for a Cayman but Paul Guard is pretty helpful and has a couple of good articles on the LSD's on his site
http://guardtransmission.com/

Cheers
Dennis

Quaife has them for the 3.2L 986 Boxster S
 

This is a new development to me because I checked a few months ago and did not notice this, but they list a part number for the 3.2S. It is the same part number they list for the 996.

They are out there.

That makes me wonder if the GT(Guard Transmission) TBDs and LSDs for the 996 will fit the 3.2L Boxster S as well

One of the local guys has one. http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=6567&hl=Monster+boxster

It is a 2000 2.7 with a 3.4 conversion and other stuff. The Monster Boxster.

Wow, this sounds like a very good deal for the money. Too bad it's so far away from me.

This has been on my "to do" list for a while. I would definitely do a torque biasing dif vs a true LSD on this car, and the Quaife is an excellent choice. I believe there is an application for the 6-speed.

What I'm a lil in the dark on, still, is how much of a PITA this will be to install. Anyone know?

Patrick

I love Talledega GP. There is nothing to hit and that "turn 4" or whatever you call it with the bank is a real balsy turn to take as fast as you can. The banking isn't obvious from the cockpit and if you miss the drop you're going off into the weeds!

Wow. That's cool that you've driven that track. I pretty much assumed that it got lost between Barber and Road Atlanta.

I can't wait to get back east. You have all the good tracks!

Sam

I thought the opposite was true, that an ATB sends torque to the wheel that has the most grip? :confused:

Torsens only send torque to the wheel with the most grip if theres SOME torque on both wheels. The clutch type LSD can do it when there's no torque on the gripping wheel. This is how you can get an open diff on corner entry but an LSD on exit.

However, if you slightly touch the brakes while one wheel is slipping, you can get torque to the gripping wheel with a Torsen.

Exactly!

(extra letters here)

So what type of LSD would help the Boxster get better traction if driven in snow and ice? (with proper winter tires of course)

The best solution for this is traction control.

I don't like either LSD on snow or ice. Clutch type will induce oversteer (which I've experienced first hand, many times, on my AWD car with an open front and clutch type rear) and a torque biasing will usually act as an open diff.

Answering this in another way, a torque biasing LSD probably won't hurt, but it probably won't do much to help in snow and ice. But it would be a lot of fun on dry roads. A clutch type can lead to instability in slippery conditions, which, in a mid-engine car could be dangerous.

I appreciate your input a lot and you seem to know your stuff, but what I'm looking for is an LSD that would help me from a standing start; if I start up my car and there's snow and ice under the rear wheels, would an LSD help BOTH wheels spin at the same time?

Because last winter it was pathetic to see only one rear wheel spinning at a time when people tried to push my car to when I got stuck :(

I remember when I had an S2000 (which has TORSEN LSD) I would almost never get stuck in snow-ice.

Both my Boxster S and S2000 had the exact same kind of winter tires with same width on the rear wheels.

If this doesn't make any sense and an LSD would only help for when you're driving at speed in snowy conditions please pardon my ignorance :o

I don't how the LSD on an S2000 works, Honda may have added some electronic traction control features to supplement the torque sensing diff? That would be the best way to go.

To answer your question, the clutch type differential is better at getting you out of a situation where only one wheel has traction. But you need to think about all the ways you use the car in the winter. It's not just starting and stopping.

As an extreme example, you could get better traction in snow and ice by having no differential at all. Both wheels will spin at the same speed all the time, but as soon as you try to turn, you will be running off the road.

Thanks I appreciate your input a lot! That's the exact answer I was looking for.

:cheers:

I'm likely sending my 6-speed box to GBox to be freshened, and while its there I'm leaning toward having a Quaife installed. Looking at around $2k for freshening (assuming they don't find anything damaged in there) and another $2k for the Quaife and its installation. Blueprinting is available for an extra $250 and they claim its a substantial improvement in shift feel.

Patrick