Selectable Locking Diff

[catech11]

Anyone ever put one of these in their car? They are primarily used in 4x4 applications but why not put one in a street car? There is the ability to drive with an open diff and have the opportunity to lock it when desired, as opposed to an LSD. There are several companies that make them, ARB makes a pneumatic one.

I've looked on other forums, but no one really answers the question if you can put these in street cars, everyone just says either weld your diff or get an LSD.

Might be completely irrational, just thought it was an interesting idea.

[TobyB]

It's not really a street performance part, it's an off- roading thing.

How often do you take your E30 into the woods and go muddin' it?

The idea with a performance car is that you have a balanced package for both
acceleration and handling, and the traditional LSD tries to do that.

A locked diff is hard and unpleasant to drive not- at- the- limit, and critically
you end up with a substantially different setup to make it handle at the limit.
So if you set it up to handle well locked, it would be less than optimum unlocked,
and vice- versa.

Over the decades, I've had pretty much all versions, including the 'self- locking' diffs,
and for almost everything, a decent Salisbury or Torsen LSD is very nice.

For the 2002 race car, the locked diffs were fine.

For the Land Cruiser, a locker was fine.

For street BMWs, the stock LSD is easy to find and hard to beat.

But it IS a matter of opinion...

t