Was wondering if it would be worth getting a Limited Slip Diff for the front of BlueX??

This is what I am looking at....
https://www.4x4parts.com/nissan/r200a-limited-slip-differential-p-293.html

I have some gift cards I got from ECXC and don't know what else to get. Is it all worth it or just leave the front open? Don't want to lock it up as our CVs can't handle the extra stress when it is locked up.

For that price i'd go locker. Yes the cvs will be strained but if thats working it will do the same. Key word is when. Also that is ALWAYS on putting the strain on all the time where an air would only strain when you engage it.

I love and I do meen love my front locker, the fact that you can go so much slower with more control is less stress on the cv's. A diff drop helps out a lot with the angles, is it when they are in the end of the droop that the cv is the weakest point.

also since you can get a spare half shaft new for about 65 bucks, the thought of braking one is not really a deterant that it would be if they were 300-400 and took a bunch of time to change.

The other nice thing with the locker, if you do break an axle leave it locked and drive out with three wheels pulling instead of only the back half pushing.

id go locker as well, i mean for an ifs system our cvs are fairly stout.

aren't you SASing? do you really want to go that hardcore? most people with the ARB up front most of the time don't even have it locked.

aren't you SASing? do you really want to go that hardcore? most people with the ARB up front most of the time don't even have it locked.

I don't know what Im doing right now Tim. I don't have the cash right now to SAS. Just might keep it as is and buy myself a trailer sometime soon.

If you're going to get a dif go with the locker. If you don't you'll wish you had.

I'll go against the rest and say do the LSD up front. I've seen broken front axles and i've done one myself. A locker will only make it worse. An LSD up front would be killer and add more traction than an open diff but will still allow it to "slip" if there is too much strain up front. A front axle is a PITA to change in my driveway let alone on the trail. F that noise. Go for the LSD!

That is what I am thinking. So I am thinking I might get this sometime next spring. It should help out w/ the slippage up front. :)

The locker vs LSD up front is also about the snow/ice.

A locked diff and an LSD diff, on ice, is somewhat unsteerable...you crab like crazy.

With an ARB locker upfront, you can at least leave it off if you need the steering, etc.

With the LSD upfront, you can't turn it off, and you'll plow on turns if its slippery, etc.

You can learn to compensate for it of course, but, that's to avoid a crash more than to improve performance under those conditions.


That said...you actually get more bang for the buck with a FRONT LSD or locker than a rear one on an Xterra.


That's because lockers and LSD's ONLY help you if your tire's slip/spin.

The FRONTS slip a LOT more than the rears, because the rears have more wheel travel, and the rear tires stay on the ground more easily.

So, for any given day off road, stopping front spin will do a lot more for you than stopping rear spin, if you had to only stop one.


Tests on Jeeps with front/rear lockers showed that a front lockered jeep could do more than a rear lockered jeep, and that's with TWO live axles...but again, with the rear having more wheel travel.

(Rears almost always have more travel, as they don't need steering related links, etc.)


Food for Thought.

:D

Thanks for the great info TJ :D

I may leave it as is...just not sure....or once it is a trailer rig just throw some 35s on her. Who knows....LOL

A locked diff and an LSD diff, on ice, is somewhat unsteerable...you crab like crazy

Just curious, as he's never taken the prelude out in ice/snow, but any idea on how a clutch vs a gear driven (quaife 1.5-LSD) behave differently in those situations? (I know in the rain and such the quaife behaves fine, but it rained out the one SCCA Solo II event I got my brother to go to before I got a chance to run his prelude and see what times I could hit vs my preludes all motor setup)

Wow, nevermind. Forgot I already read up on that before... the gear acts like an open diff typically on ice (or in air) unless they are setup to provide a bit of drag to the tried without grip so it transfer torque to the one with... forget I asked *smacks back of own head*

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Just curious, as he's never taken the prelude out in ice/snow, but any idea on how a clutch vs a gear driven (quaife 1.5-LSD) behave differently in those situations? (I know in the rain and such the quaife behaves fine, but it rained out the one SCCA Solo II event I got my brother to go to before I got a chance to run his prelude and see what times I could hit vs my preludes all motor setup)

Sent from my GT-I9000 using AutoGuide App

If its a Torsen type gear LSD, then its far better behaved under those conditions...if its a clutch pack or centrifugal pack, it tends to depend on the break-away torque (BAT) settings.

Essentially, for other than the Torsen type (Which we don't have the option of...), the two sides are always locked together, and the tires always turn in unison...

...unless the torque difference between them exceeds the BAT, which causes the diff to slip to relieve the tension.

The tension occurs because the outside radius of a turn is greater than the inside radius...so, on a curve, the outside tire has to make more revolutions than the inside tire to keep pace.

Differentials work by simply providing power to the faster side...which is always the outside tire on a turn (Or the one in the air or on ice off road, etc...).

That way, the inside (Slower) tire just coasts along for the ride.

When providing power to the outside tire on a curve, if both tires are going the SAME speed, the axle winds up if both sides stay locked.

The wind up is because on that curve, the outside tire might might have gone 100', but the inside tire might have only gone 80'....but, with the same number of revolutions...

So the tire either skids and chirps as the torque overwhelms the traction, or the traction overwhelms the diff or CV's, etc...and breaks something.

(With the LSD, the diff slips to relieve that torque instead)

Now, on the ROAD, with lots of traction...a little BAT is plenty.

OFF road, with limited traction, the BAT is harder to reach...so a low BAT just doesn't provide much PUSH before the pack allows slip.

Street oriented BATs are meant to allow smooth cornering and handling, predictable snow/ice behavior, etc.

Off road oriented BATs are meant to keep the tires turning in unison, so if one tire is slipping, the remaining tire has enough torque to push the rig up the hill, etc.

This means that an off road biased BAT will chudder or chirp the tires on a tight turn once in a while, or plow on ice, etc.

OEM BATs are therefore typically street/lawyer oriented....and sometimes all but useless OFF road.


If racing, and you have a tight LSD, and you gun it coming out of a turn, you are more likely to fish tail for example.....but in a straight line burn out, being pushed by both tires will allow better hook up, etc.

Given that Joe consumer wants smooth quiet operation for example, when there were complaints about tire chirps on the 2000-2002 X's...the '03/'04's LSD were reduced to a BAT of about 35 ft/lbs or so, about meaningless.


Diffs that power the inside and outside tire, but, allow the inner tire to rotate slower than the outside tire on turns...work best on road and off, as steering control is preserved. An Aussie Locker for example is supposed to allow this type of action on turns.


So, if trying to hustle a sports car through twisties in the rain, the tighter the LSD, the more fishtailing you'll be compensating for.

:D