Wanna know how a Differential works?

[Zak33]

this site, while slow at times, has some ace moving examples

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential.htm

[matt31]

yeah thats a great site. Funny, the differential was the first thing I looked at when I went there a couple of years ago.

[J4MES]

how about my LSD zakky boi??? i can guess, but i know you know

[Zak33]

I am sure there are a few of those in there too.....

you got PLATE type ones, with springs....and the springs hold the plates like a clutch...if one wheel spins up, the clutches grab the power for the other side.

then you have a viscous coupling stylee....its got silicon fluid in it.....and cos it thickens when it gets "sliced" by plates rotating at different speeds, it transfers power...

im sure they are in there on later pages.

[J4MES]

i'm guessing mine is the first?

[Zak33]

dunno actually....no idea at all....has it got one then?

[J4MES]

yep, jap-import so it's one of the extras you get (along with aircon, headrest speakers etc)... makes tonnes of difference compared to my last '5. thats not to say i havn't spun it. twice.

[Zak33]

its COS of the slipper that it spins easier

[J4MES]

i seem to carry more grip into and through the corners (in the dry, this is)...

where the old one would loose grip on the inside first, the back would step out of line 'cos it was left up to the outside wheel to hold the whole car steady...

but in the wet (twice) it's caught me out when both have let go at the same time - like you said, 'cos of the slipper!

the second time was on a quiet road (only one other car in the vicinity) and i lost it giving it some beans on a roundabout - ended up facing my wife, in the other car!

[sdp]

omg I was gonna ask about diffs the other day here, but I found that page so I didn't

It's easy to explain what they do and why, but explaining how they work is like explaining the offside rule to my mum

[hotpurple]

Yes, the inner wheel would lose grip first, for 2 reasons really.

1st is that it becomes unloaded as all the weight transfers to the outside wheel.

2nd is that the diff transfers power to the slower wheel, hence more power is transfered to the inside wheel, which is already unloaded.

Chris

[Big RICHARD]

Originally posted by hotpurple


2nd is that the diff transfers power to the slower wheel, hence more power is transfered to the inside wheel, which is already unloaded.

Chris

Not quite! The diff transfers power to the wheel with the least resistance. Hence when you have one wheel sliding in mud, you get stuck!

[Zak33]

Originally posted by Big RICHARD
Not quite! The diff transfers power to the wheel with the least resistance. Hence when you have one wheel sliding in mud, you get stuck!

Rich mate...he's talking about a LIMITED SLIP diff there.... I think... but then confuesed it with a standard diff.

which means you both got your wires crossed a little bit
In a standard diff, that would be right...the whel with less resistance spins its arse off, and you sit there like a plumb.

In Horsegunners car, its got a limited slip diff, and when the inside wheel starts to spin up, someof its torque transfers to the outer wheel...if it has enough grip to catapult him out of the corner, he goes quicker than normal...if he asks more of the grip than available, it goes sideways...cos the second wheel spins too

which is why his missus saw him coming BACK the other way

[Big RICHARD]

Originally posted by Zak33
Rich mate...he';s talking about a LIMITED SLIP diff there I think...

so he's right

sorry big fella

Ahhhhh........knackers! I should have spotted that!

[Knoxville]

Originally posted by Big RICHARD
Not quite! The diff transfers power to the wheel with the least resistance. Hence when you have one wheel sliding in mud, you get stuck!

thats why you need a car with a diff lock for driving off road

[Big RICHARD]

Originally posted by Knoxville
thats why you need a car with a diff lock for driving off road

Yesssm! And 4WD with a diff lock is even better than 2!