Minispool, Welded Or Lsd?

[spiderclaw]

building an R31 rally car and cant decide between:

welding the diff - cheapest which is good but wont last the longest and requires more effort.

Minispool - heard alot about these and it seems like a good idea but is a little expensive but apparently very strong. probly leaning towards this

LSD - the best option as i do motorkhanas and khanacross but these are way too expensive to justify getting one for a $500 car...

would love to know al you guys thoughts and experience...

[istdercollen]

it's your car in the end, but I welded diffs are crap, and I would just take it off the list of choices.

[Silver_GT]

if your concidering a spool you might as well weld it. does exactly the same thing bar the fact a minispool is reversible if you change your mind.

Alot of people are quick to flame welded diffs, sure theyre not ideal, but anyone whos driven one knows theyre not unbearable, nor particularly dangerous (even in the wet, especially when adhering to speed limits) and will do exactly what you want it to do, every time. Drove an rx7 with a welded diff for a long time, no complaints.

[Dan_J]

welded diff great ova single spinner, mini spool HEAPS better as u cant break them and lsd does the same thing but abit more better for grip as far as i know as u have 1 way, 1.5 and 2way more for drift

mini spools can be found cheap on ebay

Edited April 26, 2010 by Dan_J

[joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo]

if you have a look on the r31skylineclub forums there is a tutorial for installing a minispool into a 31...

definately the best BFB option

a mechanical diff is great... but for a $500 car... and when minispools can be had for like $100 and are unbreakable.... sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

fwiw i have a weldy in my ke70 and have driven a 260rwkw rb25 r32 with one and have found NO problem with them

[alr33x]

it's your car in the end, but I welded diffs are crap, and I would just take it off the list of choices.

is this cos your freinds mates brother said that or you've had experience with it?

[istdercollen]

Well, i come from a grip driver's point of view. I've driven one before, and it feels most like a two way diff, and my problem is central to the fact that in order to get the tires to stick with a 2 way, it requires a completely different manner of driving at higher speeds. I don't like having to mold everything I do in the car around the differential. For me a 1.5 is sufficient at this point in my life. If you are a drifter, then it's great, it makes breaking traction look like nothing at all. The downside is that, unless you are a competent welder by trade, you have to trust someone else's welding to not break. If it does let go, depending on what you are doing, you could cause a lot of damage with a uncontrollable car. Just my .02

[alr33x]

thats a better statement then saying welded diffs are shit cross it off your list.

agree for rallying i cant see why you would want a weldy at all be dangerous as all hell i rkn

[Silver_GT]

weld it good it wont break, have personally seen a single welded diff go through 3 cars and given an absolute hell the whole time, also have seen a weldy break in under 15mins (same type of diff)

[BQQ57]

lsd if you can afford it if not i reckon minispool

[Kinks]

1.5 way for grip driving. locked diffs (spool or welded) don't handle well but with constant wheelspin on dirt they will be the cheaper option compared with the prospect of rebuilding a mechanical LSD when it wears out.

grip driving you definitely drive around the diff if it's locked, IMO it ruins the handling of a car and I wouldn't do it. Probably not quite as bad on dirt but you will get a lot of corner entry understeer near the limit. I suppose going into a tree forwards is better than sideways but i'd rather make it around the corner

[spiderclaw]

lots of good input.... im leaning toward a welded diff because its cheaper and i live with a boilermaker and work with a few 1st class welders that can TiG sweet so not hard to do it well and cheap and it seems no different to a minispool if you get it right except its not reversible.

the way i drive (pretty much drift)i dont think ill get much understeer but if i do, itll be bad.

anybody know any cheap places for minispools in perth? thier round $80 from ebay

[joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo]

you get used to a weldy/spool in like 5 mins if you can drive.... they may be prone to oversteer, but they are 100% predictable... i.e you KNOW what the car will do 100% of the time and hence they are easy to deal with

[GTS4WD]

$500 is not worth speding on a diff for a car that has a pretty good chance of ending up in a tree (no offence, no comment on your driving). If its a rally only/street rarely, car the benefits of an LSD are not worth it.

Welded or minispool is the way to go. Horses for courses. Id vote with a minispool because its a diff designed to do a special job, as opposed to a welded diff which is a butchered item. That being said, they do exactly the same thing and will feel very similar. Its your call though, wont make much of a diff (pardon the pun). You may as well buy the item that does the job properly and buy a minispool.

[alr33x]

ive got a weldy but cant say i go offroading last attempt destroyed my body kit >.<

but i can only imagine for rally driving it would be a bad idea you'll be sliding all over the place i would have thought traction is valuable in a timed rally style event?

[spiderclaw]

yeah, im thinking minispool might be the go just because their abit stronger and a "bolt in" although i kinda like the 'butchering' option being a farmboy! and yeah i think the predictability would be good. about the traction issue... well im a bit of a drifter at heart and not winning at the moment so i might as well be having the most fun! but also the last event i was on two wheels round some of the bends because of ditches etc, and found myself spinning the inside wheel alot and losing a fair bit of traction because of it.... my question still remains though

Know any cheap minispools shops in perth? surely someones got one in perth....

[wlspn]

Personally I would lean towards welding it. You say you know a boilmaker, etc.. As long as the quality of weld is excellent theres no reason a welded diff can't be as strong as a minispool. I welded my mates diff in his R31 drift car & still going strong over 2 years later. Remove spider gears & just weld side gears to centre. Your choice but I would be going the free option...

Would personally spend the money on some new bearings & resetting

[sr_ceffy]

i reckon youd havea prick of a time with a welded or mini spoll diff in rallying . coming down a straight at high speed with a bit of off cambered road slightly down hill off the throttle quikly into a corner and youll be off the track probably around a tree! lsd best option for rally way more control under braking on off throttle situations and control is what rallying is all about

[Leons14a]

Locker/spolls are used alot in VRC.

It all comes down to your driving style and how u control a car

[SKiT_R31]

eBay a BW78 Full Spool, better than minispool as your not spinning the heavy pos hemisphere.

I have a welded diff in my R31, filled it using my mig, its done many skids and is faultless