Front LSD Quaife , how streetable ?- QDF3L Owners

[Butters]

Now it seems no question that if you are going to put in a front LSD, the quaife is the choice. 

What I want to know is how polite it is on the street regular driving ?  Does it chatter around roundabouts ? does it create understeer on tight corners ?

 

My car is a setup for both driving the kids around on Sunday and the odd roll racing.

I had a 1 way in the rear and it was a very nice polite one but the chatter in car parks got to me and I was much happier with a shimmed stocker. 

I also run a nismo clutch so I have no rattles, to give you an idea of how I want this car to be. 

 

Given the expense of the quaife, then the setup, then the labour to remove and re-install engine this is not a decision I am keen to get wrong. Sadly most of the cars around me in perth with one are race setup and either broken or make too much noise to even tell whats going on in the front. 

 

I currently have no issue with traction(720rwhp) and the car isn't going to see much more power(maybe 800), so again, not sure its worth the risk if I have to pull it out. 

 

Be great to hear from anyone that has this LSD, drives on the street and can give an idea of what situations it starts to create noise or impact to the car. 

 

 

[Piggaz]

You don't know its there until you go round a corner and realise how shit the factory front diff is. Hands down THE BEST mod you can do to a GTR. No engine should be put back in it's hole till you have an aftermarket centre.

Don't over think it, just do it. There is NO chatter or downsides. 

Report back after you have driven it.

*Had one in the car since 2012.

[GTSBoy]

Helical diffs absolutely cannot chatter like clutch diffs.

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

And also just remember because it's a helical/torsen diff, if you ever do a Brad Sheriff and lift one of your front wheels in your GT-R the diff will then behave like an open diff (probability of you lifting a front wheel is low I suspect, given the usage).

[WantGTR]

Like many here, i have a quiafe front diff, does not chatter and and quiet/smooth operation. no issue.

 

you dont have to remove the engine to get it fitted either. Any decent diff shop will know how to set it up with the engine in the car.

[r32-25t]

They don’t create understeer, they fix it. They also greatly reduce the torque steer in big power cars.
 

I’ve got one in my car and you’d never know until you boot it and the thing goes dead straight, also second best mod is rebuild the transfer with 10 plates 

[MBS206]

15 hours ago, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

And also just remember because it's a helical/torsen diff, if you ever do a Brad Sheriff and lift one of your front wheels in your GT-R the diff will then behave like an open diff (probability of you lifting a front wheel is low I suspect, given the usage).

I'm curious what this is in reference to exactly with Brad's GT-R

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

Just now, MBS206 said:

I'm curious what this is in reference to exactly with Brad's GT-R

There's a photo of his GTS-t lifting the front LHS wheel as he was going predominantly straight.

It was more so a tongue in cheek comment as most R32 owners, GTS-t or GT-R would probably never or rarely would be in that situation.

[MBS206]

2 minutes ago, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

There's a photo of his GTS-t lifting the front LHS wheel as he was going predominantly straight.

It was more so a tongue in cheek comment as most R32 owners, GTS-t or GT-R would probably never or rarely would be in that situation.

Ahhhhhh! I get you now.

His car I know of is a GTR, converted RWD yeah?

 

Have seen some awesome shots of his lifting inside tyre under full noise through a corner. But that much power through a normal car body with just a roll cage... Shit still twists and moves a lot

[Duncan]

The quaife/wheel lifting thing isn't an issue in a GTR, even with rally or circuit use. Any single wheel is not off the ground long enough for it to have any meaningful impact and ATTESSA always has at least 50% power at the rear anyway so you never get caught out by this.

I think the whole "helical diffs have an issue with a wheel off the ground" comes from the 4wd/off road world where it is a big problem; in that case you can be totally stuck if the wheel off the ground on a given axle gets all the power. In that case you really need a switchable locker

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

2 hours ago, Duncan said:

I think the whole "helical diffs have an issue with a wheel off the ground" comes from the 4wd/off road world where it is a big problem; in that case you can be totally stuck if the wheel off the ground on a given axle gets all the power. In that case you really need a switchable locker

A bit off topic, in RWD (especially seen in slammed S15s at the track using factory torsen/helical diffs) take a corner hard enough and it dog legs and you can't put power down.

But yeah for spirited street use, roll racing, drag racing as intended by the OP, you'll probably never encounter those scenarios where one front wheel is off the ground.

[GTSBoy]

3 hours ago, Duncan said:

I think the whole "helical diffs have an issue with a wheel off the ground" comes from the 4wd/off road world where it is a big problem; in that case you can be totally stuck if the wheel off the ground on a given axle gets all the power. In that case you really need a switchable locker

There's some driveways I can't get my car in/out because it props a rear wheel halfway through and loses all drive. You can't bull run it either because they're the sort of driveway that would kill the front bumper if you tried it.

[Duncan]

1 hour ago, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

A bit off topic, in RWD (especially seen in slammed S15s at the track using factory torsen/helical diffs) take a corner hard enough and it dog legs and you can't put power down.

 

Agreed, but to continue a bit off topic that is why you would generally use a mechanical not quaife in the rear. Even then, how you approach a corner and suspension setup makes a big difference, and any loss of traction in those circumstances like curb hopping is very temporary

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

29 minutes ago, GTSBoy said:

There's some driveways I can't get my car in/out because it props a rear wheel halfway through and loses all drive. You can't bull run it either because they're the sort of driveway that would kill the front bumper if you tried it.

Use the force (handbrake) Luke  

[GTSBoy]

1 hour ago, Duncan said:

Agreed, but to continue a bit off topic that is why you would generally use a mechanical not quaife in the rear. Even then, how you approach a corner and suspension setup makes a big difference, and any loss of traction in those circumstances like curb hopping is very temporary

I love my helical in the rear*. It makes the drive feel like it is coming from the outside wheel - even more so than a conventional LSD.

*When it's actually installed that is. It's been out for so long that I think I've forgotten what it feels like. Must get back onto that when I get home again!

1 hour ago, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

Use the force (handbrake) Luke

Yeah. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Enough handbrake to get me out of the ditch can be enough to ruin the clutch!

[The Mafia]

Has anyone got any direct info of using a front helical vs an ATS 1.5 way? 

I have a front Quaife helical that I have been running circuit with (600awhp R33 GTR) and I'm about to remove it and install a ATS Carbon 1.5 way. 

I have a built GTR mechanical in the rear with the Nismo 12kg/cm2 in the back. Transfer has the extra plates and is controlled by the Emtron KV8. 

DSS Front shafts going in, I keep breaking the shit GSP ones. 

Edited April 23, 2023 by The Mafia

[joshuaho96]

On 3/6/2023 at 3:13 PM, WantGTR said:

Like many here, i have a quiafe front diff, does not chatter and and quiet/smooth operation. no issue.

 

you dont have to remove the engine to get it fitted either. Any decent diff shop will know how to set it up with the engine in the car.

Major thread necro but how bad of a job is it to DIY? Looking at it online it looks like if you reuse your ring and pinion as long as those are in good condition it should be fine to just pull the axles/front cover and replace the diff that way? Or should I be replacing everything and doing preload measurements/gear mesh testing like the factory service manual mentions for the rear diff?

[Duncan]

Yeah, the latter. No diff should have a centre replaced without checking clearances because its unlikely to be the same as whatever came out.

Not that that stops most people just checking a new centre in

[Butters]

23 hours ago, joshuaho96 said:

Major thread necro but how bad of a job is it to DIY? Looking at it online it looks like if you reuse your ring and pinion as long as those are in good condition it should be fine to just pull the axles/front cover and replace the diff that way? Or should I be replacing everything and doing preload measurements/gear mesh testing like the factory service manual mentions for the rear diff?

So mines not in yet ... which should tell you something ...

 

I got a set of neat gears as well, took a year to get those.

Then the setup was a real tricky one, with all the changes. It seems the shims for the front diffs are in short supply and had to wait two round of custom ones. This was all done by a professional diff builder , not me/diy.

 

So here we are about to go into 2025 and I do finally have a built front sump / diff / gears. 

Just need the mojo to pull out the engine ...

 

Oh as an aside on the neat gears, they have some whine, mostly on decel. Taken a bit of setup again to get that down to a street car level.

 

 

Edited Thursday at 01:33 AM by Butters

[GTSBoy]

1 hour ago, Butters said:

Oh as an aside on the neat gears, they have some whine, mostly on decel. Taken a bit of setup again to get that down to a street car level.

The Neat gears use an alternative profile, no? Something different to what normal OEM stuff is. Is the noise at all traceable to that?

Reason I ask is that my CW&P are effectively past their use by bate and Neat is the obvious option.