At 07:46 PM 12/29/01 +1100, Stephen Schmidt wrote:
>I've been running one in my Cooper 'S' Historic racer .... It's lost a bit
>of tension since it was first installed .... The tension is applied by a
>couple of spring steel cup washers in the centre of the unit, They can
>fairly easily be replaced.
>....
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Mike Denman" <mikedenman@earthlink.net>
>....
> > Has anyone had any first hand experience with the Quaife limited slip
> differential? I am thinking about putting one in my Marcos and would
> like to hear any thoughts as to their durability, any additional noise
> they make etc.
Wait a minute. The Quaife differential is all gear drive and no springs or
clutch plates involved. Check here:
http://www.quaifeamerica.com
They say, "The Quaife Differential powers both drive wheels under nearly
all conditions, instead of just one.
The trick word here is "nearly". I believe the one possible problem with
this unit is if you should happen to get one of the drive wheels completely
off the ground, then this unit can suddenly free wheel much like a standard
open differential. But under all other circumstances it should be
absolutely wounderful for traction distribution. I personally lust after
one of these units, and the only reason I haven't installed one in my MGA
is because it would throw my car out of Stock class for SCCA
autocross. Since I installed the 7/8" front sway bar on my MGA it doesn't
lift the rear wheel any more, so that excuse is gone.
Then from this page:
http://www.quaife.co.uk/index2.htm
"The QUAIFE is extremely strong and durable and since the Quaife is gear
operated, it has no plates or clutches that can wear out and need costly
replacement.
The QUAIFE is great for street driving or racing. Racers don't have to put
up with locking mechanisms or spools that tear the steering wheel out of
their hands when cornering. Because it behaves like an open differential
during ordinary driving, street drivers will have trouble telling it's
there until pushing the cars limits."
And there are some cutaway drawings showing the arrangement of the internal
gearing. This stuff will look strange to those used to seeing bevel gears
in the differential. The way it works is almost a miracle to comprehend,
and they don't explain it on the Quaife web site. I don't think there's
enough band width here to convincingly explain it to everyone in simple
words, but in general if you understand that a worm gear cannot backdrive
because of the angle of the gear teeth and internal friction properties,
you would be well on the way to understanding the operating principals of
the Quaife differential.
IMHO, if you have a use for it, and you don't mind the price tag, this is
the one to have.
$.02,
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
http://www.ntsource.com/~barneymg
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