Step son decided first car will be MX5
Discussion
Only certain 1.8 models had the Torsen diff and I don't think it came on any mk2 1.6. If you chose to fit a 1.8 diff to a 1.6 the drive shafts are different also.
IIRC its the 1.8 i Sport you want to be looking at which has the LSD, which is distinguishable by also having factory Bilsteins. My own mk2 10th Anniversary has the Torsen diff and you are right, it does make a hell of a difference to traction, they are a must have!
ETA - Model guide tells you whats what http://ox.mx5oc.co.uk/guide_mx5.htm
IIRC its the 1.8 i Sport you want to be looking at which has the LSD, which is distinguishable by also having factory Bilsteins. My own mk2 10th Anniversary has the Torsen diff and you are right, it does make a hell of a difference to traction, they are a must have!
ETA - Model guide tells you whats what http://ox.mx5oc.co.uk/guide_mx5.htm
They are not a must have. My old Mk1 1.8 Berkeley had an open dif and never suffered from a lack of traction. It might be different if you wanted to drift it or do sprinting but open is fine on the road.
My current Mk2.5 Sport does have TorSen LSD and needs it but only because it has over 240bhp - 200lb/ft.
My current Mk2.5 Sport does have TorSen LSD and needs it but only because it has over 240bhp - 200lb/ft.
i did many trackdays in my bbr turbo on an open diff too and never had any issues - wasn't exactly getting dropped. won a couple autosolo type things too.
OK, if you drive like a idiot and just boot it out of every corner you'll just light up the inside rear but a bit of throttle control and it's much less issue - to be honest if that's your level of driving you probably won't be much quicker with a torsen.
OK, if you drive like a idiot and just boot it out of every corner you'll just light up the inside rear but a bit of throttle control and it's much less issue - to be honest if that's your level of driving you probably won't be much quicker with a torsen.
OK, to be clear, I thought the Quaife LSD would be a good idea because it makes the car a little more predictable, especially on rain-sodden windy B-Roads that we have around here in the Forest of Dean. It was the reason I chose to fit one to my wife's MG (even though she never seems to go over 4k revs...).
I was very surprised at how it transformed the traction. I was so impressed that I just had one fitted in my Tamora diff. I know that 99% of the time it is perhaps not needed when driving normally. However, it's good to know that you have that extra bit of traction if and when it is needed - and can't wait to try both the TVR and MG on a track day at some point - and in time, my step son too in his MX5.
I never once considered the LSD as a 'go-faster' feature, but more of a safety feature - a mechanical, rather than electronic form of traction control.
I was very surprised at how it transformed the traction. I was so impressed that I just had one fitted in my Tamora diff. I know that 99% of the time it is perhaps not needed when driving normally. However, it's good to know that you have that extra bit of traction if and when it is needed - and can't wait to try both the TVR and MG on a track day at some point - and in time, my step son too in his MX5.
I never once considered the LSD as a 'go-faster' feature, but more of a safety feature - a mechanical, rather than electronic form of traction control.
chris watton said:
OK, to be clear, I thought the Quaife LSD would be a good idea because it makes the car a little more predictable, especially on rain-sodden windy B-Roads that we have around here in the Forest of Dean. It was the reason I chose to fit one to my wife's MG (even though she never seems to go over 4k revs...).
I was very surprised at how it transformed the traction. I was so impressed that I just had one fitted in my Tamora diff. I know that 99% of the time it is perhaps not needed when driving normally. However, it's good to know that you have that extra bit of traction if and when it is needed - and can't wait to try both the TVR and MG on a track day at some point - and in time, my step son too in his MX5.
I never once considered the LSD as a 'go-faster' feature, but more of a safety feature - a mechanical, rather than electronic form of traction control.
The thing is, an LSD will single you out as needing bigger limits than the standard car can provide - i.e. you're a speedy gonzales!!I was very surprised at how it transformed the traction. I was so impressed that I just had one fitted in my Tamora diff. I know that 99% of the time it is perhaps not needed when driving normally. However, it's good to know that you have that extra bit of traction if and when it is needed - and can't wait to try both the TVR and MG on a track day at some point - and in time, my step son too in his MX5.
I never once considered the LSD as a 'go-faster' feature, but more of a safety feature - a mechanical, rather than electronic form of traction control.
Rightly or wrongly.....!!
An open dif would be safer for most people most of the time on wet slippery roads. With an LSD, if you give too much throttle on a slippery bend you are going to spin up both rear wheels thus losing rear traction. With an open dif in the same situation you should only spin up the inside rear, the outside wheel should stay at road speed so while you will lose traction (forward drive) you shouldn't lose rear grip.
When the previous owner of my Boxster had the turbo conversion done, he declined the fitment of a LSD as he said it wasn't necessary for his driving style. 375bhp, 322 lbft and no LSD and to be honest I don't think I've would have called on the services of one either. I just don't drive the car aggresively enough on the road to require it.
Ironocally I think my Eunos has one, but have yet to test it to find out, for various reasons. I'm hoping for snow this winter so that I can find out.
Ironocally I think my Eunos has one, but have yet to test it to find out, for various reasons. I'm hoping for snow this winter so that I can find out.
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