Quaife diff installation - how much should I pay?
Discussion
I want to get a Quaife LSD to go with my new (well, refurbed) 3.73 diff, which I haven't put on the car yet.
I got a quote for this job (just installing the supplied LSD and diff), and the guy reckons between £300-400!
Is this figure too high, as I was thinking more along the lines of £150-200 tops?
I got a quote for this job (just installing the supplied LSD and diff), and the guy reckons between £300-400!
Is this figure too high, as I was thinking more along the lines of £150-200 tops?
steveT350C said:
Hi Chris,
I was duscussing the Quaife diff option with Str8six. Chas was telling me something about this diff needs to be put together around what ever is there, and not just 'bolted in place'.
Sorry I cannot explain further, bit of a drive-train numpty! may be give Chas a call?
Cheers. I was initially hoping that someone local could fit the LSD into the diff (the place I got a quote from is nearest, in Worcester), so that when it comes to changing the diff on the car, the main work would be already done.I was duscussing the Quaife diff option with Str8six. Chas was telling me something about this diff needs to be put together around what ever is there, and not just 'bolted in place'.
Sorry I cannot explain further, bit of a drive-train numpty! may be give Chas a call?
I too am a drive train numpty, but I do know the Quaife LSD is very good - some think it's better than electronic traction control.
TVRMs said:
Chris,
Don't know why you would want a quaife unit in a road car thats not being tracked - especially f you have a refurbed unit already?
£3-400 does not sound unreasonable.
Diff casing may well require some machining, but it in eaither case, the diff needs to stripped, quaife unit installed, ramp angles revised, new seals and oil.
Cheers for that.Don't know why you would want a quaife unit in a road car thats not being tracked - especially f you have a refurbed unit already?
£3-400 does not sound unreasonable.
Diff casing may well require some machining, but it in eaither case, the diff needs to stripped, quaife unit installed, ramp angles revised, new seals and oil.
I think the LSD is worth it, though. I had one fitted for my wife's MG, as we live in the sticks and roads are mainly twisty and can be quite hazardous in winter (but great in summer), and it has transformed the car - more than I thought it would. I have little doubt it will prove beneficial in the Tamora, too.
I will get a few more quotes, but if that is the ball-park price, I'll hold off a little longer...
TVRMs said:
In theory yes, in practice for the use you will give it, highly unlikely Chris.
After many thousands of trackday and hundreds of competition miles in TVRs with hydratrack diffs... no issues.
Hydratrack does not perform as well as a quaife, but perfectly adequate unless you are looking to squeeze the last second out of a lap. Sell the quaife and put your money towards that CR box.
I haven't yet ordered the Quaife diff - I was waiting to see how much it would cost to fit into the BTR diff..After many thousands of trackday and hundreds of competition miles in TVRs with hydratrack diffs... no issues.
Hydratrack does not perform as well as a quaife, but perfectly adequate unless you are looking to squeeze the last second out of a lap. Sell the quaife and put your money towards that CR box.
Having sampled the diff (albeit in a different car with 200bhp less), I do find it hard to ignore.
Andy_mr2sc said:
The Quaife is a fantastic piece of kit and as you say fit and forget to an extent. I've used them in both front and rwd cars and you can really feel them working. Have you tried Readman racing? The guy there is a BTR guru and is very reasonably priced too. Could be worth a call. He charged me less money when I had my diff rebuilt than a local place wanted!
Cheers.I have decided, I am going to buy one and have it fitted. In the grand scheme of things, a £1200 price tag for the diff and fitting isn't so high for proper traction control (better than fancy electronic types?) - and thinking of the bigger picture, I may keep the standard gear box with the 3.73 diff, and that LSD will, I think, come into its own once I have the 4.3 upgrade.
Like you, I have sampled this LSD and it was the single best upgrade (amongst many upgrades) I did to my wife's car.
ETA - have ordered the LSD....
Edited by chris watton on Monday 21st July 12:32
Hollowpockets said:
fitted an ATB to my T350, all that happened was I went sideways everywhere, prefer the normal diff set up in the sag tbh
And that was a Quaife unit? Surprised to read that, from my experience (although limited), the ATB is on a par, if not better than electronic traction control!Sure you didn't have the throttle stuck on full?
m4tti said:
chris watton said:
Stuff... the ATB is on a par, if not better than electronic traction control!
.. I think we can quite categorically say it is not better than traction control.. maybe contact the nissan GTR development team and let them into this secret. 
ETA - one of the forums linked to this site:
http://www.birdsauto.com/content/quaife-atb-limite...
Edited by chris watton on Thursday 24th July 13:46
Well, we drove up to Coventry yesterday morning and handed the Tam over to Dom at Powers Performance. Sorting my throttle bodies, changing the air/fuel sensor thingie, Anderson connector, and - when it arrives, my new diff.
I say when it arrives because when I got back home yesterday, the guy that's installing the Quaife into the diff was trying to ring me all morning. The Quaife doesn't fit - I was sent the wrong one! The diff was meant to be delivered to Dom today and installed, along with new poly bushes, CV gaiters and speedo transducer, and I was meant to pick up my car tomorrow - but I don't think that'll be happening now.
The diff specialist is now liaising with Quaife to try and get the right ATB LSD, so it will hopefully be sorted soon - although god knows how much it'll cost me in the end...
I think that, when I get the car back, and it runs as well as I am hoping it will, I'm not touching it again this year - just gonna enjoy it...Been too obsessed with upgrading the car instead of driving and enjoying it..
The last time I saw Dom was almost a decade ago - he hasn't changed one bit!
I say when it arrives because when I got back home yesterday, the guy that's installing the Quaife into the diff was trying to ring me all morning. The Quaife doesn't fit - I was sent the wrong one! The diff was meant to be delivered to Dom today and installed, along with new poly bushes, CV gaiters and speedo transducer, and I was meant to pick up my car tomorrow - but I don't think that'll be happening now.
The diff specialist is now liaising with Quaife to try and get the right ATB LSD, so it will hopefully be sorted soon - although god knows how much it'll cost me in the end...
I think that, when I get the car back, and it runs as well as I am hoping it will, I'm not touching it again this year - just gonna enjoy it...Been too obsessed with upgrading the car instead of driving and enjoying it..
The last time I saw Dom was almost a decade ago - he hasn't changed one bit!
Edited by chris watton on Friday 1st August 09:50
billynobrakes said:
Hope it all goes well, you should have left the car for a week and had the 4.3 put save you keep going backwards and forwards
I have just left TVR Power as new 330 mm discs and carbone Loraine pads squealing a bit so had shims put they seem to have worked
Dom has got his men well trained, they said ooh Gary you really need to get the rear brakes upgraded and carbone Loraine pads put in so they balance out and it just so happens with have just got new grooved rear discs delivered today
That's it another £300-400 spent
Must remind myself to stay away from TVR garages
I have just left TVR Power as new 330 mm discs and carbone Loraine pads squealing a bit so had shims put they seem to have worked
Dom has got his men well trained, they said ooh Gary you really need to get the rear brakes upgraded and carbone Loraine pads put in so they balance out and it just so happens with have just got new grooved rear discs delivered today
That's it another £300-400 spent
Must remind myself to stay away from TVR garages
No 4.3 upgrade yet. After totting up what I've spent on upgrades alone during the past 10 months of ownership, it already comes to over £12K!
I cannot spend the same again in such short time, wife would kill me.
Will wait a few months and then secretly book it in for a 'special service'...
The saga continues.
It appears that I bought the wrong LSD. I bought the Quaife ATB for a 1997-2005 BTR-M76 hydratrack diff - but it transpires that the reconditioned hydratrack diff I bought to house the Quaife is in fact a Morgan Aero 8 Mk3+ / TVR Sagaris / TVR Tuscan 2 BTR-M80 Hydratrak diff - 2005 onwards!
The new Quaife should arrive tomorrow morning at the specialists, and then sent off to Powers Performance in the afternoon. I hope....
It appears that I bought the wrong LSD. I bought the Quaife ATB for a 1997-2005 BTR-M76 hydratrack diff - but it transpires that the reconditioned hydratrack diff I bought to house the Quaife is in fact a Morgan Aero 8 Mk3+ / TVR Sagaris / TVR Tuscan 2 BTR-M80 Hydratrak diff - 2005 onwards!
The new Quaife should arrive tomorrow morning at the specialists, and then sent off to Powers Performance in the afternoon. I hope....
OK, Just been informed that my diff is all ready and is on its way to Dom now!
Had to buy another Quaife LSD, so this has cost a pretty penny - hope I can return the original LSD. If not, it will be for sale...
The actual cost of fitting the Quaife, including 2 new bearings, was less than £200.
Had to buy another Quaife LSD, so this has cost a pretty penny - hope I can return the original LSD. If not, it will be for sale...
The actual cost of fitting the Quaife, including 2 new bearings, was less than £200.
Picked my car up this morning, and am now home, after yet another drive in torrential rain!
The diff does work! I tried it out (the limits) a couple of times in the wet (and no other cars around) - pulling out of junctions at nearly full throttle with zero drama. You can still get the wheels to spin, but the rear stays more stable than before, without a doubt.
Oh, and the throttle body refurb with new gaskets make the engine run a lot smoother, too. Although, as usual, it all cost almost twice as much as I initially anticipated....
I did have some extras, though, a new jump start plug, thermistor, lambda earth mod (no idea what that is..), new diff poly bushes and CV boots (supplied by me), and air temp sensor.
ETA - the old diff looks like some old relic exhumed from the deep!
The diff does work! I tried it out (the limits) a couple of times in the wet (and no other cars around) - pulling out of junctions at nearly full throttle with zero drama. You can still get the wheels to spin, but the rear stays more stable than before, without a doubt.
Oh, and the throttle body refurb with new gaskets make the engine run a lot smoother, too. Although, as usual, it all cost almost twice as much as I initially anticipated....
I did have some extras, though, a new jump start plug, thermistor, lambda earth mod (no idea what that is..), new diff poly bushes and CV boots (supplied by me), and air temp sensor.
ETA - the old diff looks like some old relic exhumed from the deep!
billynobrakes said:
Glad its all sorted though and your pleased with it and it cost you less than you thought, well that is what your wife has been told 
T350 is booked in with Dom for its first 6000 miles service, I am having to rest her for a while as I am off to Normandy the week before the service and need to keep the miles down so thought I would get the miss / flat spot sorted on the Griff and not at Doms thought too far for me just to get flat spot sorted, boy will I eat my words, I did take it somewhere else previously they changed all the electrics , air flow meter and phoned all fixed great I thought and picked up drove 100 yards still the same, had a few words and response was "what do you want me to do about it" thought I would best leave it there and took it to Taylor TVR turns out to be a worn camshaft, so I thought sod it got a couple of quotes and Griff is booked in with Dom, told you I would eat my words, as luck would have it I can drop off Griff after T350 service
I have decided to get Dom a credit card save me messing around
Lucky I have a Cerb as well or I would be completely TVR less
T350 is booked in with Dom for its first 6000 miles service, I am having to rest her for a while as I am off to Normandy the week before the service and need to keep the miles down so thought I would get the miss / flat spot sorted on the Griff and not at Doms thought too far for me just to get flat spot sorted, boy will I eat my words, I did take it somewhere else previously they changed all the electrics , air flow meter and phoned all fixed great I thought and picked up drove 100 yards still the same, had a few words and response was "what do you want me to do about it" thought I would best leave it there and took it to Taylor TVR turns out to be a worn camshaft, so I thought sod it got a couple of quotes and Griff is booked in with Dom, told you I would eat my words, as luck would have it I can drop off Griff after T350 service
I have decided to get Dom a credit card save me messing aroundLucky I have a Cerb as well or I would be completely TVR less
I have really spent too much on this car in the 10 months I've had it. Enough now, my wife has been more than understanding, regarding my addiction. I shall now sort out our living room and get a multi fuel log burner before winter...
I too have took the Tam to other TVR places and been bitterly disappointed - I guess, although expensive, you know what you're getting with Dom (big bill guaranteed, too....)
Oh, I feel I must also 'big-up' the guy who installed the Quaife into my diff. He was great throughout and helped sort my problem without charging me any more for the time and effort.
He go me the correct Quaife LSD for over £100 cheaper than the original one I bought (that was £816), he charged less than £200 for installing it and then personally drove to Dom's to deliver it. Top bloke - Central Axle Services (Midlands) Ltd, in Birmingham.
Edited by chris watton on Tuesday 12th August 14:46
shep1001 said:
Lambda earth mod is essentially earthing each of the 2 earths on each lambda to a better earth on the engine rather than relying on the earth point through the loom. Thats what dies on mine, killed the lambdas and would have taken the cats too if they were fitted. mine starts and idles from cold better than it ever did and thats without re-balancing the throttles, just providing a better earth!
Thanks for that explanation, Andrew So that's where some of that (just under) £1600 bill went, then...
Still have a prob with my speed sensor, I didn't have it changed in case it was just a dirty sensor at the diff end. Although pretty glad I didn't, hate to think how much extra that would have cost!
ETA - Look at the state of that!
Gotta clean it up and sell it now, try and recoup some money...
Edited by chris watton on Tuesday 12th August 17:28
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