Quaife ATB Differential

[kmaier]

Having been on the search for a Quaife diff for my Esprit and hearing all kinds of stories about lack of availability, high prices and lost warranties from gray market sources, I sent Quaifeamerica an email. I received a quick response and followed up with a call.

In short, their new application lists the proper diff for the Lotus Esprit V8 which is Quaife p/n 85.309.150 and has a list price of $1395.00 (USD). I bought one today, they are in ample stock and it will be shipped UPS ground so delivery will be within a week.

If anyone else is looking for a Quaife ATB Diff, call Quaifeamerica at 949-240-4000 and ask for Jason Alveraz. Credit cards accepted.

Regards, KM
2000 V8 (sans Quaife ATB, but not for long)

[ErnestM]

I await your review upon installation

ErnestM

[bojangles]

there must be a reason Lotus did not install LSDs....

[kmaier]

The only reason Lotus didn't install one as standard was cost. They did have them in some special versions like the X180R and Sport300, which are priced much higher as well from this and other enhancements.

In short, the V8 suffers from a handful of deficiencies, the main ones are, in no particular order:

- no LSD, simple cost management
- Cracking mufflers, bad sourcing
- Unreliable Cats, same bad sourcing
- Radiator, lacks capacity for the V8
- Radiator fans, lack airflow, same
- large temps swings in stop/go conditions, missing engineering requirement

I'm fixing all of these... the gearbox is just one part.

Regards, KM
2000 V8

[arium]

Just a small sidenote; lsd's are wonderful for straight line performance characteristics. They do change the way the car 'steps out' when things get slick in corners. Just something else to consider I suppose. Alot of the GT40 guys had problems like that when usings limited slips.

Another factor to consider is that while you are now planting all that torque directly to the pavement one must wonder if the rest of the gearbox can take it. If you are continously breaking traction that implies some fairly serious torque and shock loading needs to be taken up by the rest of the driveline and chassis. Those loads have to be transferred elsewhere if you've got zero wheelspin. Car wants to turn itself into a pretzel everytime you step on it. Hmm, maybe that's why mine has those beauty cracks above the rear quarters. Luckily the engine isn't far off from the diff or you'd be climbing in and out of the windows after awhile.

Guess that the old adage rings true 'speed costs'. The price on the quaife unit sounds extremely reasonable however. I agree that Lotus only offered this on the Sports primarily because of cost. It would have been taking $$ out of their pockets when they were in a pricing duel with the german and spaghetti cars. I wonder if they threw it in more as a marketing tool then because of neccessity. Notice that the sports did get a fair bit more bracing in the engine compartment too. Back to my pretzel theory.

As Ernest asked, please let us all know how the install goes and the changes in driving technique you've needed to review.

Steve

[feffman]

Kevin:

I've been running a Quaife limited slip for about 6 months now and absolutely love it. You'll need two gaskets and some type of liquid sealant to reassemble. Michael's Motorsports (www.MichaelsMotorsports.com) has been selling Esprit limited slips for about three years. They have a whole kit to do the swap.

Check your clutch!!! When I put my LSD in, the lack of give in the drive train finished off a nearly shot clutch so I went back in to do the clutch about two weeks later. Michael's Motorsports is now sourcing ceramic AP clutch plates to replace the (shall we say) sensitive organic stock Esprit discs in the AP clutch. We will know today or tomorrow how the ceramic discs work as another local guy is havin ghtem puyt ion his 1997 V8. They weren't avaiable when I did my clutch. You can reach Michael's Motorsports at [phone].

I love the drivability of the Esprit with the LSD and it finally gets all the power down even coming out of corners. Personally, I'd highly suggest anyoe with an Esprit look into the LSD.

Happy Lotusing!

Mark Pfeffer

[MikeyRide]

I have a gen-U-ine Lotus Limited Slip from the S300 (actually, I think they call it a "compact differential" or something) in my S4s. It's basically a type 2 Torsen. The X180s have a clutch style. It's much better than stock but not nearly as good as the simple clutch-type limited slip in my Cobra replica. I still get inside wheelspin in 1st gear corners. Occaisionally in 2nd.

By all accounts, the Quaife part (which noone had tried at the time I bought the lotus part) is much better. It's cheaper too.

[kmaier]

Mark,

Thanks for the feedback on the Quaife ATB Diff. It should come in next week. I have swapped some email with Mike (Michael's Motorsports) and he recently told me he just got in some Quaife ATBs as I had asked earlier. I later checked his website and the price of the diff went from $1595 to $2195. This bothered me and I eventually found QuaifeAmerica and contacted them directly. They sold me the unit (which they specifically list in their application guide for the Lotus Esprit V8) for $1395.

As a result, I've decided to the buy the remaining parts, synchros, seals, etc. and do the job myself. So far, my original clutch has over 36K miles and shows no signs of wear but is still defective (drags) and will be replaced with a new one.

As far as switching to ceramic discs... not sure, but I'd be interested to hear any feedback you get on this.

Regards, KM
2000 V8