who manufactures the rear limited slip differential on the 350z?

the s2000 uses a torsen, so does the z3.

 

Good question. I'm not sure for the Z... I'm going to assume that it's made in house. I haven't heard of many aftermarket companies making viscous LSDs.

Quaife and Kaaz are a couple other good companies. =)

 

They use a Torsen-type, but not necessarily a Torsen differential.

But to answer your original question, I don't know...

 

Good company... forgot about them.

Do a search for R180 or R200 LSDs and it seems like those are made by Quaife. I know those are for the old L-series engines, but I would suppose that nissan would stick with a good company.

 

Phantom

 

I can tell you this; the Z diff isn't nearly strong enough. I am gonna go with one of the near indestructable Quaife units.

 

My Quaife on my Honda was the best modification I ever did...

 

Quaifes are definately not indestructable. I've seen many break. I personally prefer the adjustability and more aggressive nature of a clutch type. Plus it's stronger than the Quaifes. You also forgot ATS. They make a LOT of LSD's for race teams in Japan. Carbon fiber LSD is also available for the 350Z but the price is pretty high.

 

To answer the question though, the differential on the 350Z is probably manufactured by Hitachi.

I'm not 100% sure of it, but the diff looks awfully similar (externally) to the R230 diff used on the 300ZX and Q45.

Hitachi has been manufacturing the diffs for Nissan for a very long time. The R180/R200 in the 70-78 Zs was manufactured by Hitachi. ALL the Z diffs have shared the same basic format, with the later ones including an LSD carrier (starting in 1987). BTW, the name is derived from the size of the ring gear, i.e. an R230 has a 230mm ring gear.

If this is in fact an R230 diff, then there will be an abundance of parts available. Hell, you could probably even use the clutch pack LSD from a 300ZX in the diff. This type of swapping is IMO great as you can use all orignal parts.

The viscous unit would be one of the first things I would replace in the car. Shame on Nissan for putting this on the car. While they are extremely reliable the torque differential they allow is nowhere near what a torsen-type can provide. I guess they didn't want people blowing out the diffs due to the extreme power upgrades everyone seems to want now-a- days.

 

Clutch type LSDs are great for their adjustability, but they're not as reliable and have a painful break-in process. Yes, I've seen a broken Quaife too, but at least there's a lifetime warranty (which isn't voided with racing).

 

Oh ok, nevermind my quote above. When I was doing a search they used Quaife and R180 a few times. =\