anyone have the nismo LSD? i was thinking of switching out the oem lsd to this one anyone use it on autox/track? opinions vs stock?

 

Do a search under my name, I've given some comments on it. It's a great upgrade for the track. For a street only car, I would't recommend it because it's very stong even at the low setting. The car will tend to wander in the tight twisties (ie it wants to go straight when you give it gas and it tucks when you come off throttle). If you can live with that, it's a great mod that gives unbelievable traction on corner exit.

 

Mine sees street and a lot of autocross use. DaveH is right about it being noticeable in every day use, but it is an excellent unit. A lot of adjustability -- its relatively simple external slip-adjustment and the somewhat laborious mode setting make it a great choice for performance applications.

 

i was thinking of getting the nismo lsd with the 3.9 final gear

 

The 3-9s seem to be getting good reviews, and are on my list, too.

 

well it's just about winter time hear in PA so it's time to park the Z and takes it's clothes off. I do a well balanced mix of autocross, track, and drift events throught out the season. I'm putting a LSD in this winter and pretty much know which way I was going to go but, I wanted to get some impressions from people who currently have LSDs. Drivablility doesn't bother me on the street so agressive parts are ok. I basically wanted to know who has what and how does it feel for your event of choice? At what locking percentage does the car feel like it understeer in an autocross event? I know 2way 100percent lock is best for drifting but not so much for autocross and maybe too unmanagable for track.
any impressions would be neat, thanks

 

Man I wish we had winter in Florida. A winter project sounds like some good fun.

 

My Kaaz 1.5 way worked great on the circuit (Streets of Willow, the same track that Car & Driver uses very often), but pops like a ****** in parking lot driving. I had lots of confidence 3-pedaling into corners, and Streets of Willow is all corners (max speed just over 100mph).
Make sure you use the recommended weight oil because if you don't, and act like an idiot (like I did) and put in thicker oil, your diff will 100% lock and cause your ABS to kick on.

 

ATS carbon LSD here - couldn't be happier. The carbon plates have a smoother torque transition and are much quieter.

 

Go with the Kazz. I have a Kazz 1.5way with 80% lock up in my racecar and the thing is awesome, virtually no wheel spin, and no understeer (with my suspension set up). Also Kazz has good customer service, can rebuild the units in the US and best of all they sponsor me!

 

nice... I thought I've heard(kazz guys you can correct me if i'm wrong) that kazz has a lifetime warranty or something like it. Now that I've said it out loud it really sounds crazy . Just a curious question do you think the kazz is louder then the nismo? Thanks for the imput, I'm looking foward to this mod, hopefully it will complete the feel I'm looking for

 

From my experience noise depends on break-in, the oil you use, and how often you change the oil. If buying a KAAZ, I recommend to use there oil ONLY! No synthetic, as it will slip.

I run the KAAZ in all three of my cars

In the Z I run it 2-way 100% and have had it for over 30K miles (purchased new) with fluid change every 3-5K miles (or every 4-5 events).In this car it is nearly silent, it will start getting loud if I don't change the oil after 5 events or 5,000 miles and then I just change the oil.

In my AE86 Corolla the KAAZ is even quieter. It's set at 1.5 way 100% and has also over 30k miles on it. I don't need to change the fluid as often in this car.

In my S13 the KAAZ is loud because the original owner never changed oil, didn't break-in properly, and used different oils. It has been getting quiter though over time. The units all have liftime warranty and grip better and get quieter with use.

I don't experience understeer in any of these unless I drastically let off the throttle in high speed turns. In the low speed turns I'm either sideways and on throttle, or I just keep neutral throttle to keep the car balanced.

I've also driven Z's with Nismo, Tomei RS, Tomei MZ, and OS Giken LSD's

The Nismo has adjustable "reaction" but feels just like the non-sprung Tomei otherwise

The Tomei with springs has weak reaction and doesn't lock as hard.

The unsprung Tomei is slower reaction than KAAZ, but holds well.

The OS felt good, but was set to 1.5 way 60/80% and was clunky.

I'd like to try the carbon ATS one of these days... heard mixed reviews.

sorry for the long post Hope it helps.

 

thanks very helpful post. one more question. how easy is it to change the lockup percentage on the kazz? I'm guessing kazz has the typical 60,80,and 100% lock. I know the nismo is the easiest to change, but after hearing some responses I'm very interested in the Kazz. I worry that I'd change the lockout after install mainly because of my preferences.

 

The Kazz has to be set up at Kazz, you cannot change the lock-up yourself unless you know how to dis-assemble a differential and move the clutch plates around. Have them build it in a 1.5 way with a 80% lock-up. Believe me, you will be happy with this

 

All clutch plate LSD's that I know of require disassembly to change lock-up.
The Nismo external adjustment is for "reaction time" of the LSD, and does not affect the lock up. No clutch plate LSD really has 100% lock (like a welded diff) but some lock more than others. The Nismo even at "full lock" setting only clamps ~95%. The KAAZ has a few more plates and can lock a little more.

Most LSD installers can switch the plates around for you when needed, it does require disassembly of the unit. Switching from 1/1.5/2 way is also easy, but requires opening up the pumpkin also.

I prefer 2-way because it's more consistent, but 1.5 way is sometimes smoother when getting used to it. Either way, if you do any drift/autocross you should run it at 100% lock. This does not hurt on road course, many drivers will prefer it all around.

 

03z33 does 100 get completely nastly driving around town? I'm not too concerned about noise and comfort but, if the thing makes it hard to drive and hard to talk while driving through a parking lot, maybe I'll have to consider a lesser lock

 

If you're concerned at all about noise, then the ATS is the only choice you want to look at. Zero noise and very little heat generated. Again, also has a much smoother engagement as well.

 

I don't even notice it anymore... it's very easy to get used to and completely forget about it until you drive a different car without an LSD and then it's just really scary!

I hear lots of good reviews on the ATS also, but know of a few that slip, so I'd be hesitant to get one for the price... I think carbon is a great material to work with but the chance of it going bad after a few track days and the cost of replacement just isn't worth it for my cars.

 

I would go with 1.5 way with the Kazz, with 2.0 way you will have more corner entry understeer. Since the car inherently understeers to begin with you dont want to add to it...

 

I have my Nismo LSD at the highest setting, it is loud and it surely draws much attention on the streets, but the payoff is the most fun that I got on track, it feels so good to power-oversteer the car when exiting the turn.