Do you guys recommend welding a base diff? I know its popular with the 240 crowd, but will it work fine with the Z diff?


BTW I did try an advanced search but this is all I found:

https://my350z.com/forum/drift/18365...le-or-not.html

 

Most here will tell you that it won't work on 350z because it will break.
Listen to the few that will tell you this.

It will work fine as long as the welds are strong. So find yourself a good welder.
Are you willing to put up withe the noisy turnes and less tire life?

 

A little noise isn't a problem for me. I did have enough money for a aftermarket diff but plans changed and I have to invest that money into other parts of my car. I'll probably only keep the welded diff for a season.

 

I have a friend that has a welded diff. He has used it in a couple of events and nothing has gone wrong with it. Just make sure the welds are good

 

good plan. do it.
once you get your legit lsd you will smile on the first corner you take.

 

i had a welded for a while in my s13 with no issues. it was just a little loud when driving above 45 and it hopped a little on tight and low speed turns.

as stated above, if you really want to do it, have an experienced shop do it. can be anything from old hot rod shops to nascar shops.

 

Do you guys think JB weld will be strong enough?






































































J/K

 

I'm about to go the welded route. It's cheap, it's easy and most of all it works. The tire life isn't really that different in all honestly. Most people that "hate" against it have never really tried it themselves are are probably just bashing because they paid some real cash to get a working LSD when it performs the task similarly to a welded diff. One of my friends daily'd a welded diff s13 and his tire wear was nothing abnormal. Driving in the rain was fine to him just not the most comfortable. Just don't drive like a teenage boy and you'll be fine.

 

Man I was about to go off wondering how someone asking that question legitimately hasn't been flamed off the forum lol.

If I were going to weld up an open diff i'd use a MIG welder (150 amps minimum), a 10 lbs spool of 0.045" mild steel wire, a couple cans of brake cleaner, and half a day b/c i'm gonna lay down all 10 lbs. of that wire into the diff.

Spray the living hell out of the difft (diff is out of the housing), getting every last molecule of grease out. Crank the current up to 120 amps or so, and start laying military welds on every contacting gear surface, edge, etc. Then fill up all the other gear teeth and start passing welds back and forth between them and every other surface. Keep welding until the housing is one just fat weld.

After all is said and done you'll have one welded diff that can't break loose b/c it'll have no where to break loose too

 

Welded diffs are fine. And you won't get wheel hop unles you have bad bushings. Just go solid everything in the rear as far as bushings and you're golden. Besides, you never have to rebuild a welded diff which can cost a lot, almost as much as buying a new clutch style LSD. Virtually no maintenance. And you always know what's it's going to do.

Welded diff>*
plus if it breaks or blows up they're cheap to replace haha...

 

This!

 

I've been rocking the welded diff since Feb '09 on my Base '04 Z. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I daily and track my Z. I know a D1 driver that went from a welded to a Kazz 2-way and hated it, switched back to the welded. But keep in mind I live in AZ and don't really have to worry about the rain. Just make sure you clean the diff really good before it gets welded or it will grenade on you.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Looks like I will be picking up a base diff for a 12 pack of beer and having it welded.

 

You won't regret it. Just invest in solid bushings all around for the rear end.

 

Surprised about the positive response in this thread lol. I always find it funny when people say the diffs in Z's aren't strong enough for welding when they're essentially the same diff as a 240 with a few minor differences that increase it's strength.

As far as driveability.... I've driven on a welded diff in the rain on bald rear tires. Kind of sketchy, but manageable still, just have to be smooth with your throttle input and not floor it everywhere like a moron.

 

I think I'm going to try this for my 03 base too. My friend is going to get his diff welded for his 240, so I may see if I can get my diff welded with his. Thanks for the good info on this thread!

 

Alright, I have a question and don't want to start a new thread to ask it. Does having a welded diff make it so you can't really go over a certain speed?

My friend welds diffs for derby cars a lot and when I was talking to him about it he told me if he was in my position, he wouldn't do it for a dd. He told me to look for a spool locker, but I couldn't find anything with spool lockers of 350's.

My main question is, since I do drive my 350 daily, would it be a bad idea to weld the diff? I would like to whip it around a bit, but that open diff grabbing really pisses me off. I would really appreciate some input! Thanks.

 

Been daily driving my Z on a welded diff for 3 years with out of state trips a few times a year. Spooled and welded have the same exact effect. Welded gets a bad rep because most are done by backyard welders who just bubble gum it up with out cleaning it. FYI I've probably gotten mine up to about 110mph.

 

You may encounter some issues in high speed cornering.

 

Thank you! I was hoping for a response like this. How do you suggest cleaning up the welds? How does the diff sound and feel at normal driving speeds? Like 45-60 mph? Any noise or vibration? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm just trying to make sure I get some good info before doing this to my car.