Long overdue, here it is.

Me =

With the new LSD, the car is completely different. Gone are the days of one-tire-fires with the inefficient VLSD. That VSLD is a piece of trash...

Review is on VIR North, 17 turns, lots of elevation change, and a fantastic configuration. Info on me is that I instruct HPDEs and know this track pretty well.

Trail braking turn-ins, the car starts to come around, get on the gas, it engages and rockets off. Rain or sun, it doesn't matter, the transition is smooth and predictable. The rear will slide out a bit, and you just know that LSD will serve its purpose, and oila, you start grabbing forward.

Working the car is so much easier with the throttle with this LSD... just turn-in, feel it rotate, and work the wheel and throttle from there. I had two occasions at T1 at VIR where I had a full on drift through T1 (and part of T2) where it was a completely smooth transition (corner workers were remarking about it afterwards). Power locked up where it needed to be and was NEVER abrupt. Beautiful. T3, turn-in, full on throttle, feel the rear end rotate and engage, bueno. T7, the hard right up the hill I got the car sideways several times, and it came back in check with no problem... and through the infield, sliding it around, amazing control. Even T17 (Hogpen), the rear end wanted to step out, and it was so easy to modulate the steering wheel and keep the car where you wanted to go.

The car is competely new... I haven't had this much of a ****-eating grin on my face since I upgrade to R-compounds... WOW. Transitions are smooth, quiet, and predictable, and I felt like I was actually feeling what the car was doing.

Overall impression: AMAZING... best modification I've ever done, period. Completely changed my driving experience, and I haven't had this much fun in ages.

 

Wow! amazing....sounds like something i would do in the future. I've been looking at ATS products for a long time, now im really sold. Good to have u post up impressions.

Thanks a lot

 

How is it for noise? Clunking? Thanks for the review.

 

what has to be done to maintain it?

I am currently between this or the Quaife.

 

Zero noise whatsoever.

Not much, other than the typical drain and refill. Since it doesn't generate much heat, maintenance will be at a minimum.

Edit: I forgot to add that the first session yesterday was in the rain, and the car was very predictable. Looks like rain all day today, so time to slip, slide, and drive.

 

does it chirp one wheel when u r turning at low speed.. car park and etc ?

 

so are the other LSD's like the nismo not as predictable or smooth on the track as the ATS?

I'm assuming the ATS is better, but on the track I'd think the other's would still do a really nice job too

 

sentry -- the deal with the Cone Plate design (ala Nismo) is that the power is applied in jerky steppings, not smoothly so as your powering out of a turn you may have to gradiate your throttle as you go out. With a smooth application your throttle increase can be more linear leading to smoother driving and in turn better lines

 

Excellent review! I've had mine in my personal car for over a year. No problems at all and never any noise at all. HUGE difference in handling and grip. No downside other than price. It is THE best LSD I have ever used period. Best of all worlds. It is very smooth and easy to drive with it. The carbon plates last forever and have extremely high temperature capacity.

 

John, thanks for the detailed review. I am glad you are happy with your new purchase.

Phunk, in terms of maintenance, there is nothing to do, other than 6month diff oil changes. Most clutch style LSD's will last for the lifetime of a typical street driven car, but mileage may vary.

From my perspective, the best feature, as John mentioned, is this amazing ability to correct and reset your line during turns. THe rear end responds incredibly well, and makes correcting oversteer very linear, and straightforward.

The amazing thing, is that the ATS diff is a 100% locker, but with the carbon disc, the transition to lock is very very smooth. Try driving the Kusco RS at 100% lock and see what happens on the street.

IMHO, the Quiafe and the ATS Carbon LSD's are the best on the market currently, for the 350Z. We are dealers for both....both on the website. http://www.forgedinternals.com/store/home.php?cat=261

 

Hey now, no need to get personal

 

Oh shoot..I knew that was coming. I didnt even need to drive your car around the block. As soon as I moved it 2 feet, I knew there was a problem.

We'll get everything squared away. Chad is going to disassemble the entire diff and inspect it for abnormal wear. Most likely, we might need some shims to align everything correctly, and then he will reset the diff to 60% lock. I spoke to Adam at Z1, and he said at 60% lock, the Kusco RS is outstanding.


PS: Your motor has been bored and honed, and the pistons were fit. We are nearly at the point where my machinest will inform me what size rod bearings we'll need.

 

Yahoo!!! -- you rock, Sharif!

 

John,
I can't believe you've been driving all this time without a diff...are you insane?!?!?! I would have heckled you a lot more if I had known this previously!

The ATS sounds nice for dual street/track use. I actually have never have any issues with my NISMO diff on the track. When I'm accelerating aggressively on the track (which is pretty much coming out of every turn), I never have any drama. When you're driving around town under light throttle, that's when it clunks, skips, etc. Under decent amt. of throttle like on the track though, no issues at all.

The stock diff is a complete joke. I agree that the diff was one of the best mods I've ever done by far.

 

Indeed the stock diff is a joke. I think I remember reading it has a 30% lockup ratio... that's only a moot feature over an open diff. Nissan should be embarrased with their OEM rear end...

 

The upgarded ATS Carbon diff was the single best suspesion/peformance mod I have done.