No, that's the queef. Quaife is as quiet and smooth as stock. Please hit whoever told you that.

 

I have a Nismo and it is definately loud and grabs sometimes but I love it. Its proven to be tough by many race teams. Also if you use the right fluid you can tone the noise down significantly (Motul 90PA). If I were to buy one today for my base Z I would look at the Carbonetics/ATS Carbon and the Quaife differentials. Those are the only two units that are flawless on the street and excellent for the track. You will always get some noise and grabbiness with all the others including my Nismo. Carbonetics is a clutch style LSD and it does lock. The Quaife is a helical gear style LSD that will never lock. The bad thing about the Quiafe is the price and if you lift an inside wheel mid corner. You will have an open differential situation. My choice would be the Carbonetics/ATS Carbon. The age old question for you is how much money are you willing to spend and how much noise are you willing to tolerate if you decide to spend less? For a base car, the nismo LSD is the cheapest option available for around $900 and it comes with the correct axle stubs required for installation in a base car. If your car has a VLSD or you have a Base and your NOT on a budget and ready to spend around $1500 look at the Quaife or Carbonetics/ATS.


When using a Nismo:

1) change fluid to Motul 90PA (after break in period)
2) don't drive so slow (My favorite)

 

So, if I buy the Nismo then it comes with shafts for the base? Also, would you say the Nismo requires professional installation or is is a swap? Price is a factor, but I don't like cheap, I just like best BANG for the buck! I like what I have read about the Quaife and I don't mind spending $1300 on a drop in unit but then I have to get it installed... If the Nismo needs pro install, anyone know what it costs roughly to have Nissan do it?

 

Nismo, Quaife, etc... the install is going to run about the same and should be done by a professional unless you've done this kind of work before. The Quaife would actually be an easier install because it doesn't require replacing the axle stubs. I think most shops will average ~4-6 hours depending on how familiar they are with the process.

 

yes, all require professional installation

 

Everytime I think I've made a decision....I find out something new! So I was going to go with Quaife, excellent diff and reliable. Then I thought, no people like the Nismo, less expensive and more likely to keep factory warrenty. Then I found out the Quaife is lifetime warranty and doesn't require maintenance like the others do and slightly easier to install...I was sold. Until I read that if one tire has 0 grip, ie ice or in the air, then it acts like an open diff I don't think the one tire in the air would be a problem for me....but this is my daily driver and rain, snow and ice could be possibilities. Can anyone with a quaife put in on this please?

 

I don't kno about your monkey ****, but I'll be sure to tell u how the quaife behaves in rain/snow when it occurs here in Chicago.

With one tire in the air, obviously the ATB would act like an open, diff, but just b/c its raining, snowing, or there is ice on the ground does not automatically mean that one tire will have ZERO traction.

 

It is the one downside to the Quaife. Because of its torque biasing nature with the helical gear design, it needs some resistance on both wheels. If you have zero resistance on one wheel, it can't bias the power to the side with traction. But snow and rain doesn't mean complete loss of traction.

I know that with the G35, they do have what is called BLSD, which is a mimicked LSD using the brakes for no traction situations. But with the base Z, I don't know if it has that, I'd guess that it doesn't since none of the computer systems are there for ABS or VDC.

 

I have ABS...but not VDC. Pretty sure I will be going with the Quaife...now I just need the funds...

 

good choice

 

Go with the Carbonetics/ATS Carbon and price it from Sharif@Forged. Just as good as Quaife but no open differential scenario.

Also the Nismo is a great bang for buck. You'll save atleast $500 and just fill it with Motul 90PA and the noises are a non issue. About 96% noise is gone after I started using Motul on the Nismo. But I would only buy the Nismo if cash was a problem.

 

given a base, and your desire for street use, the Quaife really is your best choice

 

Subscribing for a really "interesting" thread !

 

Get a Nismo LSD. It clunks like Kaaz/Tomei/Cusco but it includes everything you need to swap it into a base model like the axel stubs, new seals, new bearings. All other kits only work with the VLSD pumpkin.

BTW VLSD is trash.
Don't even bother.

NISMO LSD NOW

 

Also, I absolutely love the Carbonetics LSD, SO quiet. But I'm too poor for that

 

a properly setup Cusco absolutely doesn't clunk Ask anyone ever in my car

NISMO is a good value, if you can live with its harshness, but the Quaife is still the one to get IMHO for a base model car

 

okay, so I bought a used factory VLSD for my base.... but I didn't know the pumpkin was different, called a Z shop and they didn't mention I needed anything else like stub axle ends? Any body do this already?

 

Why is the stock VLSD so bad? I always heard it was just fine, if your not on track everyday...

 

The stub axles are, yeah. I can sell you my stock VLSD stub axles if you need a set. Like 5k on them.

 

So I definitely need those? and bearings too? or can I use my existing? How much you wanna part with those stubs? Are the ones that come with the Nismo better or the same?