What are signs to look for with a Stock VLSD? Curious about this because of some wheel hop I am experiencing.

I would have searched but when you click Search button it gets covered by the ad.

 

I dont think wheel hop has much to do with the stock vlsd. I have experienced some in my Z and I have a fairly new vlsd. One good way to tell is just try to take some tight corners and see if it feels balanced, equal power to the wheels. If the inner wheel seems to break loose a bit then its probably on its way out. How many miles are on it?

 

I just hit 46K. I have to change out my Trans Fluid and Differential Fluids, just waiting for warmer weather. I'm able to do some good power slides, and figure 8 drifting No Problems, its when I do a burn out. Maybe I'm applying to much power to soon.

New Clutch and Flywheel is hard to get used to.

 

wheel hop:
with that being said, it can cause problems if you leave this unchecked and do some damage to the differential by having these problems.

 

I had the same problem with you man with the wheel hop. In order to get the wheels to spin you have to slip the clutch by bringing it out half way and once the wheels spin without wheel hop then you let the clutch out completely. I hope you understand that im not to good with explaining.

 

I noticed if I ease the fuel its fine. I guess with the lighter flywheel it just revs to quick on me. LOL I didnt want to damage my new clutch with feathering it like that. Also going to have to get an alignment soon.


Quick question - How do you like the exhaust you have. I'm thinking of getting the Turbo XS Exhaust, just want something that is similar to stock as far as sound and looks.

 

bump

 

Well basically if your vsld goes and the jelly gets all fudged up, ur car will behave like it had an open diff.

If you drive your car sem-aggresively on the street, I would say around 60k the VSLD will start to go. This of course is just an estimate and through "word of mouth". Would be a good opportunity to upgrade to a better lsd, like a quaife or carbonetics.

 

Went to drain mine fluid and put Redline and when draining there were what looked like metallic flakes like crazy coming out of the fluid as if the fluid was made up of them. My VLSD has 33k on it and it seems to act fine but i've just noticed a clicking noise just like when ur pulling up the parking brake in a Z. Is this normal or is this the rear axel metallic clicking noise that there is a TSB about? Also if this clicking has been going on for a while and i always thought it was something else could this have caused my VLSD to shave like crazy?

 

bump

 

I'm at 55k, and Nissan FINALLY agreed to replace my aging VLSD. It's a long story, but my car will burn the inside tire during a slightly aggressive turn. The local dealership said I was overdriving the car, and that what I was experiencing was normal. I refused to agree.

The final word from NNA was that the differential had to be able to hold 90#-ft of torque with one wheel fixed/on the ground. I've tried this at home many times, and the breakaway torque is about 5#-ft. The Z goes in Friday for them to confirm the breakaway torque of my diff, and replacement from there.

 

Try doing donuts to the right.

 

Wow, I'd be surprised if your dealership replaces your VSLD after 1 year--I thought it would be considered a wear/tear item like a clutch GL, and keep us updated.

 

After 1 year? The car is almost 5 years old. It will be replaced as part of the powertain 5/60k warranty.

 

Well, most dealers won't replace a clutch after 1 year/12k miles b/c its wear and tear item, subject to potential abuse, despite it being a part of the "powertrain". I would think the vlsd would fall into the same category, but apparently not...

60k sounds about right for how long an oem vlsd would last, under normal use.

 

If the VLSD is shot, I'm guessing doing donuts to the right will have problems?

 

you can do them either way, the inner wheel will be the only tire spinning.

 

Remember, VLSD does not prevent wheel spin from occurring. Once a wheel spins free, the viscous flud attempts to rain in the offending wheel by offering what the tech say's is 90 ft lbs of torque. It is not a proactive system like other LSD's. Since it's on topic I'll cut and paste the following post of mine.

The VLSD unit consists of stacks of thin plates with holes or slots, all suspended in a special silicone fluid. They have no clutches to wear out, and locking characteristics can theoretically be changed by varying fluid viscosity. Generally, however, these units are non-serviceable, and require no special maintenance. As the differential spins, the plates shear the fluid up to a point, after which the fluid provides some resistance to shear, allowing 15-25% torque transfer to the other wheel. The downside is that these units don't act like a limited slip until one wheel actually starts slipping (i.e., they don't prevent slippage), which means the VLSD action often kicks in after you've already exited the corner. Compared to the proactive nature of the Torsen LSDs, the VLSDs are reactive units. They do not prevent slippage, they merely sense differences in rotation, not torque. They also don't allow for very much torque transfer, compared to mechanical or clutch-pack LSDs. They do still work well for starting from a dead stop in slippery conditions. It is important to note that VLSDs locking characteristics occur both during acceleration AND braking, as it can't tell the difference between the two, but merely reacts to the rotational speed differences between the two drive wheels.

 

The differential is covered under powertrain? I thought that was the drivetrain.

 

i believe the drivetrain is under the powertrain. Certain parts of the drivetrain taht is.