Hello I have an 04 base that's turboed but it has an open diff. I've been searching and searching about different lsds and I thought I made up my mind to get the quaife but then I saw somewhere that it wasn't good for driftng or drag racing and that it acts like a open diff alot, my question isi want a diff that will lock goood in a straight line and also will get sideways easy, I've read alot about the quaife that its an autox diff someone please have some input if I should stick with this diff or if there is a different one that would suit my needs better, also noise and clunking don't bother me with clutch type diffs I had one on my 240sx trying to keep price around 1200 or so but just let me know thanks alot.

 

I have a carbonetics 2 way and I love it. 2 way clutch is the way to go if u want to drift. I drift mine and daily drive it with no complaints

 

the only 'limitation' a Quaife has for your usage is that if 1 wheel lifts off the ground, it acts like an open diff. That isn't possible during drag use and highly unlikely average drift days. The upside to the Quaife is it's far and away the most civil of all the aftermarket offerings

getting a car sideways easily is more a function of driver ability, suspension and alignment settings than it is what diff you have in the car

 

I love my quaife

 

Spend the extra cash and get a OS Giken unit

 

nismo or cusco... both can be made 2 way or 1.5... or you can weld your diff and have a spool!!!

 

What about kaaz 2 way?

 

what about it?

 

Damn I need a diff. This stock vlsd is ****

 

Is the kaaz good?

 

go get a os giken like stated above, ive heard nothing but good things about it

 

I have an 06 Base and I daily drive it. Don't do any drifting or drag racing or anything, and the Quaife is the best upgrade I've made since I bought the car. Very civilized, as stated before.

 

Kaaz makes multiple different types for the car, so you would have to be more specific

Any of the units mentioned will perform extremely well, are extremely reliable and well engineered. Narrowing the choice becomes a question of your budget, and your honest use of the car. A car seeing the track 1 or 2 times a year and 1 or 2 drift events a year, on it's normal day to day street tires, but spends the rest of the time going to the mall, or on cruises, or serving daily driver duty, has much different realistic requirements vs a car that is a track ***** and rarely sees daily driving.

 

So in your guy's opinion, what would be the best choice diff to get for a daily driver and a track car that sees about 4-6 hpde events/yr with 4-6 autox events/yr. Doubt I'll ever get into drifting besides just messing around in a parking lot with tires that are about to die.

Quaife has been on my mind but am wondering what other options there are that fit the bill.

 

Each has been discussed at length over the years, but here is a short synopsis

The Quaife is an excellent unit (currently have one in my car), as it is dead silent, no chattering, no noises, zero interference, zero maintenance, lifetime warranty even when used in competition. It's also very affordable. Downside is being a helical (gear) based unit, it relies on both tires being on the ground. If one lifts, at that point its an open diff, till the tire contacts the ground again. So its functionality really depends on how the car is setup and the types of tracks you'll use it on. If you're running a full tilt race car, with ultra stiff springs/sways/cage/slicks, then a Quaife may not be an ideal choice. If the car is truly a rounded setup, street and track, then it makes a great choice

OSG - a terrific clutch based differential. Very tight tolerances, excellent performance. Will exhibit some noise/chattering at low speed/tight turns like any clutch type differential will, but it's not as noticeable as some other units on the market. It used to be priced higher than several other Japanese branded diffs. The weak dollar has caused the other prices to go up but OS's have held pretty steady and now it's less costly or similarly priced to the competition.

Kaaz - offers several different types, but very good bargains overall. Their newer offerings are much more street friendly than previous versions. Their original designs are still made, but were among the noisest/harshest at low speed maneuvers due to the internal design. These versions are still made and again, excellent value. The newer ones they have (Super Q) have revised internals, and are again, great value performers.

Others of note are Cusco (again, excellent units, lots of user-based adjustability if you need/want it (for both LSD action and lockup). Due to the weak dollar, they have gone up in price. I ran one of these in my own car for years, and it was a fantastic unit. When I changed my ring and pinion setup a couple years ago, I had an open box Quaife on the shelf and decided to try it out, and it remains in my car today.

Tomei makes a great value unit too if you are using it primarily for drift, as it's a 2 way unit. Not the smoothest on the market as far as day to day civility, but it's among, if not the, least expensive.

etc etc etc

There is not a clear cut winner among the clutch type units IMHO, just different overall flavors. Each manufacturer, from NISMO to Cusco to OSG to Kaaz to higher end units like Drexler and others can be found in race and street cars worldwide. I've yet to experience any failures with any of these brands, so IMHO, reliability is on point with each type. The main differences are internal design (sprung hub disk vs non, sprung overall giving better civility, unsprung overall giving faster response (talking miliseconds), and whether it's a drop in for a base, or VLSD equipped car (varies by manufacturer). The clutch based LSD's do require more frequent fluid changes vs a Quaife, but that is also dictated by the useage as well. A track car really should have fluid changed more frequently than a street car, regardless of the differential being used. The clutch types sometimes take some fiddling around with different fluids to arrive at one that suits your diff well in terms of minimizing chatter and noise. Not a big deal, just takes some experimentation

 

I know it's a topic that's been beaten to death but your input and lengthy response is very welcomed.

Thanks a bunch Adam.

 

I know this might be a little unrelated but i have a question, i have a 08 base model, and I want a stock vlsd for now, is there any difference if i get an diff that came off a automatic that came off an 08, mine is stick shift?

 

wont work

 

Thank you for all the information provided here. I have one key question too add on to this.

WTF do I do if I have an '07 Base? - I've searched here and I've googled and I can't get any clear answers.....all I could find was that it's different or a pain in the *** for Kouki Base Models.

 

My long-winded opinion-

The VLSD sucks. You dont want one. It never does anything useful. It sorta kicks in after it is too late. Ew. I thought I had an open diff when I had VLSD till we checked it, and it was in perfect working condition, but VLSD just doesn't do anything.

I love my Quaife differential. I know everyone loves their own parts, but I can't think of how an LSD would be better.

The Quaife unit is rumored to have this 'might not work in with a wheel in the air' but I have never experienced this. Even on full ice both wheels seem to be going the same speed, and engagement feels complete. Maybe I need to spend more time in the air?

Officially the quiafe isn't 100% lockup, but it feels like it does. The quaife is absolutely noiseless and indestructible, and engages very early and smoothly and completely. It will chirp the wheels on a tight slow turn, but only under acceleration. The Quaife is a 1-way differential, meaning as I understand it, that it won't lock if you let off the gas. For me this is awesome. As I initiate a powerslide I get tons of grip till it breaks loose (both tires at once), then its as smooth as can be with both wheels spinning together, then all i do is let off the gas and the car rights itself with a vengeance. BAM! slide over. A very on-off feeling. Drift....no drift. This 1-way effect may affect my ability to string long drifts together because it allows my car to find grip again the moment I let off for any reason.

The other LSD might be awesome too, but I love mine and I hate VLSD. Best performance improvement to my Z.

If you have an '07 base or 08' VLSD or whatever, just call up one of the mentioned aftermartket LSD companies or Z1 here, tell them what you have, and they will transform your car with a real LSD. While you are at it, get a better diff mount or a diff brace. I have the Injected Performance diff brace that went on with the LSD, and the wheel hop problems are just gone.