Should I get an LSD or stick with open diffs?

taza

taza

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Joined
Oct 30, 2010
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Perth, Western Australia
well as the title says. My Forester has open diffs front and rear. Even in sand I get diagnal spin every now and again which is annoying and causes some... :yell:
After reading forums you can buy a rear Viscous LSD from another Manual Subi that will fit for about $400ish (I think). Depending what model Subaru I get one from, is it as simple as pulling the old one out and putting the new one in and your done. In a matter of speaking?

Also is it worth the 400$ or would I be better off spending that money on something else for her?

Im going to call around the local wreckers tomorrow and just ask if they have any Subarus I can get parts from.


Regards
Taza
 
Hi Taza - I hear you on the diagonal wheelspin. I have this problem even with the factory viscous rear LSD, which I expect is the same as what you are looking at getting. In mine the rear wheels spin independently as if the diff is open. Others have had the same problem. Sadly the factory rear viscous LSDs are next to useless and certainly not worth $400 or even the labour in fitting it.
 
If you are going to spend money on a rear diff- best get a plated one. You will need to ensure the right ratio obviously, and also make sure it is compatible with your rear axles. There is a thread where this issue has already been raised which may give you further information
 
Thanks guys.
I know the rear viscous LSD isnt that good but I cant stand open diffs, they are completely useless.
Rally is the on OFS.com or somewhere else? I might look into it.

Regards
Taza
 
Learn the trick.

On a manual slightly apply the parking brake (by hand) and this acts as a REAL limited slip and will transfer power to the non spinning wheel.

ON an auto lightly apply the brake pedal to transfer poer from slipping to non slipping wheels.

IN sand unless you air down of course you will get spin.

Is it possible you are expecting too much?
 
I do use the handbrake when in rocks and ruts. For sand its useless. It does help but lockers would be real nice :(

Does anyone know if you buy an aftermarket LSD that will fit into a Subi for over $1000 are you able to add lockers to that? If so I might be able to justify spending $1200 on an LSD and lockers.

nipper said:
IN sand unless you air down of course you will get spin.
Click to expand...

Oh believe me I know how to drive in sand. Although I have road tires still I air them down to 15psi. My girl just cruises through then. But an LSD would help.
 
Has anyone removed their open rear diff, disassembled it and put lockers straight into it? and forget about the whole LSD thing.
 
If you are getting where you want to go with an open diff i wouldn't get an lsd

I haven't had an lsd until a couple of weeks ago, until then i couldn't justify spending the money on one.
When i get just as far as other guys with lsd's.
It makes you pick your line better and you get that funny feeling in side when you make in through on open diffs:raspberry:

I am trying a viscus diff shimmed up to be very tight i haven't tried it out yet:sad: the levuka run will give me a good idea if it works or not.

Jan
 
I thought I would do a bit of a review of the new diffs, from both my own experiences recently and others in the NSW WRX Club I spoke to recently. And I am afraid that while they work brilliantly in a WRX (Oh boy, are they brilliant!), I'm having doubts to their effectiveness in comparison to traditional locked diffs. I am talking offroad situations, with diagonals and cocked wheels and so on. While I cannot be too sure about the DCCD- I suspect it does when set to it can be thought of as pretty much close to locked. The rear plated diff I have is the closest thing Subaru make to a locked diff. And while it is true that there are ways of locking them up more, and they are better than VLSD, I don't think they are a perfect substitute for off roading style locked diffs. The front diff is less effective again in this situation.

A mate in the club had the same drive train as me, save he did not have his DCCD hooked up. He broke a rear axle and could go nowhere. Perhaps if he had his DCCD working something may have been done. Who knows? I'm disappointed a bit because the diffs work brilliantly in the WRX. And in an offroad application they are still going to be much better than the current open/VLSD/VLSD set up. And they can be modified to be better. But they are not the perfect answer. This is not definitive, just my suspicions
 
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Thanks for the review Rally,
Everything is relative I guess and your set up sounds like it would be a huge improvement on standard. Increased capability means that, with skill, it can go even closer to doing the impossible!
 
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