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>>I remember rear wheel drive "posi-traction" or rear ends using clutches that apply nearly equal drive to each wheel. Newer "Limited slip" would stall the spinning wheel and drive the other. This was a conventional differential design for years.
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>>We wanted the posi style to hook-up and go fast in a straight line so Posi's and Ford 9" lockers were trick. 4-wheel hardcores want locking power driving all wheels. I have driven both styles in winter snow conditions and liked the posi way better than limited slip. Often you can drive out of a situation where the LSD gives it up.
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>>This was rear wheel drive world so I'm not sure if it even applys to MC. Guys racing these buggers may get a treat from the option but can the basic street driver tell? When it comes to winter driving will LSD be a blast from the past? ... carry traction sand in the boot mates.
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When using the Quaife LSD in a MINI (different parts for a MC and MCS) it should help for everyday street driving by providing more traction (reduces torque steer & reduces smoking of tires) to the two front driving wheels under all conditions whether going straight or turning except under conditions where your tires are on a surface that provide little or no traction such as non snowtires on ice, or if on sand/ very loose gravel. As long as one wheel has some traction the Quaife will help to restore traction.
Some notes from
http://baysho.milleredp.com/tech/quaife/quaife.asp
Quote-
The Quaife is a helical gear, torque-sensing differential, meaning that as it sees a torque difference between the driving wheels, it smoothly transfers torque to the wheel on the higher mu surface. The Quaife cannot produce a locked condition between the wheels, and therefore is a very safe diff for a front drive application. The Quaife does not contain any clutch plates or similar wear items like conventional limited-slip diffs, such as the Chevy Posi-Traction, Ford Traction-Lock, Auburn, or Torsen 2 diffs, and as such, should be highly reliable. The Quaife is similar in design to the Torsen 1, as found in the latest generation RX-7 twin-turbo, and the Tochigi Fugi helical gear diff as supplied in the Acura Integra GS-R.
Editor's Experiences
My SHO has been Quaifed for almost a year now. The Quaife has proven to be pretty much everything I'd wanted - probably the best $1200 I've spent on the car. In street use, when I stand on the gas in a corner I get acceleration instead of wheelspin. On cloverleafs, more throttle means a tighter line. If you're abrupt about your throttle motions you can provoke some steering-wheel fight, but other than the lack of wheelspin you'll mostly never know it's there.
In track use the Quaife is even more impressive. Stock, the SHO is predictable and stable but frustratingly traction-limited. The Quaife changes the character of the car completely. The car can now be throttle-steered - as the differential transfers torque to the outside front wheel, it does progressively more work, pulling the nose of the car around the CG and causing the car to rotate into the corner.
With the Quaife, Eibachs, Konis, and stock anti-roll bars, the end result was a beautifully safe and stable track car, tremendously easy to drive hard. Turn down and stomp the gas and the car bites straight for the apex in a fairly neutral attitude. Lift off the gas in a corner, and both ends move out more or less evenly - the tendency toward lift-throttle oversteer being (mostly) balanced by the reduction in angular force from the drive wheels in front. Wheelspin is still possible in slow-speed turns, but now you pretty much have to spin both wheels.
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I have the Quaife LSD in my MCS and I find it works really well with a strong even pull in every gear and throughout the full rpm range. Couldn't ask for more. Downside is the high cost of install- $900-$1400+, slightly heavier weight, slightly more heat generated and voids your transmission warranty. Quaife has a lifetime warranty on the part which for the MCS is about $1100.
Many vendors do sell it including Webbmotorsports.com, Helix13.com, Outmotoring.com and others.
It's pretty heavy so shipping by air is expensive, by ground not bad. Works well in an MC or MCS.
