I've heard that the LSD in the 06 JCW (mine's a cabriolet) is actually made by Quaife. What do y'all know? True? If not, who makes it? What type is it? Friction plates? Helical gears?

Thanks much!

Oh, and I called the US Quaife rep and he's going to check with Quaife in the UK and see what they know.

Thanks again!

 

I'm pretty sure I answered this question in your last post about fluids:

http://www.quaife.co.uk/What-is-a-Qu...B-differential

 

Thanks for that link, but it doesn't say or confirm your assertion that the Quaife unit is what's used in an 06 JCW. Please don't think I'm saying you don't know what you're talking about, it's just that I'm finding contrary information elsewhere on this site and I'm just looking for some confirmation that the diff I have is actually a Quaife unit. You know how things are on the internet, one must take things with a grain of salt until the evidence becomes overwhelming. So, I'm curious, how is it that you know it's a Quaife diff? Have you torn into one? Confirmed from other sources? 'Just looking for more information.

And thank you again for your help.

Cheers!

 

I am no expert on Limited Slip Differentials but I'm almost certain that the factory LSD provided on any supercharged MINI is a clutch type differential, whereas the Quaife is an ATB, which is different. If you search hard enough in this site you will find the answer, as well as the manufacturer of the OEM LSD.

I can think of a couple of users on this site that can answer this question: ryephile, jhiggs, and k-huevo are the first three that come to mind.

 

NO Quaife.

 

Definitely not a quaife

 

Thanks for all that. And I've just confirmed that it's not a Quaife from two sources. One is from Quaife directly in the UK. And the other is from the US Quaife distributer who communicated directly with Quaife in the UK.

Oh well. For my purposes the factory LSD seems to be working just fine, though if I ever got serious about track days or autocrossing, I'd consider the upgrade. But if I got that serious about thrashing a Mini, I'd likely try to find a GP. That's what the previous owner of my cabriolet did. His friends were talking about doing track days at Willow Springs and since the previous owner used to race the original Minis, he was all up for that. But, he didn't feel right about putting, as he put it, "such a nice car on the track", he shopped around and found a very pristine 06 GP. He couldn't justify 3 Mini's in the garage (his wife has a Clubman) so he put the cab up for sale. I'm the lucky buyer.

Thanks again all!

 

I believe the Mini S LSD (2005-6) is made by an English company by the name of GKN located in Worcestershire.

 

Ding-ding-ding..... We have a winner!

 

Don't they make sauce?

 

I've just sent them an email asking what type of LSD is in the JCW, but perhaps someone here knows. Viscous? Helical gear? Friction plate? Other?

 

It is a clutch type, but I believe it's called a cone type diff.

 

Interesting. Yea, it looks like a variant of a clutch type. Too bad. I was hoping it was a helical gear type similar to the Quaife. I believe GKN makes one.

 

Yep a Quaife is one nice diff. I'd rather have one of those, but for $500 from the factory installed I felt this diff was a pretty good buy.

 

Its a great diff for the money.
I know someone running a pretty healthy amount of power and is having no trouble with his
Pm Big Howe
Its great for the street I would say but I doubt it would hold up to heavy abuse on the track.

 

I was talking with BR Racing in Los Gatos and they were saying they have had great success with the JCW/GKN unit on the track. They said they seem to work well and hold up fine under track use. They rarely put any other units in their cars. So, I think I'll be happy with what I've got in the car, at least for the foreseeable future.

 

Thanks for the info.... Nice to hear they hold up well on track. That means for street & occasional track day use It will be fine also.