It is difficult to find hardtop R53 with factory LSD. But now with many of these cars having 150k+ miles, is it fine to assume that factory LSD is still locking? Or is it better to buy open diff car for cheaper, drive as is, and invest in OS Giken diff if torque steer becomes annoying?

 

I don't know the answer, but as someone who recently purchased a used R52, I have noticed zero torque steer. The main issue (unless doing track/autocross at the limit) of non-LSD is spinning a single front tire on hard acceleration from a stop, especially if simultaneously turning, accelerating wear on that tire and also causing the overly aggressive traction control to kick in if it's been left on.

I plan to put in a LSD at around 100k miles or whenever the clutch needs replacing.

 

I installed a quaife in my '03 and have a stock GP with 144k miles and the GP still locks up similarly to the quaife. Maybe not as aggressively (still feels like a little bit of wheel spin) as the Quaife, but it's definitely still there and working!

 

My facelift (05) LSD is holding up just fine, and doing exactly what it should,, even at my power levels.

But, I've never run a sticky "race" tire, only good street tires, so I can't speak as to their strength in really high stress environments, but it's general consensus that you'd break an axle, long before a diff.

 

If you're not looking at doing any track or autox the LSD isn't super important on the street IMO, I haven't really heard of the factory LSD wearing out.

 

I really like the factory LSD, and it helps a ton on the street and track/autocross. They hold up well, but can break the tabs off if abused. I abuse both of mine and it still works well

 

So BMW engineer designed in the tabs as mechanical fuses? Too much abuse, fun is pulled from under you right foot.

 

2005 R53 owner here, just over 130K. Works fine but no real abuse of the car.

 

Never seen the factory MINI LSD fail they have been reliable. It is hard to find an R53 with the factory LSD as many didn't order the option, and enthusiasts that did don't sell.
If you want to add an LSD I recommend the Quaife as they are 100% bullet proof and actually work better than the factory diff. Plus the Quaife is ZERO maint with a lifetime warranty.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/quaife...ferential.html

 

This is all great input, thank you!
I know that BMW's E36 diffs wear their clutches out and essentially become open. Nissan's VLSD also go open after 100k miles.
Good to know that Mini's holding up well. Perhaps it has something to do with lower horsepower and weight of the car.

 

there is no clutch to wear out they use a beveled gear. Those tabs you see in the bottom pick are the weak point, I have seen one photo of a diff that had the beveled section completely worn out. I know of no failures personally

 

Not quite sure what you mean by no clutch, did I misunderstand? That picture is showing the conical clutch itself, which is the backside of the bevel gear. It relies on the meshing force of the spider gear to engage the friction material. From the sound of it this material lasts a very long time.

 

look up how a clutch type LSD works, they use fiber plates that wear out, nothing like the beveled gear type used in mini and some miata

 

To clarify what I mean, from what I see the GKN Super is just a non-preloaded Auburn-type unit, and operates like any other torque-sensing clutched LSD out there. It has a conical clutch instead of multiple clutch plates like you'd see in an OS Super Lock, but it's roughly the same type of operation.

That taper ring will eventually wear out just like any other clutch material, though it appears to be a sturdy metallic compound instead of fiber.

 

I've only ever worked with fiber LSD's that place the plates in the center rather than on the outside, using quite a few disks. They also wear out pretty quick under hard use unlike the "super lsd"

 

Blah, the typical Torsen diff Miatas and Audis used to use employ worm gears and have no clutches to wear out because they rely on locking threads rather than friction material. The MINI Super LSD uses friction surfaces in which both sides are metal, so that's an advantage over the crap clutch disc type, but still a friction clutch. HaltCatchFire has a point this is a clutch, but it is much more stout and a metal clutch, so I haven't seen or heard of any of them wearing out. So, not as skookum as a torsen 1, but not something that is easy to wear out like the fiber clutch plate ones.

At 95k our mildly modded S that gets driven hard regularly is making good use of its LSD. I wholeheartedly disagree with Alpha's statement that an LSD is not useful on the street.

 

mazda put the super diff in miatas for a while, starting in 03 and running into the NC model

https://www.beavismotorsport.com/gui...for-miata-mx5/

 

The R53 may have had the option of an OE LSD, but in past experience (Miata world), OE LSDs are inferior compared to the performance of aftermarket options.

Notably, they were all Bosch LSD units, with direct comparison to Quaife and Wavetrac.

 

While the Quaife may be an improvement over the factory LSD, if you are competing in a stock class, the factory unit still has significant value.