WE NEED A NEW LSD TRANNY!!! the price is REALLY NICE ON ONE OF THESE!!

 

[QUOTE=andy@ross-tech.com]Note: That's not my page, not my car.[/QUOTE

Andy do you have any backround on what happened to this car to cause this problem. Was it shown to be caused by the phantom grip?Not a good day in any event.

 

You can read up on it here:

http://www.theoldone.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16493

You may need to register (well worth it for the excellent tech talk). Also, do a search for "phantom" for more experiences.

 

The two most effective mods for auto-x are r compound tires and a LSD. You will shave several seconds from a 50sec course with only these mods. They are also fun on the street b/c who drives the speed limit anyways? Not me.....

 

Back from the dead...

My mini isn't even here yet, but I've been into FWD performance for quite a while now - specifically with modified hondas. I've used several different differentials on fairly high-powered cars and I consider it a must-have. Street or track (racing or HPDE). If you haven't driven a FWD car with a decent lsd, there's more to it than just wheelspin. Overall driving feel and enjoyment is vastly improved and you don't have to be pushing the limits to feel it.

As far as installation labor is concerned, removing the transmission from the car is the biggest obstacle. If you can do this work yourself and drop the transmission off at the shop you'll save yourself a huge chunk of cash. Then again, if you can pull the tranny by yourself, you should be able to change the differential as well. A factory service manual, the correct tools and some patience. I suppose it depends on what your time is worth to you.

I was impressed with Quaife products in the past, and look forward to getting one in my mini.

----

BTW, to address one comment above... yes, short-term sticky tires, or maybe better shocks will lower your times more than an lsd, but this is a lifetime part that doesn't wear out after a couple of events. The key is to find a way to minimize the labor cost. I'm new to the mini community, but generally with car guys some beer and a few pizzas will often get you a LOT of work done cheap. There are always people willing to help out.

 

Does anyone know how the Factory LSD for '05 compares to a Quaife? I currently have a Quaife in my '03 S. It cost me a lot to get it installed. I was thinking about getting an '05 with the LSD, but I don't know how they compare, performance wise. Any ideas?

Fred

 

I think anyone who has used R- compound tires will agree that it lowers run times at both track events and at autocross. Last week at autocross I ran 2.5 seconds faster on a 65 second course switching from new Bridgestone Potenza S-03s in 215/45-17 to moderately worn Kumho Victoracer 205/50-15. Wheel weight dropped from 37 pounds to 29 pounds per wheel.

The effects of the Quaife on run times at autocross won't be as noticable. I have a Quaife and doubt that an average driver will lower run times more than tenths of a second if that much. I believe that to really make good use of the Quaife then you still need to apply driving skill. You are more likely to get the highest benefit in a high speed track situation than in a low speed and short autocross course. Randy Webb has also posted in the past to the same effect. I'd spend upgrade money on R-compounds before the Quaife- but it is true that the Quaife is "durable" compared to tires.


Chayse,
Comparing the Quaife to the '05 MCS LSD-
No one really knows much about the new MINI LSD so it is too early to say how well it will perform or if it is as good as the Quaife for the MINI you have. We are waiting on the early reviews and from feedback from those who do autocross or track their '05 LSD equipted MINIs.

 

I just got my 05 w/LSD last night. I have never driven a quaife equipped car before, but i tried a couple of tight 2nd gear turns to see how well it worked. I noticed a little bit of wheelspin, but not nearly as much as my 03. I would imagine a quaife would be more effective, but I dont really have any experience with different LSD's. I will say that it is better than the factory LSD in my 145,000 mile 91 Sentra SE-R . I suppose I'll have to wait until the first autocross to see what kind of improvement it really makes.

 

I still want to know if a Quaife can be put in an 05. I'm thinking about getting an 05 and already have a Quaife in my 03 that I hope I could just change from one to the other.

My MINI mechanic codriver has not been able to tell a difference yet on the street between my Quaifed 03 and an 05 w/LSD but I don't think he has tried what I found most impressive on one of my 03 Quaife test drives. From a dead stop at a Tee intersection I did a drop clutch launch Right turn. I left 2 black marks all the way through the 90 deg. turn and stayed in my lane the whole time with out ever backing off the gas. I actually had to correct the steering back to the left to keep from running into the right ditch at the end of the turn. I can tell you that my AWD STS Subaru that launches very well could never have done this. Aside from a lack of black marks in the Subaru it would either have pushed over into the left lane or I would have to make a mid turn trail throttle correction. ie. hang the tail out mid turn which would have cost me time in an autocross to cover the same distance.

 

^^^Any more info on this issue? Anyone know the story?

Mike

 

I know this thread is a little old but I found out this morning that the quaife will fit the 05's.

I emailed quaife usa and they refered me to mini madness as th epeople who would know.

here is the email exchange.

My Question

Do you know if the Quaife will fit the 05 cooper S or not. Since mini USA says the lsd is not retrofit able that would lead one to believe there is something different that would not allow the earlier parts to be put in the newer trannies. Now sometimes car manufactures make statements like that for other reasons than it wont fit, usually because they just want to be difficult.

My Car is an 05 built in 10/05, have you done a Quaife on one yet ? Quaife usa referred me to you as the people in the know if it will fit or not.

Their answer

Yes it will fit fine. We did one a few months back and it was the same as the others. The reason they are telling you this is because they don’t sell their diff as a separate option after the fact. The Quaife will work fine.

 

Yes, and in addition I can also confirm that Webbmotorsports has installed a Quaife and 05' MCS transmission in an old (but loved or cherrished as the Brits would say) 03' MCS!!!!

Note that the Quaife prices are higher now than in the past and there are two different parts, one for the MC and the other for the MCS.

 

Sorry I didn't get back to you guys with this same info. My co-driver/ MINI mechanic has had a post 1/1/05 w/LSD Tranny apart and compared it to the earlier ones side by side. Quaife's will fit in all and the 05 LSD will too but you will need the ring gear from the earlier car if you want to retro fit the 05's LSD. The trick is you can't buy the LSD from MINI. You might get lucky at a Junk yard though or find someone buying an 05 who want's to put a Quaife in it and is will to part with the factory LSD. If I decide to get an 05 or 06 later this year I'd be willing to take bids on the O.E. LSD and just swamp my Quaife from my 03 to the 05 unless I have an interested buyer in my fully prepared STX MCS. It is nice to have free labor. :smile:

 

-NOTHING without control.

wasen't that a Pirelli commercial a few years back.
Sorry, this thread brought that to mind.

I "may" be ordering an '05 MCS with LSD tonight, was told its a 6-8 week lead time. As soon as I get it I'll throw some feed back up here.