I am thinking to get the limited slip on my 05. Anyone have one installed that is willing to share what the installation costs were ? If so what do you think of the difference?

Specifically I am refering to the qualife limited slip.

 

Prices are going to vary a lot but I'd say figure at least 750-1500 to put one in and maybe even a bit more depending on what your mechanic charges
Mike

 

Wow you think that much for an install or are you including parts ?If the install is going to cost $750 - $1500 I will have to install it myself. Then with the money I saved on the install I can do a lightened flywheel and upgraded clutch.


I know the diff is right around $1000, anyone had one installed that can give an example of cost ? I just want to know if I should budget to do it myself and add the flywheel or to have it installed.

 

do you have your 05' already? if not have it come with the car. the quaife is about a grand and probably atleast 500 bucks for the install.

 

yeah I have had it a month or so now. Too bad it wasnt an option when I ordered it.

I would probably go $1400- $1500 installed but not much more than that.

 

The Quaife LSD for the MINI 02-04 MCS is $1070 or more.
The installation varies with the ability of the mechanic to do the job quickly and accurately. I had one put in for about $1500 labor and a little more for bearings and transmission sealant. So unless you have about $2500+ lying around it isn't the cheapest of upgrades. Add $500 for a lightweight flywheel and a few $100 more for a racing clutch. Soon the bill is $3000+.

The 05 MCS has the option for and LSD (non quaife) for $500 which is a steal.

Does the Quaife make a difference? For autocross and street use it doesn't make a $2500 difference but on the track you might do better. Again driver skill makes more difference. Save the $2000+ and send yourself to driving school again and again. If you are already highly skilled then you'd be able to tell the difference. On a 60 second autocross course it might make up tenths of a second if that much.

 

I just has Quaife/stage 3 clutch/flywheel/19% and belt installed for $2950 at EuroStyles East in Pittsburgh.

I disagree, Minihune, The way I drive there's a BIG difference on the street. Accelerating into a turn is awesome. Just don't turn/accelerate and sneeze at the same time. Dog only knows where you'd end up.

 

My car spins the tire so easily its not funny. I have never played with the transmission on a fwd car but I am familiar with rwd applications. I am just wondering if it will tighten it up enough to stop the horible one wheel peel the car does so easily, matter of fact it does it so easy its almost not even fun to drive if the street is wet.

The car will see some auto x and some track time, I know nothing is better than seat time but the one wheel peel SUCKS ! Not sure I could swing 3K for the whole shot though, the car and what I have done already has pretty much broke the mod bank.

 

I would love an LSD, but... It will change your class in most events, so now you are running with modded cars.

In Parking lot autocross, where I am in first or second gear all the time, there are deffinetly occasions where I think the LSD would make a big difference. I saw on one disscussion board that in MINI's an LSD will make several seconds difference on a 60 second course. I am still learning so I am not putting money in the car yet.

In high speed, I am not so sure there is a big benefit. I am in third gear exiting corners and I find the car slides but does not spin the inside wheel. When I was a novice on that track, I was exiting corners in second gear and I was spinning the inside tire. The "all MINI" driving school cost me $160 to learn a better way to take the corners.

There is one heavily modded MCS that runs the same events in a much higher class. He has a Quaife. On the 2 mile course he beats me by 10 seconds. There are two long straights where his power makes a big difference, and he can (and does) run R tires in his class.

For every day street use in snow country, I will reserve judgement until I drive one. There are different types of LSD and they provide very different driving experiences.

John

 

When I say "street driving" I meant to say "legal" street driving. Not autocrossing on the street. Since you have more skill you can get more out of your MINI. For the average driver out there just starting to autocross and when driving legally on the street the LSD gives glimpses of what it can do.

LSD also allows for better traction in inclement weather and on poor road surfaces so that is a plus when doing street driving.

Jdewey,

I never wheel spin. It is a function of how much power is applied to a wheel with not enough traction of the tire to the road surface. Want to end wheel spin? You can simply get stickier tires that grip but again if you apply too much power you can loose traction.

If you want to go fast you do not want to spin your wheels. If you want to corner fast you want to keep your tires in contact with the ground as much as is possible since they are driving your car forward. The LSD will help with traction but only so far. If you don't keep your car in balance you will shift weight off of your front driving wheels. Driving school helps you no matter which car you drive and whether or not you have LSD.

If you are on the track the best way to lower your time is to drive well and the next best way is to get better track tires. Wide and grippy R compounds.
The LSD isn't going to amount for that much time saved until you can drive really well. If I had $2000 to spend on wheels/tires or on an LSD I'd get the wheels and tires first. The LSD is more durable but the wheels will help right away and have resale value (the rims if you don't bang them up).

If you are ordering a new 05 MCS then LSD is a good option to consider. Installing aftermarket LSD is very expensive. Rates for labor are largely based on time spent. Some mechanics have done many LSD installs in MINIs and will charge $600 to $900 but others have NEVER done it and it will take them alot longer so $1200-$1500.

 

LSD is not a Quaife, and Quaife is not LSD.

Dont be confused, the 2 work differently for similar results.

Torque Biasing Differential is different from Limited Slip Differential.

With that said, and with the risk of being flamed, I said it.

Now, to answer the original question.

A Quaife will run you about $850-$1100 depending on who you know, and the install will be minimum $650-$850. You have to pull the tranny, pull everything out and put it back together, it aint easy, it takes time and you should only have someone you really trust and who is qualified install it. You dont want your tranny blowing up on you because of a shotty install.

Now My opinion?

I have had the Quaife installed into 2 vehicles in which an LSD wasnt offered.

Simply put: It was the #1 BEST MOD I have ever done to any vehicle next to the suspension upgrade. The performance gains that you get are absolutely the BEST. You pull through corners with unbelievable ease, you can launch your 1/4 run with out (well barely) holding the steering wheel and no under/oversteer! It is amazing, a must for FWD, a must for AutoXers, a must for Mountain Drivers, a must for performance enthusiasts! PERIOD.

Now, I am not familiar with the LSD that is installed in the Mini, and soon I will have mine and will know how on par it is with other manufacturers. I have driven many other vehicles with the LSD from the factory, and you can definately tell the difference and it is a GREAT THING what MINI has done by offering that as an option, as it will allow people to experience much more enjoyment with every corner carved, every hard launch being masterfully controlled, and every second shaved off your AutoX time!

 

I just want to add my .02. I have about 35k aggressive miles on my S and have recently added the Quaife . The differance is definatly noticable in the canyons and on the track. You are able to get on the power much earlier in the turn and accellerate out a lot quicker. Expensive mod it is but worth it .

 

Technically this is correct. I loosely use Quaife as an upgrade to the stock open differential. For the 2002-2004 MINIs it is one of two optional differentials (also see Phantom grip).

Now we have the option from MINI for an LSD (not the Quaife) for $500.
How well will it work? Nobody knows. Probably it will be fine and much cheaper than installing a Quaife. How well will it compare with the Quaife? It's unknown but we would love to hear about your results.

More on the Quaife-
http://www.quaife.co.uk/products/atbdifferentials.htm
Sounds great in the advertisements and some people say that it works wonderfully. If you can get it installed for cheap and done right then that would be fantastic.

Before you expect super great results at autocross with the Quaife, just read
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...aife+autocross
See post #14 by RandyBMC
Estimated 1/10th of a second gain on an autocross course- which can be big if the margin of victory is 100ths or 1000ths of a second.
To get the most out of using Quaife or any LSD you have to drive with skill, I just don't see any way around that.

 

Thanks for all the replies and comments. I agree that driving skill is the biggest element in driving fast. But a properly prepared car never hurts either.

Please keep the comments coming, the boss pretty much said go for it !! YEAH !!

There is a shop that most of the people in the club use with no complaints and he has done a few installs, I just have to find out how much.

The biggest think I would like is the lack of torque steer, if it will cut that down in my opinion that alone would be worth it.

 

When planning there is another thing to consider.

As I understand it, the 2005 MINI Cooper S has a different final drive ratio (diff ring and "pinions" sizes) then earlier years, hence the reason the new diff can't be put in an older car and vice versa. Do Quaife or the other manufacturers even have models to fit the 2005 yet ?

I agree with most of the above comments. It depends on your use. The speed and radius of the corner and driver experience will control what kind of problem you really have. If the problem you need to solve is inadequate drive traction then some kind of improved differential will obviously help.

At the place where I run, many of the "Race" cars run locked diffs, it seems they feel the improvement in driving traction is worth it even though they have to fight the wheel to get the car to corner when it is not sliding.

Running in a stock class, against others with the same tire, power, and differential restrictions is not as much of a $$$ race, as is moving up to classes where skill AND money determines the winner.

As a beginner, I plan to get a lot more experience in "true stock" classes before I start pumping money into the family car. After all, I might wreck this car, or move to a different type.

John

 

Take a look at this post in MINI2:

Choosing a LSD

ken

 

I emailed the us distributor for qualife to see if the diff will fit in an 05. They are not sure if it will or not since they havent been able to get their hands on any 05 parts yet. They may use my car to see if it fits or not, I am waiting to see what they want to do.

 

the two cars that run in the grand am race series had qualfi diff's and replaced them with the phantom grip! Just to let people know!

The phantom grip about 1/3 the price

 

where can I find more info on the phantom grip ?

 

Well, Nuzzo also got sponsored by Phantom, it doesn't mean the PG is better. I've seen some pretty nasty results from PG usage:

http://homepage.mac.com/dgiessel/.Pi.../phantom_grip/

 

Wow....thanks for the pics Andy. I think I will save for the Quaiffe.

Alex

 

Andy,

Your depth of pictures amazes me. You have a picture for almost every part on the Mini and then some. Those are some very interesting pics. Looks like a new element was created.

 

Note: That's not my page, not my car.

 

That could have been caused by a bad install also. I don't know the circumstances of what happened in the pics....or of the qualifications of the installer. The installer of that PG could have just "jammed" everything together....or the PG could have failed somehow--every company has defects in their products.

You can't say that will happen on all installations.:smile:

 

I'll post some Pic's of one of our customer's tranyy that has a qualfi in it there are 4 holes in the cas'n the flywheel is chewed the clutch is still intact and the diff turns fine we have not cracked the case open to see what put the holes in it?!?!