I have been considering the Quaife and I met with the owner (I think) of Mini Mania and asked him which of the 3 he offered for the "S" he thought was the best. He indicated that the salisbury clutch type was the one to get over the Quaife type. I autocross it as well as use it as my daily driver.

Not sure if this link will work but here are the products.

http://new.minimania.com/web/SUBTYPE..._Inventory.cfm

I've never talked to anyone with the salisbury type. Thoughts?

 

Just purchase a Quaife will be installed in about ten days, they was an early thread similar to this one that had some info, I got the Quaife because of its great rep.
Showvan

 

I saw that thread but there were no conclusions.

(bump)

 

There was a great article in Grassroots Motorsports a couple months ago that discussed the merits and drawbacks of the various LSD designs. Unfortunately, I don't think that article is online.

 

From that Mania link, it says that it is light... how light? It also states that it can easily handle 250hp. While that was a distant number a year or so ago, a few are there and beyond that already...

From that language I could assume that the Quaife is heavier, and can handle more power. I don't like to assume though. It would be nice if it were spelled-out a bit better so we could make a better educated decision...

 

I can tell you this....the Quaiffe is built like a brick shothouse, on steroids, no wearable parts and as far as I can tell, no need for the super special lubricants most "clutch type" or plate type diffs require. I actually visited the factory, these guys are good (PGA trademark)........I am putting it in....rather, PKT RKT has been in a thousand pieces for the better part of a week cuz I am a lazy bum and haven't finished the job. Well there was the panic with the bearings and then I had to wait for the seals for a day and yesterday I got lucky and today...well, I got lucky again......

 

The Quaife works extraordinarily well for autocross. I have one and am thoroughly impressed. In the snow this winter it also helped. I don't think I would pay for the Quaife + install for a purely street car, but it was worth every penny to me for autocrossing. The car is faster and much more fun to drive on course.


The clutch style LSD has an advantage if you rally or do some other form of motorsport that gets a front wheel up in the air. When one of the front wheels has NO resistance to turning a Quaife functions like an open diff. The clutch style will still apply power to the wheel on the ground.

Please note that I said no resistance. The Quaife worked just fine in the snow. For the record that was while using Artic Alpins.

Scott
90SM

 

Have Quaife. Autocross same. Highly recommend if you have the means.



This part took a fun car and made it into a handling fiend. Every time I accelerate into a turn, such as taking off from a side road into trafffic, it pays me back for the install cost. No one wheel peel, no peg leg knightmare, just a strong pull in the direction the wheel points.

As for the Grassroots article, they liked the clutch type, but it requires setup, maintenance, special fluid, etc. The Quaife is a plug and play part, install and enjoy, no worries.

 

[QUOTE=sadales]The Quaife works extraordinarily well for autocross. I have one and am thoroughly impressed. In the snow this winter it also helped. I don't think I would pay for the Quaife + install for a purely street car, but it was worth every penny to me for autocrossing. The car is faster and much more fun to drive on course.}

I agree; I autocrossed and road raced with a Quaife-equiped VW GTI for about 4 years. Makes a huge difference in autocross and a smaller but significant difference (especially on a slippery track) in road racing. My car only had 102 BHP so it will probably be more impressive on a Cooper S.

Cheers,
Dave

 

He may be right for a dedicated race car provided that you have the skills to set it up properly, however for a street/autoX/trackday car I think that his is poor advice. The clutch type LSD's are not particularily good on the street when set up medium to hard for the track. The only way to get them streetable is to run them soft and then they aren't as good on the track.

Also, given the time it takes to get to the diff you probably don't want to be going back in there very often. Wearing parts can become a problem.

I find my Quaife unit to be an excellent compromise for the street and track and I am comfortable with its service history in countless cars (including many with this transmission).

 

Has anybody found out yet how much the LSD option will be on the 05's? And if MINI will be offering retrofits to older models?

Also has Quaife said anything about lowering the cost of the getrag units? When Ford put the Focus RS into production the MTX-75 Gearbox Quaife dropped from $995 to $595 due to the dramatic increase in production.

I can imagine now offering them as a factory option will up production of the units and can dramatically bring down the prices like it did with the RS if not even more!

 

I am shure mini prices wont drop from this. They need the money as they dont make any profit (on BMW standards)

 

I didn't say MINI pricing, i said the Quaife LSD Pricing....

 

My bad. I need to take a remedial reading course.

 

I guess the answer is noone knows???