so i recently became the owner of an 05 MCS , my first mini, and during my searches i had specifically looked for an 05-06 because i was informed they came with factory lsd and some other options but after two weeks of spirited driving and lots of wheel spin in first and sometimes second im starting to believe this is false. what is the best way to determine what options my car has? is it possible for a stock lsd to wear out?

 

Go here and put the last 7 digits of your VIN into the decoder:

http://www.bmwarchive.org

 

LSD was an option we ordered on our 06. Just checked our VIN on the archive and there was no mention of LSD or even a category for it. FYI

 

Hi,
Sooooo....bought a 03 R50 about a month ago and have been lurking for a while enjoying the massive amount of mini info on here. Just registered today and I'm so green I have shrubs behind me ears....sooooo....what the heck does LSD stand for???!!...I'm assuming it has nothing to do with Jimmy Hendrix......
Thanks!

 

It's not the drug of choice from the sixties. This may help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited-slip_differential

 

Thanks Buzzsaw!
Good to know fellow miniacs are rooted to the road instead of dancin with Lucy! :>}

 

If you are spinning both wheels an lsd isn't going to prevent it. A clutch type lsd can certainly wear out or need rejuvenating with an additive. I'm not sure what type the factory lsd was.

 

Basic clutch-style LSD. it will eventually wear out and act like a normal open diff.

 

are there additives that can be used to halp bring it back to life atleast for a few more thousand miles?

on a side note i adjusted my tire pressures , i just recently bought the caar and it seems the dealer had put 50psi in all the tires to prevent them from going flat but did not let the air out to the recommended PSI when selling me the car so one tire had high 40s in it and one had high 30s, so after setting all tires to 33psi it now will lay two solid black lines , but on some corner exits it will still break one free

 

There are "friction modifiers" one can add to transmission fluid to improve the LSD clutch engagement, but I know very little about them. Frankly, the idea of making the lubricant more sticky gives me the *******.

You might do well to ask in the Gen 1 > Mods > Drivetrain forum, or possibly Gen 1 > Stock Problems/Issues forum. (I do guarantee you'll get a bunch of people telling you to put in a Quaife LSD. Which is great, if you want to spend over $1000 and disassemble your tranny, I suppose.

That does sound like the LSD clutch has reached its end of life. But again, I recommend hitting up the Mods or Problems forums for more experienced commentary. I haven't driven an R53 in years (but man do I miss the LSD!).

 

DO NOT ADD FRICTION MODIFIER TO A TRANSAXLE!

I made that mistake once in life!

You'll never shift again! It will effect how the blocker rings grab the syncros.