Exactly. LSD is most useful when you have wheel spin at one of the wheels. With a normal open diff, when you accelerate hard, one wheel might lose grip faster than the other, once that happens, more power is transferred to that spinning wheel, thus it'll spin even more and get you no where. With LSD that free spinning problem is limited and power is more evenly distributed between the two front wheels.

For example, powering out of a sharp corner really hard, or driving on rain/snow/sand. So yeah, its good to have for sure, but your parents might not agree

 

Maybe bring up the old school posi-traction. The technology might be exactly the same or completely different but the end result is the same. If you've ever seen some of the old school cars try to do a burnout but its only one tire that sits there and spins all day it doesn't have posi-traction as they used to call it. Cars with posi-traction could spin both tires which meant more traction and doing a better job of putting power down.

This works the same way but FWD, I think it helps with safety because if you find yourself in a situation where your either caught in an intersection or pulled out to cross traffic at the wrong time it will help you accelerate out without loss of traction or intervention of the traction control which can both slow you down.

 

Right, I know that. Was kinda looking for real life examples that maybe some of you have experienced...

I understand most of the technical side to it.

Thanks for the help,
Jonathan

 

Like, how often would I use LSD if I never went in snow or on the track? (I might go on a track if they had an open one here in Florida, so I don't crash into anyone. lol But still, not very often.)

I tried to bring up the point of safety for rainy days and wet roads, but they replied "you shouldn't be driving that fast to need it then". So let me ask you guys, what about low speed SHARP turns. Are they completely legal? Are they safe, for the most part? And would the fun still be worth it? (What MPH do you guys consider "low speed"? lol)

Sorry for my compulsive questions guys... even though it's only $500, these things add up to a lot... so if I really don't need it, and if it doesn't help with the "go-kart fun" much (in everyday driving), then let me know.

I definately want it if it increases the fun of everyday driving...although the MINI is already a lot of fun. :D

THANK YOU!
Jonathan

 

They're right about this. The #1 way to avoid accidents is to never drive too fast for the conditions. Between you doing so actively, and the DSC taking care of it passively, not driving too fast is pretty well covered without having LSD.

However, the #2 way to avoid accidents is to actively avoid them. Even if you're not going too fast, other drivers might be, and you'll have to make a quick decision about where you want yourself and the car to be.

Remember all those lessons in driving school about always having an escape plan in mind? Well, if conditions are wet and you see someone approaching you too fast from behind, you might think "I'll pull onto the shoulder and give him more room to stop without hitting me." The only problem is, without LSD you might just spin out and get no power to maneuver out of the way, whereas with LSD, you'll have both wheels working to give you some traction.

LSD is not just a performance feature, it can save your life. At $500, it's a little bit of cheap extra insurance.

I suspect what concerns your parents most is not that you want the feature, but what they imagine you want it for. Your biggest task is going to be convincing them that you don't want it so you can drive like a typical maniac teenager. That's a tough sell when you are a teenager, but I wish you luck at it.

 

Thank you, that's exactly the kind of explaination I was looking for.

I read that to my mom, and she's completely convinced that the LSD is a great safety feature for me, as long as I don't go out of hand with it.

I can't wait for my MINI!

 

If you have one wheel on pavement and the other on a slick surface such as wet grass, you'll be stuck without LSD.

 

You know, there are a lot of open grass fields in Florida. Would that be a safe and fun place to really let the LSD go wild? Sounds fun...