I'm learning a lot from you all Thanks

Here's my other currently burning question...(I should have my MINI back either tomorrow, or Wednesday, and then I'll be too busy driving to check in on these posts! )

Anyway, here goes...

I've been reading on the web, (and in posts here too), and can't seem to find agreement between folks about how LSD affects torque steer.

Sooo....what gives? Please advise

 

I doubt you'll get a definitive answer on NAM, unfortunately. The guys with LSD will claim THEY have less torque steer, while the people without LSD (like myself) will claim THEY have less torque steer.

I personally test drove an R56 with and without, and thought the car without the LSD had slightly less torque steer, so that's the route I took. I'm not gonna track the car, so I wanted a car that would behave as well as possible on the street.

Of course then I installed my H&R springs and lost every ounce of torque steer I ever had, plus got rid of the 4x4 look.

 

I've put over 20k miles on an non-LSD car and an LSD car(04 and 06). The LSD car has less torque steer and I like it better with than without. YMMV.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torque_steer
http://www.mph-online.com/mag/streetknowledge/003

The conclusion: "Buy a real car, buy a RWD."

 

I have LSD and there is significant torque steer. Don't know about without it. I could understand why LSD would have more torque steer. It allows more torque to be utilized. Without LSD, torque could be lost to wheels spin or diminished by ASC.

 

This is a quote from an article in Popular Science; "Torque steer is what happens when the front wheels are overpowered. Because they pivot to steer the car, routing too much power through them can jerk the wheels in either direction if you’re not paying attention or have a less-than-adequate grip on the wheel. The problem gets worse as power increases, and with 263 horses roaring through its front end (few front-wheel-drive cars have that much power, for exactly these reasons), the Eclipse has some of the worst torque steer of any car. It manifests itself most when taking off—go easy on the pedal, or you’ll take about 5,000 miles off your tires in about five feet. In fact, too much gas at any time in first or second gear will net prodigious wheelspin. There is a traction-control button, but it doesn’t help much. And to be fair, that’s not really its job; traction control is meant for limited-grip conditions, not limited-skill drivers."

In this particular article they were discussing a 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT which has more horsepower than a MINI but it would still apply. Because the LSD helps to distribute the power between both front wheels it will help to minimize the torque steer effect under most conditions. However, if one is not careful in their MINI and one applies too much throttle in first or second gears, when the wheels finally break traction it will be at a higher level and the torque steer will be even more apparent. A little discretion goes a long way.

For myself, I feel that the LSD reduces the torque steer effect. It was more evident on my '02 MCS without the LSD than it is on my '06 MCS with the LSD.

 

My guess is that you feel a little bit of torque steer through the wheel more often with the LSD, as it tries to balance the traction between the two front wheels, but that when in a heavy torque steer-inducing situation, the car without the LSD is more likely to pull hard to one side or the other.

I also think with the LSD the steering is more likely to want to return to center.

 

I tend to agree that the LSD increases torque steer a bit. I don't have a lot of time on my 08 MCS with LSD but I have noticed that hard acceleration when turning in lower gears (1st or 2nd) makes the car want to straighten out the front wheels. Takes a little getting used to - I'm not a big proponent of FWD although I have an Audi TT Quattro which despite the name is mostly FWD in most conditions. Maybe not enough to cause TS because I've never really noticed it - the Audi Haldex may be the reason for that.

I've driven a 2005 MCS without an LSD (company car) and it seems to have less TS then my new car.

 

Maybe I've just gotten used to it, but I don't notice any torque steer at all in my R56 with LSD.

 

I have an 07 MCS w LSD and DSC and I can have some pretty wicked torque steer at times. It's the only aspect about the car I don't really like, but it IS correctable.

It sounds like lowering the center of gravity, installing camber plates to achieve negative camber in the front tires, putting non-runflat tires on are all some things that can help alleviate torque steer.

I haven't had a lot of time on a MCS withotu LSD so i can't give a direct comparison from personal experience, but the above solutions are what I hear commonly on the forums.

I'm very much looking forward to installing coilovers, camber plates and Alta's PSRS (increases caster) which should eliminate any significant problems with torque steer.

There's always the easiest solution too... 2 hands on the wheel

 

My R56 with LSD has quite a handful of torque steer - just have to be ready for it and drive accordingly

 

Truth be told, our cars do not have that much torque steer. I've owned some high horsepower VW's and Honda's that had monster torque steer. The only thing you need to do to overcome the minimal amount of torque steer that our cars produce is drive with both hands on the steering wheel and grin when she wants to squirm a little under hard acceleration!

 

Maybe its my non-RF tires then, I dunno.

 

My 95 Taurus SHO that i put a Quaife LSD in had MASSIVE torque steer before, and even worse after. My MCS with the factory LSD has some torque steer...but for me being used to the SHO the Mini is VERY predictable and easy to handle despite it I think.

From my experience with FWD cars and putting LSD's in them you tend to have more torque steer mainly because with the LSD you can push the car harder and get on the throttle harder...so the torque steer is really the same but you are driving the car harder, going into turns with higher entry speeds, coming out at higher RPM's and so on...so it's an exponential effect really. Just like those with performance mods mainly see lower MPG figures because they tend to romp on it more to enjoy the extra performance...if that makes sense.