So we ordered our car and for March production, LSD is no longer listed as an option. Bummer...replaced with electronic version part of DTC option or Sports Pkg.

 

I got mine early and it has both the lsd and EDLC. They just had extra lsd's lying around and needed to use them up I guess. Glad I ordered early.

 

I drove a 2010 at MINI of South Atlanta yesterday that had an LSD in it. I guess we'll see what happens.

 

LSD is actually gone as of March production

 

I found that out in September when I ordered my car.

 

Mine was a January build so I was lucky. I heard there was going to be some type of electronic version as opposed to the mechanical but I don't know the details. I just hope it doesn't involve the vehicle's brakes somehow.

 

It does.

 

I don't know why all the hand-wringing about the LSD versus EDLC. I had a mechanical LSD in my R53S, now have the EDLC in my '09 JCW, have autocrossed both, and did just fine in the JCW. In fact the whole DTC/EDLC system in my factory car is pretty non-intrusive during even spirited street driving, and shutting it down to EDLC only for the 'cross worked great under heavy cornering forces.

 

Mine seems to work great.

 

The EDLC might be fine even at an autocross, but at a track day it could be a huge extra burden to put on the brakes. Dropping the mechanical LSD sounds like a big mistake.

All I can think of is how rear brakes got over used (used up) by using the traction/DSC of the first gen models at track events.

 

Even though autocross runs are much shorter than track time, I would think the actual cornering forces that would trigger EDLC would be much higher. I do not claim to have extensive track experience and have never taken one of my three MINI's there. I did do a couple of days in my former Cayman S...during our first session we were not even allowed to turn the PSM (Porsche version of traction control) off and yet my traction nanny never came on even at 7/10's warmup pace. I realize that all cars' thresholds are different, I just think the MINI's EDLC is adequate for 95% of what owners put them through, and the factory LSD was never that advanced anyway. YMMV

 

I asked some questions about EDLC in another thread. Then someone led me to this video on Youtube. The language conversion is kinda off but it is still a very good review pertaining to the EDLC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryWy8XNu0S8

 

You cannot turn it off!! give me LSD....

 

unclemeat, thanks for the video link. This sounds much worse than I expected. :(

 

Eh... He's sliding around a wet track on all-seasons*... I don't see why it's surprising that the EDLC would kick in. The system isn't designed to "cut power" like the ASC/DSC/etc are... it keeps you from wasting power spinning the wheels. I'm not sure whether the system will brake both wheels simultaneously (the only way you could claim that it was "cutting power"), but if it does, you're not putting much power down, anyway.

I'm not saying it's the perfect system by any means... it can obviously be a significant additional load on the brakes, and it may be programmed to be a little quick on interceding... but in my opinion, some of the negativity toward the system is based on two things:

1. The reviewer needs something to complain about. If it weren't for the EDLC, what would that guy have talked about for 6 minutes?

2. The car wouldn't have been able to put the power down ANYWAY, so the driver blames it on the EDLC because there's no way to prove otherwise. I mean, how much power are you going to put down sliding sideways around a corner on all-season tires in the wet?


Personally, I saw some significant slip angle this weekend at an auto-x, and never felt like the ELDC was limiting acceleration that I would have otherwise had.

Again, is it the *best* system for all-out, hardcore track days? No, probably not. However, I think it's unfairly derided in some cases for reasons similar to the above, and that it's a relatively-effective solution in the vast majority of situations.

For people concerned about it, I recommend you test drive one with EDLC, and also read both the negative AND positive reviews** before you decide one way or the other.



*The subtitles said "winter tires", but I'm pretty sure they mean All-seasons, since that's what comes on the Crown Spokes.

**An example of a positive review from Evo Magazine: