LSD... good or bad?
 

Hi, seen many videos regarding the installation of the LSD (Limited Slip Differential) on different cars and of course our own R56S and id like an opinion over this mod. It looks like a helpfull mod of having an LSD but i have read and seen broadcastings that claim that having a LSD on bumpy roads is not a easy thing to cope with cause the car can become very jerky in handling. What do you think any personal views on this? Why have it and why not?

There are a lot of really good posts on this subject. Just do a search on Giken vs Quaife. There is more in the posts that you can find then can be repeated here. Giken and Quaife are the two most popular for the MINI.

It all depends on what you want to do with the car.

As for your comment about problems on bumpy roads, if that were true no one would put one in. I have a Quaife and can't say I have had any particular problem with the car jumping around.

Another point I should make is that this is an expensive mod to make. It is between $1000 and $2000 for the LSD and about $2000 to put it in.

I've had limited slip differentials in Lotus, BMW, and Dodge vehicles with no problems at all.

If you are spinning one wheel while trying to accelerate an LSD will help.

I suppose being able to get power to the ground would cause problems for some people driving front wheel drive vehicles.

What Eddie said about expense.

The LSD is a great mod, but you will need to remove the trans to install so it isn't a small investment.
We recommend the quaife for most use, the Giken will be better for dedicated track use.

If you can afford it, LSD is a good mod to do and it even came as a factory option.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...s-for-r56.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...8-r56-lsd.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ited-slip.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...e-learned.html

It all depends man, I mean, look what happened to Syd Barret!:eek:
You gotta be real careful. One bad trip and you can be done for. Youve got to be real careful...........................................
Oh, wait. Your talking about something else.
:lol::wink:

He had a little more than one bad trip.

My 2012 MCS came form the factory with LSD & DSC - Is this the same thing you guys are talking about? OR is there a more aggressive diff than the one i currently have - I've heard the factory ones aren't great as far as ice/snow goes as they just cut the power as soon as the tires are slipping, rather than finding the grip, they just stop altogether...

I do like the factory diff on the dry pavement though... it helps a lot with getting the power to the ground with my launch control(foot down on clutch - foot down all the way on gas - in 1st gear - rev gets limited to about 4k) as when i let off if there is any wheels spin the DSC kicks in limiting just a small amount of the power until i'm in 2nd (before all this I usually press the DSC button one time to turn off LSD, but keep the DSC active)

So are you guys talking about aftermarket diffs for people who already have them form the factory? Or just going with a diff for cars that did not come with them stock...?

LSD is a mechanical device in the differential. MINI discontinued theirs in March, 2010.

If you have the optional DTC you then have an electronic "lsd" which brakes whichever front wheel is spinning. That cannot be turned off.

Why did Mini discontinue it? Was there a problem?

MotoringFile >> MINI to Drop Mechanical Limited Slip for 2010

Well when I press it once the LSD is turned off but when I hold it down for a few seconds then it come up DSC off. I've heard people say it's never completely off, however when the dash says DSC off I get absolutely zero interruption when I'm having at it. The wheels can spin even mid corner, and the diff won't do anything to try and stop it. No braking, no power loss, not attempted correction of any kind. So what exactly is it still doing if it's not completely off??

That is an interesting story BMW/MINI threw at the general public. Many of the German cars (BMW and Porsche included) have gone to this system. Just one more way they try to tell us what we are thinking is wrong. I believe the bit about it saving weight. My guess is that it saves them more in money than anything else and they feed us a line that substituting electrons for substance is going to work better; it is pure BS. Just ask anyone pushes their car hard on the track and fries a set of brakes in a day :mad: Or someone doing autocross and has it "dog" them in corners. How could they possibly think that you make a car go faster by using the brakes:confused: :no: No, not compared to a mechanical LSD. If a mechanical LSD was a "problem in high HP cars" as they say, then why did Ford put the same LSD unit into their hot rod Focus ST that was offered as the option in the earlier MINIs? And the Focus has way more HP then the MINI does. The "eLSD" is just something to save BMW/MINI money and the general public won't know the difference because they don't push their cars and when it does kick in, it works ok. We enthusiasts get left out when it comes to decisions like this. They even try to "snow" us with the name of their system. The "Differential Lock Control"; it has nothing to with the differential, only the brakes.

The "eLSD" or "eDLC" as MINI calls it, is a system within the ABS system that looks at the two front wheels when the wheels are turned in a corner (I was never able to figure out if this system works when the wheels are straight) and will apply the brake on the inside wheel if it is seen by the system as turning too fast. This then applies more power to the outside wheel that has more traction. As stated in the owners manual, the eDLC is always on (probably because it is part of the ABS system).

When you press the button once, the DTC is recalibrated to interfere less. The owners manual says this is to help in snow where a bit of spin of the front wheels is helpful, but the traction control and dynamic traction control will still kick in if pushed harder. There will be the word "traction" in the digital speedometer readout. If you press and hold the button, then the word "traction" changes to "DSC OFF". With the DSC off, straight line, you can spin the wheels to your heart's delight or you can slide the car in a corner with no dynamic "interference"; right into the guardrail if it slides too much. But the eDLC is still available to control the spin of the inside front tire if you turn the steering wheel. People who do autocross say they can feel the eDLC kick in when they are exiting a turn and they push the gas too hard. This would never happen with a mechanical LSD.

I agree that the electronic LSD is just a compromise because it uses the brakes.

Not good for enthusiasts.:no: