I finally found the C&D article about the TL where is said torque steer was worse with LSD. Again, this goes against what I've heard elsewhere, so I don't know what to think:

http://www.caranddriver.com/roadtest.../acura-tl.html

"The limited slip does its job distributing power to the front tire with more grip, but with 238 pound-feet of torque on tap, there's no masking that the torque plays an unwanted role in the steering, especially now, with the direct connection via the six-speed gearbox. If anything, the limited slip exacerbates the existing torque steer, pulling on the wheel as if each pound-foot were a G.I. Joe action figure in a tug of war. On the plus side, as long as you're conscious of this trait, accelerating out of turns is surprisingly fast, although a bit nerve-racking. A jaunt in a TL with an automatic revealed far less torque steer, thanks to the torque converter that smoothes out the power relay and the lack of a tugging limited-slip. We're usually not ones to say stuff like this, but the automatic is arguably the more fitting transmission for the TL's lofty power numbers."

and in the reviewer comments....

"Acura's familiar formula—plenty of power, lots of baked-in luxury features—should make the new TL even more desirable than its successful predecessor. But there's a catch: 270 horsepower plus the limited-slip diff that goes with the six-speed manual produce more than a little torque reaction. It's only the limited slip doing its job, but that knowledge doesn't seem to soften the response of most who experience it. The TL competes in a segment dominated by rear-drive cars, and the horsepower ante keeps going up. Getting a front-drive car to keep pace requires exactly what Acura is serving up with the TL, but the recipe may be stretched beyond its limits."

 

Here is an article from Sport Compact Car which explains torque steer pretty well. A lot of it has to do with scrub radius and the changing contact patch of the tire.

http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/ed..._technobabble/


Also note, as I mentioned in another post about torque steer, the shafts are NOT equal length. The outer portions are, but the passenger side shaft is 2 pieces. This results in a greater mass to acceelerate on the passenger side front tire which in theory should push the car to the right under acceleration (assuming this is the only contributor to torque steer, which it's not).

-my 0.02

 

I would think that the rotational mass/inertia of the halfshafts to be a negligible contribution to torque steer, given the overall rotational inertia of the wheel. Can't see it being significant.

I always understood the equal halfshaft design was there to give the two halfshafts the same torque stiffness, not to make them weigh the same.

But I freely admit I don't understand this subject very well.

- Mark

 

I agree, it doesn't see like it's a huge factor and I admit I don't really understand why the LSD would contribute to torque steer (assuming you have traction and are going straight).

-JL

 

if you hold a gyro you get torque steer. There is no LSD on a gyro.

 

Just as a data point, of the 2 MCSs I drove, the one with the LSD had less torque steer than the one without. Interestingly, the LSD car did pull to the right more than the left, just less than the non-LSD car. The non-LSD car was all over the road!

Mark