what are your opinions and why when running a high powered FWD car? please bear in mind that the car will mostly be used on the road but will also be tracked and as many 1/4mile/top speed runs as i can...so call it about 80% of its life will be around town and 20% will be racing

there will be a high/low boost function to help traction

is the plate diff really that hard to use for everyday use? or are the advantages of having the plate diff outweigh its hard to turn characteristics?

i like the car to be fast and quick through the corners so the steering does need to have good feel to it around a track or when fast road driving

thanx for any input

bassboy

 

I prefer the ATB diff's myself for a fwd car.

Bernie is the man to talk to though, he doesnt seem to be on here as often as he used to so drop him a pm and ask him to look at this topic
bernie = gearboxman

 

hi mate

plated front diff is ok proving that you have it set at 60/70 ft lbs (progressive) and ask the person that is building it tell them that you want it set up for road use and shout road use because most of them don't understand the meaning what road use is ok gripper man

and they will set it up a with different plates and different ramp angles

the idea of having it set progressive is that when your cornering the one wheel will spin faster than the other without the plates grinding against each other

don't have it full on unless your doing straight line stuff or on the lose

cheers marco

 

I was told that an ATB is perfect for fast road use, only disadvantage being if one wheel lifts, you loose all drive to the wheels. I have an ATB in my RS 2000 and it outstanding. Bearing in mind i drive our crappy country roads hard, i've never had a problem with loosing drive to the wheels due to lifting off the ground. But then as Marco says you can set a plate diff up to suit your type of driving.

 

cheers for the comments so far....

the thing is the power will be around the 400hp mark if not more...hence me asking about the plate diff...is it was less, i would go for the ATB no problem....

Marco...kiddah bhaji?....if the diff is set how you described, how much of a difference would that make over the ATB?

chip...howcome you prefer the ATB?

bassboy

 

A plate diff can be far more harsh than an ATB as its a competition item, it'll pull your arms out of their sockets lol

The ATB would be more sociable to live with day to day, but compared to a standard RS LSD it has far more of a 'bite' to it.

 

how do u think it will cope with over 400hp?

bassboy

 

I've no idea what its rated to. On my car (150bhp) its outstanding, makes such a difference to both cornering and straight line traction. The car won't really loose grip in the dry. In wet/greasy conditions, while it will start to spin up round corners, its still holds the line you want, it doesn't understeer as it used to. I'm not sure how well it would workin on you car though as you'll have WAY more power/torque to put down than me!

 

see thats the thing...not many people have tried and tested at that sort of power....

im just wondering what it would be like having a plate diff set up how marco has described compared to a Quaife ATB diff...

how are the Plate diffs for cornering? or is that a stupid question

bassboy

 

Big power Focus RS's are the only cars i can think of that will have an ATB fitted?

 

ahhh yes...anyone know what the BIG power Focus RS use? if its plate or ATB still?

MARCO wake up!! lol whats a plate diff like which has been setup as u described?

bassboy

 

an ATB is better for road use to be honest and not that noisy

but saying that the ATB isn't 2wd all the time the ATB sends power to each wheel rapidly and if you get one wheel airborne it will then send all the drive to the wheel that is in the air not to the one that is on the ground but still is a very good diff

a plated diff is 100% 2wd all the time even if a wheel is in the air you still have got traction from the other one that is on the ground

but like i said you have to have it set for road use (not too much pressure on the plates)
one wheel would need to spin quicker than the other when cornering

both diffs are as good as each other with the plated diff at some point you will need to change the plates as they do wear out but that takes ages

with an ATB is normaly hastle free put it in and forget about

i still rate the plated diff over the ATB for compertion use( racing) mainly because it 100% 2wd all the time

Marco

 

I prefer the ATB on a road car just because you literally cant tell its fitted, it still parks without any hassle etc, no issues with working against it at low speeds.
They also work very well on track IME, the diff attempts to apportion torque in the correct ratio to maintain traction on both wheels as far as possible rather than allowing one to slip slightly before it acts.

In theory with one wheel off the ground, it should still work, but i havent tested that, so if marco says otherwise then fair enough, but the way the diff is designed is meant to allow for that as its only supposed to supply torque when there is resistance to apply it too

 

400bhp and front wheel drive?what car is that then?

 

I agree, you don't know its there until you need it lol

I know plate diffs are a bit mad - especially when they are cold, they pull all over the road and stuff.

 

Hi Chip

yes it's an Anti torque bias diff and it doesn't work when a wheel is air borne it sends the power to the one in the air and you have no drive untill the wheel is back down on the ground

marco

 

so in theory, with both of them...if i get wheel spin, im just gonna spin BOTH wheels at the same rate? however, with the ATB, it allows both wheels to turn in the same direction but allows a slight bit of slip so the cornering is more plesent and wont try to pull the wheels back to the straight position?

with the plate diff...as the wheels are both turning at the same rate...when cornering, it will try to pull the wheels to a certain direction (im sure when turning, one of the wheels spin at a different rate to the other?)...however, setup how Marco has described...will allow a slight variation? but will still try to pull the wheels straight if you give it too much LOL

am i right in thinking the above or have i missed something?

bassboy

 

yes paul

thats a misconception about plated diffs are only mad when you have had it set with too much pressure on the plates you seem to forget that the plated diff is fully adjustable in everyway and 100% 2wd all the time

not noisey when they are set for road use

 

well??????????

 

Ahhh right, the only person i know who uses one has it in a rally car, so i guess he has it set for competion use?

 

mine



bassboy

 

so marco, in your experience, when set up for road use...they are fine?

bassboy

 

it's very good mate if your using your car on the road more than track go for the ATB

 

 

thats a picture of an engine,not a car.

if you have 400bhp the gearbox and driveshafts will be a bigger concern.

 

oh then my S2 :P and the gearbox and driveshafts are sorted...well the gearbox im deciding on a diff at the moment, but the d/shafts are custom built for my applications and rated to MUCH MUCH more power than i can throw at them

bassboy

 

i think ill find out if a Plate diff is available for a MTX 75 and the cost then ill have a think about it...marco...might need your help

bassboy

 

jup car and piss off