LSD - significant benefits on a NA?

[Fab4MR2]

there's a tendency to plough straight on

Understeer on exit to the corner.....this sounds like you haven't completed the corner yet, the power unweights the fronts and will indeed charge straight on.

I do something similar myself - never realised until someone pointed it out.
You spend a lot longer waiting for the car to if you're pushing the front through the corner.

I wouldn't put this down as a 'problem' with an lsd - it's just slightly better at getting equal drive to both sides. Are you sure an equivalent car without an lsd would behave better ?

Its only really at the limits of traction you will see a difference in car behaviour with/without LSD. when everything is grippinng, they are largely invisible....

I'm glad someone else touched on this. It seems to me that those who exhibit understeer to much of a degree work their turns differently than I am accustomed to. I will rarely have the understeer effect since I tend to brake pretty early in a turn, and apply power so as to promote something closer to oversteer in order to take as much of an advantage of the mid engine layout as I can, even without an lsd. Having an lsd, such as the Quaife merely helps with my style or entering an exiting turns. I would understand the understeer issue more if I was driving a car with a front engine layout, as I would be handling corners almost exactly opposite of how I do in the MKI. When I hear people having understeer issues of any kind in an MR2 I tend to think they're driving them more like a front engine car, but then everyone has there own driving style.

[Lauren]

I feel this thread has been well and truly hijacked.

Really?

Seems to be all about LSD's which was what the thread title is about.

I'll refrain from any further comments.

[elbon50]

I think all posts in this thread are relevant

It's a very interesting discussion

[charlie]

I think all posts in this thread are relevant

It's a very interesting discussion

have to agree here.ive not driven my mr2 much really but have thrown it around a few back roads near me and i am currently in the process of modifying the car, and gearboxes/lsd`s are something i am curious to learn more about.maybe its my style but never had an understeering moment with it,true i havent been on track with it and im used to running fwd with plate lsd`s.please nobody stop posting as all this is good infomation

[tottacrolla]

Interesting article here:
http://www.intothered.dk/simracing/differential.html

[Lauren]

Well the thing is with a MK1 NA is that it has very good traction to start with. Especially so in the dry. In these conditions whilst a one-way LSD would be the ideal, i.e. it would be beneficial if you are doing track days, you probably wouldn't see a huge benefit for the cost involved.

When it's wet it would be more fun, but you have to be quick to catch it in a mid-engined car. For example a MK2 turbo has an LSD and honestly if they didn't have LSD's there'd likely be more still on the road today. When the diff locks you have to know what you're doing and have very good throttle control or you'll be going into a hedge sideways or backwards which is as we know has seen many the demise of a MK2 turbo. An open diff is more forgiving in this respect as you are less likely to get yourself in so much trouble if it goes wrong.

However, an LSD is an option on the SC and so is very desirable. I've had an open diff on my SC conversion and then later fitted an LSD E51 'SC' box. This transformed the car and obviously with all that extra power and torque over the NA (mine was 186bhp with corresponding torque) meant that I could steer the car on the throttle which came into it's own on track and was great for playing silly buggers on the road.

I very much enjoy having an LSD and I wouldn't have a RWD car without it (both my cars have LSD's of course, though they are a FR configuration). That said I also had an NA after my two superchargers and that didn't have an LSD. Did I miss it? Not really so much in this car. I could still adjust the car on throttle on the track and it wasn't like I was thinking all the time, 'if only I had an LSD'.

So, on balance it is a considerable expense and faff to get an LSD into a MK1 NA box. However I guess if money is not an issue and you are tuning the car up to a significant degree it would certainly be a desirable option.

In terms of understeer in regard to Charlie's post, I think if you go on track you will be going significantly faster and you will then experience the understeer on turn in. Obviously you can adjust your driving style to minimise this, but it will still be there and ther are other cars that suffer considerably less with this issue. It's a bit of a MK1 handling trait really.

HTH.

[charlie]

thanks lauren for some more good info .i have only driven my car reasonably quickly on narrow back roads,i have experienced the quick rear end step out(not half as bad as a lowered 318is e30 bmw i used to own!)but no understeer,and yes i dare say on track it will definatly show up the understeer.not liking this understeer thing myself,would be prefer oversteer and then,steer from the rear!

[IanParkhouse]

I just thought that we'd moved a long way from the question posed to the specific handling of my car.

I'd agree that if you floor it once the car's taken a set then you can easily switch the car into oversteer and drift the corner. This however is not the fastest way around a corner. The slow progressive application of the fast pedal should be faster (less fun maybe). I also agree with the Mk1 breaking on entry will transfer weight forward and provide front end grip it's for this reason I run stock springs with a MK2 rear ARB I find lowering springs especial the PIs I had were just to stiff to allow this all important weight transfer.

I just think I could give it a few more horses mid corner without an LSD. I don't want to take it out though I just drive around it. I'd love to be able to do a back to back with identical cars with and without LSD.

Altering the rear end geometry in order to prompt oversteer would not be beneficial in my eyes and I can't see away of improving front end grip. I believe t's a drive train thing not a suspension thing as the car handles perfectly through a tightening corner where you simply apply progressive steering with no throttle but in an opening corner a soon as you get on the power you have to hold the steering consent to counter the LSD. Let's be clear though when I talk a about understeer I'm not talking tyre squeal just and upset in the balance.