Quaife ATB differential

sniper wrote: Google it mate......

Got nowt to prove, when you've driven the diff I'll defer to your greater knowledge..... it isn't an LSD by the way.....

sniper

Quaife seem happy to refer to it as an LSD.

Quaife wrote: The Quaife automatic torque biasing (ATB) helical gear limited slip differential (LSD) is a direct replacement for your car’s factory ‘open’ unit. Quaife ATB Helical LSD for the Suzuki Jimny. A direct replacement for the standard open differential, the Quaife ATB differential transforms your car’s performance.

This forum on the whole is exceptionally well behaved and retains its subjectivity very well while being polite and respectful. Can we all bear this in mind because as it stands this thread is teetering on the edge of a rabbit hole that's going to get it locked. Play nicely!

No hassle on my part sir..... They are genuine impressions based on the use of the diff and I'm more than happy to hear from differing opinion.. forgive the pun.

The effects of the diff are even more pronounced in FWD cars, feeling like you are being dragged around by the front end, flat, even and square.

The review was not meant to cause angst, it's just a diff and I'm just a jimny driver, albeit one with delusions of horsepower......

sniper

Isn't this just anoher variant of the Kaiser (I have one in my Rear Diff of my Jimny), excpet it din;t cost me close to a grand to get it fitted ....

www.jimnybits.com/jimny/drivetrain/suzuk...ocker-by-kaiser.html

You have one of these in your rear axle???


:laugh: :laugh: :whistle: :whistle:

yes, but not him!!

No, they operate in completely different ways and have quite different applications.
The kaiser is a mechanical locker (not a limited slip diff) that uses an over-run mechanism that effectively removes the 'differential' part of a diff. When it is not locked, it sends the drive to only the slowest moving wheel (1 wheel drive!). When that wheel spins, or the speed of both wheels matches, it fully locks both wheels together. So it is either 1 wheel drive or locked. The benefit in a 4x4 is it will continue to drive both wheels when one is in the air, but the relatively crude form of engagement is quite intrusive when driving on the road.
An ATB (automatic torque biasing) limited slip diff operates just like a normal differential in normal driving, splitting torque equally between both wheels. When there is a significant difference in grip, the worm gears in the diff bind up and allow the diff to deliver more torque to the wheel with more grip. The diff is never completely locked, and as such will not drive both wheels if one is in the air. The effect of an LSD is barely noticeable in normal driving, hence their fitment to many standard vehicles.

Thanks for that explanation Busta, I've been following this thread with interest as I couldn't understand why one wheel would spin in the air if a rear wheel was off the ground... in my experience of clutch-based LSDs drive would go to the opposite wheel, i.e. the one on the ground not in the air!

Are we saying this is indeed an 'LSD' (ATB) Diff for road-b(i)ased Jimnys?! :dry:

Busta wrote: No, they operate in completely different ways and have quite different applications.
The kaiser is a mechanical locker (not a limited slip diff) that uses an over-run mechanism that effectively removes the 'differential' part of a diff. When it is not locked, it sends the drive to only the slowest moving wheel (1 wheel drive!). When that wheel spins, or the speed of both wheels matches, it fully locks both wheels together. So it is either 1 wheel drive or locked. The benefit in a 4x4 is it will continue to drive both wheels when one is in the air, but the relatively crude form of engagement is quite intrusive when driving on the road.
An ATB (automatic torque biasing) limited slip diff operates just like a normal differential in normal driving, splitting torque equally between both wheels. When there is a significant difference in grip, the worm gears in the diff bind up and allow the diff to deliver more torque to the wheel with more grip. The diff is never completely locked, and as such will not drive both wheels if one is in the air. The effect of an LSD is barely noticeable in normal driving, hence their fitment to many standard vehicles.

Just re-read that... so, if one wheel is in the air shouldn't it drive the one with more grip? The one on the ground? Or not as you say "...and as such will not drive both wheels if one is in the air."

More confused now?

My understanding is that a LSD can only send some of the torque available to the other wheel - so if the wheel in the air has zero grip, then it can only send x% of zero = none. They're useful where one wheel has less traction, but not when one wheel has zero, which is where you need a full locker.

The effect that the diff has on a car is surprising, it behaves nothing like an LSD. No snatch as the other wheel bites at a pre set load, completely smooth. You can wake it up in tight turns, but only by pushing too hard, which you can do, even with a jimny..

It is biased towards fast tarmac cars not off roading, but I felt it would give me benefit in both and it has.

I would not suggest it was more capable than a locker but I would suggest that it would be better value to the majority of drivers.

If your car is as mine, a road car that is taken off road, it spends most of it's time on tarmac and thats where the ATB excels. In addition, it more than provides assistance, off road, win win....

I've put them in rwd escorts and caterhams to replace plated LSD's, the only negative found on a tarmac car was kerbs, where a wheel could be lifted and drive lost. Even then, the chassis benefits, outweighed the negative.

A cracking piece of kit that you need to read proper reviews about if your considering it, not my ramblings.

This diff makes an axle, be it FWD or RWD, feel like it is in charge of the vehicle. Nobody who has driven a car where the ATB has replaced an open diff or a plated LSD, would argue against that. Many who have driven it would place it in front of a plated LSD, especially for less accomplished drivers such as me.

Each piece of kit has it's place and this one has found it's home.

I was going to spend the money on an engine upgrade but old lessons came to mind and now my 86hp can feel like 200hp when conditions suit...

sniper

This is my old Vitara "Superzuki" at Woodlands years ago...





That's how clutch based LSDs work... one in each end

Hence why I had our Rockwatt fit my front Vitara LSD in the front of S200KYS (ARB air locker in the back)