[cleex024]

Hey guys...remembering how to do a fishtail uturn in my e46 m3 I tried it for the first time in my 335i the other day and the car would just spin tires for a while but not actually turn. It finally did turn after a while and the transition was not really that smooth as the m3 did. Then started to read about the limited slip differential and realized that this must be the reason why I just sit there and burn tires while the m3 would just do the fishtail quick. (also for all those that are against reckless driving dont worry...i dont do it when there are cars around or people around as I know it can lead to harm...not really but im safe about it.)

Anyway I was wondering if there are a bunch of different types of LSD out there for the 335i. I saw one by quaife and saw people liked that one but was just trying to find more info about different LSD out there. Let me know guys...thanks

Oh yeah and I am not trying to get an LSD for the sole reason of doing better fishtails lol. After noticing that I figured I must not be getting very good traction so this is the main reason why I do want an LSD since it really is an expensive mod.

[scott_uw]

Not going to be a dick and tell you to search but I'll blatantly copy/paste harold at HP Autowerks.

Quaife and Wavetrac are similar in design and function and will net similar performance results for their price. Quaife has been around a long time and we haven't seen one fail. Wavetrac's reliability is unknow. Unless you see only track duty, either of these is the way to go for the street/HPDE/Track Days.

Drexler is more than two and a half times as much in cost($3995 retail) and is a clutch type LSD. Will this unit put the power to the ground better than the Quaife or Wavetrac, sure. However, you will be servicing this LSD more often and it will wear out much quicker than the Quaife or Wavetrac. If you have a track only car, get the Drexler or other clutch type LSD.

You will need to find out if your car has a welded or bolted diff as well to order. Harold will know based on your manufacturing year/transmission if you talk to him.

[Brey335i]

Here in the U.S. there are two big choices, Quaife and Wavetrac. I would suggest you contact Harold at HP Autowerks (he's a vendor on this site). They carry both brands and he's got plenty of experience with both.

Some people prefer one over the other. There are different reasons why, but in the end you can't go wrong with either

[jdbretz]

The search function is your friend. Here are a few threads with some info:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=305934
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=337722
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=305069

[Brey335i]

If no one was ever allowed to ask a question I would have nothing to do haha

[jdbretz]

Originally Posted by scott_uw

Not going to be a dick and tell you to search but I'll blatantly copy/paste harold at HP Autowerks.

Lol I guess I was just a dick, but I did provide some threads with the comment

[jdbretz]

Originally Posted by Brey335i

If no one was ever allowed to ask a question I would have nothing to do haha

I hear ya. Between the questions I ask and the ones others ask, I have plenty of reading to pass the time at work and when I'm bored on the weekends.

[cleex024]

yeah that was being a dick since I already mentioned quaif in my first post...i read that article by the way which is how i knew about quaif. anyhow I was wondering if there was anything else but nvm...guess there are only 2 main ones...and the clutch lsd is way too expensive for something I wont be able to get full use out of. thanks guys.

[Beemw335]

Best ones are Qualife or Wavetrack

[bmxcamel]

I hear pep boys sells a sick one.

[cleex024]

damnit im still trying to decide whether it really is worth it for the occasional spirited driver. plus im thinkin about trackin the car but maybe like once a year lol. so is it worth $2500 for the lsd?

[jdbretz]

I'm kinda in the same boat as you with justifying the cost. There are a lot of mods/stuff I could buy for the price of the LSD. Especially considering that I would benefit from it only a few times a year since I don't track the car. I am used to clutch based LSD's and don't have any experience with the ATB ones such as the Quaife or WaveTrac. I enjoy doing the occasional power slide when it rains, but with the open diff in the car its just not even worth the effort. Its was a huge disappointment for me the first time I accelerated hard in a turn and simply spun the inside tire and didn't accelerate at all. Good luck with you choice either way. It seems Harold from HP Autowerks has the best deals on them if you do decide to get one. You should be able to get everything done for about $2000.

[orionredwing]

I recommend Quaife or Wavetrac.

I've used the Wavetrac for over 10 track days now w/ no probs, so it's good enough for occasional track duty. Changed the differential oil twice already at 12K miles, and it still looked good. Didn't do a used oil analysis, but at the very least, no visible metal shavings seen, and wasn't too dark No abnormal sounds or anything heard after 25K miles on it.

[Brey335i]

This is how I would recommend going about the aquiring the LSD:

Do all the other power adding bolt ons first if you are the kind of person who doesn't know if an LSD is right for them. Then add an LSD and rejoice in how much more aggressive you can be with your mods now that your car hooks up.

If you are the kind of person who understands the need for an LSD and wants it, then go ahead and get it earlier.

[cleex024]

Originally Posted by jdbretz

I'm kinda in the same boat as you with justifying the cost. There are a lot of mods/stuff I could buy for the price of the LSD. Especially considering that I would benefit from it only a few times a year since I don't track the car. I am used to clutch based LSD's and don't have any experience with the ATB ones such as the Quaife or WaveTrac. I enjoy doing the occasional power slide when it rains, but with the open diff in the car its just not even worth the effort. Its was a huge disappointment for me the first time I accelerated hard in a turn and simply spun the inside tire and didn't accelerate at all. Good luck with you choice either way. It seems Harold from HP Autowerks has the best deals on them if you do decide to get one. You should be able to get everything done for about $2000.

yes but I need to get someone to install it and the quotes were basically about $400. yeah I had an e46 m3 and the fishtails in that were awesome and very easy and not so much with this one.

[cleex024]

Originally Posted by orionredwing

I recommend Quaife or Wavetrac.

I've used the Wavetrac for over 10 track days now w/ no probs, so it's good enough for occasional track duty. Changed the differential oil twice already at 12K miles, and it still looked good. Didn't do a used oil analysis, but at the very least, no visible metal shavings seen, and wasn't too dark No abnormal sounds or anything heard after 25K miles on it.

yeah but how often do I need to do a diff oil change? cause in my m3 i dont think i ever did one even though i sold it with 58k miles on it.

[cleex024]

Originally Posted by Brey335i

This is how I would recommend going about the aquiring the LSD:

Do all the other power adding bolt ons first if you are the kind of person who doesn't know if an LSD is right for them. Then add an LSD and rejoice in how much more aggressive you can be with your mods now that your car hooks up.

If you are the kind of person who understands the need for an LSD and wants it, then go ahead and get it earlier.

sounds like a plan for me...i want it early as i slip all the time in first and even in second gear and all i have is a cobb tune with everything else stock. i plan on adding catless downpipes and fmic and maybe even modding the exhaust by cutting out the cats and welding on straight pipes =).

[DJKhan85]

Originally Posted by cleex024

damnit im still trying to decide whether it really is worth it for the occasional spirited driver. plus im thinkin about trackin the car but maybe like once a year lol. so is it worth $2500 for the lsd?

Take this with a grain of salt as I might think differently than most here. The FIRST mod you should do is the LSD. Power mods are USELESS if you turn into a 1 tire fire. You will NOT regret the decision at all. I had the same concerns as you and was overjoyed the first time I took my car out for a "spirited drive". You can really feel the car react differently. Foul weather also becomes easy to deal with. I went through some treacherous snow storms this season thanks to my snow tires and LSD. I was seeing RWD cars just spinning their one wheel at stop lights.

There are a lot more choices than just Quaiffe and Wavetrak. Those are just the 2 most popular ones on this site. Both of those LSDs are torsen type LSDs. The OS GIKEN as mentioned above is a clutch type LSD. I think you should look up the differences before selecting one.

[cleex024]

Originally Posted by DJKhan85

Take this with a grain of salt as I might think differently than most here. The FIRST mod you should do is the LSD. Power mods are USELESS if you turn into a 1 tire fire. You will NOT regret the decision at all. I had the same concerns as you and was overjoyed the first time I took my car out for a "spirited drive". You can really feel the car react differently. Foul weather also becomes easy to deal with. I went through some treacherous snow storms this season thanks to my snow tires and LSD. I was seeing RWD cars just spinning their one wheel at stop lights.

There are a lot more choices than just Quaiffe and Wavetrak. Those are just the 2 most popular ones on this site. Both of those LSDs are torsen type LSDs. The OS GIKEN as mentioned above is a clutch type LSD. I think you should look up the differences before selecting one.

you are right that i should look into both before purchasing but already done =). i like the gear type lsd because it should last a lot longer than the clutch lsd and the clutch lsd supposedly is only slightly better than the gear one on the track. plus the gear type is much much more cheaper (pardon the grammar ). But ok you made up my mind...i am definitely going to get the wavetrack since it is almost equal to the quaife and cheaper =).

but i did have a question. how was it that i still slipped so much in my e46 m3 when i had the lsd already built in? guess the summer tires really didnt help =) but still i thought an lsd would help a little more but guess i didnt have a open diff to compare to then.

[DJKhan85]

Originally Posted by cleex024

you are right that i should look into both before purchasing but already done =). i like the gear type lsd because it should last a lot longer than the clutch lsd and the clutch lsd supposedly is only slightly better than the gear one on the track. plus the gear type is much much more cheaper (pardon the grammar ). But ok you made up my mind...i am definitely going to get the wavetrack since it is almost equal to the quaife and cheaper =).

but i did have a question. how was it that i still slipped so much in my e46 m3 when i had the lsd already built in? guess the summer tires really didnt help =) but still i thought an lsd would help a little more but guess i didnt have a open diff to compare to then.

you bring up a very good point. I will let you in on what I found when driving my car with the LSD for the first time in a parking lot.....when it was raining . The LSD does NOT magically give you more grip. That's more a function of your tires. If you take a turn without the lsd and floor it, not much will happen. Most of the power will spin away on the inside tire but you'd still be going in the same direction. In the same scenario you add the LSD and the back has more of a tendency to step out or slide. This may sound counter intuitive to what we want a LSD to do. The good news is that the rear end will step out in a very predictable way. This will actually help you go around a turn faster but it could bite you in the rear end much easier if you don't get used to it first(as I found out by doing a 360 as I was exiting said parking lot).

I can immediately feel the difference between my buddy's 335 auto with open diff. It just doesn't feel as controllable with the throttle mid turn.

[dzenno]

Wavetrac 'cause that's what I run

no, both Quaife or Wavetrac are really good and very similar if not the same build quality and lifetime warranty...i chose wavetrac for price

[DaFish]

Originally Posted by DJKhan85

you bring up a very good point. I will let you in on what I found when driving my car with the LSD for the first time in a parking lot.....when it was raining . The LSD does NOT magically give you more grip. That's more a function of your tires. If you take a turn without the lsd and floor it, not much will happen. Most of the power will spin away on the inside tire but you'd still be going in the same direction. In the same scenario you add the LSD and the back has more of a tendency to step out or slide. This may sound counter intuitive to what we want a LSD to do. The good news is that the rear end will step out in a very predictable way. This will actually help you go around a turn faster but it could bite you in the rear end much easier if you don't get used to it first(as I found out by doing a 360 as I was exiting said parking lot).

I can immediately feel the difference between my buddy's 335 auto with open diff. It just doesn't feel as controllable with the throttle mid turn.

My wavetrac is on it's way when I get my core.... you don't get more traction off the line and exitting a corner?