Z1 LSD compared to others
 

Looking for info of the Z1 lsd vs quiafe and wavetrak....I cant seem to find much for comparison ....or really any info on lsd. When do people with boosted Zs switch out the lsd and when are signs of the VLSD being worn out.

https://www.z1motorsports.com/z1-pro...l-p-15815.html

For those wondering, this is probably the one he is talking about. Both it and the Quaife will operate similarly.

Neither them nor Quaife go into torque bias ratios, but I'm going to guess they are both somewhere between 2:1 to 3:1.

A good time to upgrade LSDs is when you are getting noticeable single wheel spin from a launch or spinning just your inside tire and not putting power to the outside one when powering out of a turn.

The Wavetrac acts very similarly to the Quaife with the exception that it will lock with one wheel in the air, whereas the Quaife will not.

Don't know anything about the Z1 diff except that I wouldn't buy one.

Yes that is the one .... not sure if I have one tire spinning or just losing traction to both ...tires are Michelin PSS 305/35/19 ..I will be switching to nitto NT05 but with 45k miles on the VLSD thought it might need replacing as well

Anything is better than the factory VLSD. It sucks.

The oem vlsd will open up when hot. When fresh, I could do about 30 minutes on the track before it got hot. With wear and tear. I was down to 10 minutes before it would give up the ghost.

The Quaife, WaveTrac, TruTrac, and the new Z1 are gear driven. If you jack up one wheel. The Quaife will open up. The Wavetrac will not. Don't know about the Z1 unit. The TruTrac doesn't fit the Z. Plus side on these is that you can use regular gear lube.

Clutch type like OS Giken, Cusco etc are tunable. You can set them up 1 way, 1.5 way, and 2 way. Plus you can change the amount of lock up. I have an OS Giken set up 1.5 way and 80% lock. The down side is that you have to use gear lube with the LSD additive. The OS Giken needs it's own lube. 75w-280. Which is $70.00 a liter. :eek:

I don't know about Z1 LSD, most likely it is a rebranded lsd. Helical is good for street and track, didn't use one on my Z but I liked it on my srt 392 (factory equipped).


I get the oil from Japan, $33 per liter + shipping. It is 80w250.

and a diff cooler, right?

Yep, plus the Z1 diff cover. 3 liters to do a lube change. $210.00. :eek:

does that cover really do anything? If you need a cooler anyways . . .

Noop, waste of money. Just get a cooler from MA-Motorsports. LOL

Will normal driving heat up the vlsd to where it won’t lock ....or do you need to be launching or tracking to heat it up ..trying to guess the were on mine ...only been to the drag strip once and the rest would be mild launches ...I would assume even a rolling launch would wear it down as well

The biggest problem with the VLSD on a boosted car is it is very unpredictable. It can get you in a heap of trouble quick. Go ahead and do a Z1, Wavetrac, or an OS Giken. You will thank us later. Best money you will ever spend.

I have been running a Wavetrac for quite a while and I not had any issues and it has performed as advertised. One of the pluses with Wavetrac is their lifetime warranty. The warranty is also transferable if you decide to sell it or it with the car.:tup:

The 3 I have been considering are the quaife..wavetrac and the Z1. Not sure about quality of Z1 ...they say it’s not a rebranded item but I don’t think they have a manufacturing department .. I wasn’t impressed with their road race clutch kit and had to replace it after 5k miles

How is the wave trac for daily driving ...any issues with low speed turning chatter ..tire wear etc

For daily driving, it is actually the best. The OS Giken is quite but will wear the tires more.

The reason I went with Wavetrac was because it is what the OEM should be. It just as quite and it has much superior performance. There is no chatter or binding like with a clutch type LSD. The maintenance is the same and you should not have any issues with heat unless you race on short winding tracks or frequent canyon roads like the Dragon.

Z1 is a generic Helical Geared Diff much like the Quaife but without the name brand or reputation, assuming a re-branded Kaaz or Tomei given the pricing. Wavetec is a much better type of geared differential for really not much more, I would have gotten it if I had known about it. The real question you should be asking is geared (Wavetech) or clutch type? Which, for me, is basically are you willing and able to adjust and tune your clutch diff setup based on your performance needs or do you want a pretty good one size fits all no maintenance diff?

From the info I think the geared style would be a better fit for me ....stock like maintenance less aggressive for daily driving and would perform well for occasional drag strip runs ...from the info on the clutch style ..they seem to be better for more track and drift setups and less daily driving .....if I’m understanding the info correct

OS Giken do just fine for daily driving as long as you use the OS Giken diff fluid. It does require more changes and a diff cooler if you track it or drive mountain roads. Wavetrac will be cheaper over time. It won't work as well but it will do good for the most part.

OS Giken is totally fine for daily driving, as long as you don't mind higher upfront cost and the much pricier diff fluid.

If my car were daily only, I don't think I'd be willing to justify the cost and just go with a Wavetrac or Quaife. Now, if I did want the characteristics of a clutch type LSD and also had to daily the car, the OS Giken would still be my first choice, because unlike other aggressive clutch LSDs I've tried in other cars, there's no perceivable lockup noises or binding on tight turns.

I have never put my Z on a road course, but I can say that I have never noticed my VLSD opening up in a straight line, as a forced induction street car. Sometimes when I tried to do donuts I would experience it opening if I didnt get the tires spinning good before starting to slide. But in a straight line, nope, not for me. 60,000 miles on my car.

:iagree:

My OS Giken is seamless for a DD. You don't know it's there until you smash the loud pedal. Then you are going places. :driving:

[QUOTE=phunk;3916130]I have never put my Z on a road course, but I can say that I have never noticed my VLSD opening up in a straight line, as a forced induction street car. Sometimes when I tried to do donuts I would experience it opening if I didnt get the tires spinning good before starting to slide. But in a straight line, nope, not for me. 60,000 miles on my car.[/


I don’t plan on putting it on a road course ...it would be dragstrip about every other week depending on work hours ...and the rest would be daily driving and street fun ....I would consider the 45k miles on the vlsd to be mild and it might not be “shot” ...all the info I get about the vlsd is that they are garbage ..and I’m sure the aftermarket lsd are much better without a doubt.
Are you still using your vlsd and how much abuse has it taken ?

I havent been driving my Z the last couple years as its always apart for R&D related activities. But for many years it was my only car. I beat the piss out of it. Justins Z ran the 9.9 and countless low 10 second passes on the stock VLSD also.

I think its reputation for being junk came from the road course community. I am not aware of any complaints to it opening in a straight line, and thus I dont see how one can perform better in a straight line. If they start to open up at higher mileage, I dont know... I can only speak to the cars I am involved in which have not had more than 60-70k on them

Anyone ever see the inside of one and can describe how it works internally? Sounds like there's static locking going on, which goes against how I understand the VLSD to work

My understanding is that the fluid worked reactively through shear forces generated by differences in wheel speed. Making it initially like an open LSD until one wheel spun differently from the other, and then open again when the fluid got hot enough that viscosity fell.

Your description matches my very basic understanding of them, but I have never studied them in depth since I haven't had any issues/concerns to inspire it. Im sure it happens much more quickly than our perception.. it wouldn't be worth having if it were to allow substantial one tire fires before waking up and locking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DscnU5bN9-8

This is about the best info I found about how it works ...but I don’t understand how it functions to lock

All I know is what I have experienced and for the most part phunk is correct. If you are going to stay on perfectly straight and flat roads you will not have a problem. What I experienced on straight roads with some bumps or undulation the car will steer to the side that is receiving the grip as the other side has to catch up. This can make the car very unpredictable under speed and acceleration. If this happens on a turn it can be just that more exciting. If you want to complicate things more, leave the VDC on so it can help you!

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Go watch YouTube on my channel. Spooler. If you want to see how a VLSD does look at the early videos and then check out the last ones. You will hear some one wheel peelers exiting the turns. If you were closer, I could take you out for a ride and show you why you need one. You might crap your pants but you will get the picture quick. You don't need a turbo car to feel the difference. A NA car does the same thing, it is just a little more forgiving.

mine has been good to me and stays straight as an arrow until the the wheels start spinning.. but its been a pretty tame car to hold onto during power oversteer for me. But I also have a very stock suspension so it isnt too twitchy. I dont think we would have 60's in the 1.4s if the diff was opening. YMMV, just never personally had one that opens.

You also got some driving skills too!

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I like to *think* im above average for a street driver guy... but you track junkies would destroy me.

I went with a Quaife a few years back when the Wavetrac wasn't so well known on our platform. I'm quite happy as compared to a base open diff, but I wish I'd gone with the Wavetrac. I don't like how when I try to get up a banked driveway and a wheel lifts I get no forward push. I've learned to deal with it on the rare occasion it does happen, but if you find yourself with a tricky driveway entrance/departure I'd go with the Wavetrac. When I'm driving I've never had an issue though.