FWD Lockable Differential

In a nutshell, is possible to install a lockable differential on a FWD
(Front Wheel Drive) vehicle? If so, what does it take and how does it
work?

wrote:
> In a nutshell, is possible to install a lockable differential on a FWD
> (Front Wheel Drive) vehicle? If so, what does it take and how does it
> work?

I don't think you wanna do that, that could cause some really nasty
handling characteristics. If you're trying to minimize wheelspin
something like a Torsen might be a better choice.

nate

"N8N" > wrote
> wrote:
>> In a nutshell, is possible to install a lockable differential on a FWD
>> (Front Wheel Drive) vehicle? If so, what does it take and how does it
>> work?
>
> I don't think you wanna do that, that could cause some really nasty
> handling characteristics. If you're trying to minimize wheelspin
> something like a Torsen might be a better choice.

A few - very few - FWD autos come/came with LSD. Nissan did
quite a few (Maxima, Sentra SE-R). I believe some Acuras have
them...

You would *NOT* want a locking diff - you wouldn't be able to steer.
Notice that, while some 4WD vehicles have locking center and rear
diffs, none (that I know of) have locking front diffs for that very reason.

Floyd

What is a Torsen?


<<<<I don't think you wanna do that, that could cause some really nasty
handling characteristics. If you're trying to minimize wheelspin
something like a Torsen might be a better choice. >>>>

wrote:
> What is a Torsen?
>
>
> <<<<I don't think you wanna do that, that could cause some really nasty
> handling characteristics. If you're trying to minimize wheelspin
> something like a Torsen might be a better choice. >>>>
>

http://www.torsen.com/products/products.htm

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential10.htm

come on, man, google is your friend.

nate

--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

Nate Nagel > wrote in
news:1118359499.96c2264dbc906e09f62e96dbda8aa303@t eranews:

> wrote:
>> What is a Torsen?
>>
>>
>> <<<<I don't think you wanna do that, that could cause some really nasty
>> handling characteristics. If you're trying to minimize wheelspin
>> something like a Torsen might be a better choice. >>>>
>>
>
> http://www.torsen.com/products/products.htm
>
> http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential10.htm
>
> come on, man, google is your friend.
>
> nate
>

TORSEN;TORque-SENsing differential,a brand-name version of a limited-slip
diff.

There are 2 or 3 different types of limited slip differentials available
for FWD cars,at least for Hondas.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

I see lots of FWD vehicles on this list:

http://www.quaife.co.uk/catalogue/page5.htm

> You would *NOT* want a locking diff [in front] -
> you wouldn't be able to steer.

Not sure why not. What it "locks" is the gear part -- it re-integrates
the differential, if you will. The linkage part outboard of that isn't
involved, right?

Anyway, I would expect steering to be weird and tire carnage to be
awful if you left it locked up in normal driving. Thus front lockers
are almost always the selectable type.

They are installed by yer more extreme off-roaders, especially those
who go in for steep and rocky terrain where you really, really don't
want to either lose the only bit of traction you've got or suddenly
dump a whole lot of power into a big tire and wheel spinning free in
the air.

Rear lockers of various sorts are a bit more common. Chevy Avalanche
and Toyota PreRunner are examples of factory vehicles that have lockers
back there, if I'm not mistaken.


Anyway, the point is probably moot for front-wheel-drive passenger cars
-- hard to imagine why anybody would make, or want, a locker for one.
True lockers in the front are for a hardcore subset of off-roaders.

Some front-wheel-drive passenger cars are available with limited-slip,
but that's probably best ordered from the factory than retrofitted.
Dunno if a late-model Taurus, which presumably is in question here, had
that option.

Cheers,
--Joe

Daniel J. Stern wrote:
> I see lots of FWD vehicles on this list:
>
> http://www.quaife.co.uk/catalogue/page5.htm

A Quaife isn't a locker, I believe it's just a clutch type LSD.

nate

--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

"Ad absurdum per aspera" > wrote
>> You would *NOT* want a locking diff [in front] -
>> you wouldn't be able to steer.
>
> Not sure why not. What it "locks" is the gear part -- it re-integrates
> the differential, if you will. The linkage part outboard of that isn't
> involved, right?

Well, it's not clear what the OP wants - LSD or (completely) locking
diff. I interpret "locking" to mean that the speed of the left and right
wheels is the same - that's certainly what a locking center and
rear diff do. In that sense, locking the front diff would make it
*VERY* hard to steer a FWD car.

Floyd