Rear Welded Diffs & Anti-Sway combo

[Minh]

This is a question for the garage monkeys.

Can the Roadster's Diffferentials be welded? I am looking for a LSD solution...

I just read that the old TR7 racers welded their diffs to stop slippage. The side effects of that is a lot of under steer. However coming off the corner with the welded diffs rocked.

After reading that little factoid something "clicked," becuase I remember a while our old buddy Will posted another factoid that when he installed his rear anti-sway he got a lot of over steer. Hence, he remoeved the darn thing.

Therefore a hypothesis: With both the welded diffs and the rear anti-sway bar installed this combination might work out to be a splendid solution...

Can anyone comment?

[toolsnob]

If you have ever read a off road magazine some of those guys will weld the diff for trail only rides. You cannot steer on the street with a welded diff with out ruining your drive tires. Your steering will be greatly hampered because of it also. It is kinda of like trying to drive a 3 or 4 wheeler on drive pavement.

[TR]

Yep, it is impossible to manuever in a parking lot with a welded diff...TR

[Minh]

Ahh... That answer that...

Thanks guys...

[Chris C]

Several racers (myself included) have welded diffs in their roadsters. I don't have any problems driving through tight paddock spaces (even with wide, sticky slicks). Pushing the car, however, is a real pain, unless you are going in straight line.

Before I actually got the car on the track, I was concerned about the potential understeer with the welded diff. The way my car is set-up, the understeer is just about right. Autocross guys would want a little less understeer, but as speeds increase, understeer goes down. High speed oversteer isn't fun, and it's not fast either.

From a historical standpoint, racers started welding the roadster's diff when they started having problems getting the LSD to live. With modern synthetic lubricants, this would probably be less of an issue.

If I was autocrossing seriously, I'd see some real value in using an LSD setup. The welded diff works well for the road racers.

Chris Coker
Royal Oak, MI
SPL311-24529 '69 1600
SCCA GP 1600 race car
www.risensonracing.com

[TR]

Hey Chris,

Thanks for the info! It is always good to hear from someone who has actually made the modification...

Do you get weird tire scrub or anything in the paddock? Whenever my rear diff in my truck has not released and I am making the exchange from mud to asphalt, I can barely turn without the back tires scrubbing and hopping...Thanks again for the info, TR

[Chris C.]

When I push the car around in the paddock, you definitely hear the rear tires 'fighting' against each other. It literally takes 2-3 people to push the car around, if you need to make tight corners. Once the car is under power, you don't notice a thing, but the exhaust is pretty loud.

Glad my 2 cents was helpful.


Chris Coker
Royal Oak, MI
SPL311-24529 '69 1600
SCCA GP 1600 race car
www.risensonracing.com