What A Difference That Has Made

[Bigtimmy 1]

Well on Friday afternoon the parcel man turned up at work and had a nice little box for me with a shiny new Trans X diff courtesy of Miles.

 

Saturday saw some grinding, fitting, grinding, fitting, coffee, grinding, fitting, biscuits, re fitting and finally some beer.

 

Sunday saw the subframe go on, the driveshafts go in, new seals, (to replace the one that was the wrong way round!) brakes and hubs on and a bit of a trundle.

 

WOW

 

That drive was the high point so far of my limited time in 205 ownership.

 

I took it vaguely easily as I am running the diff in, but today I enjoyed a "spirited" drive to Pwllheli and back. Having not driven the car in about a month it was great to get behind the wheel again, but the diff...wow it just made the whole experience that much better again.

 

There is a corner on the journey which is taken at about 50 - 55mph in a "normal" car, slightly faster if your'e brave, I nudged 70 today on the apex and then planted it and was pulled further towards the apex with a stupid grin and possibly a giggle or two!!

 

Then I went back to running in mode and I have to say it still made me chuckle as even in normal driving you still know the diff is there when you pull away.

 

So, some more running in this week, I'll see if I can put 100 - 150 miles on it before taking it to Ty Croes on Saturday for a track day.

 

If you don't have one buy one!

[Baz 421]

Pretty fun aren't they, physics defying almost!!

[All Praise The GTI 3]

i totally agree. totlly transforms the car. now i can drive

[harryskid 193]

Know the feeling you won't want to drive one with it again!

[Bigtimmy 1]

Another 40 miles completed this evening in the newly diffed car....wooow wow wow woow wow woop woop woweee!

 

It just makes me smile like a 4 year old at Christmas when it realises Santa has delivered exactly what it wants!!

 

I now have contol over the biscuit tin and it goes where I want it to

[Bigtimmy 1]

Well I've done my 150 miles which involved a 50 mile round trip today and oh boy the car is uncomfortable in "the real world" I spent probably just over an hour in the car which I have discovered is about enough!!

 

A mixture of roads and speeds, from town driving to nice, newly tarmaced bypass and some excellent country lanes to make me smile!!

 

So its a fluid change and a wash tomorrow followed by some loading up and then job done, early start on Saturday!

[davey sprocket 14]

Well I've done my 150 miles which involved a 50 mile round trip today and oh boy the car is uncomfortable in "the real world" I spent probably just over an hour in the car which I have discovered is about enough!!

 

A mixture of roads and speeds, from town driving to nice, newly tarmaced bypass and some excellent country lanes to make me smile!!

 

So its a fluid change and a wash tomorrow followed by some loading up and then job done, early start on Saturday!

 

What's uncomfortable about it?? Has the diff made the car less usable day to day or is it other modifications that have made it unpleasant??

[omega 82]

Well I've done my 150 miles which involved a 50 mile round trip today and oh boy the car is uncomfortable in "the real world" I spent probably just over an hour in the car which I have discovered is about enough!!

 

are you saying that this is not a good mod on a daily driver?

what makes it uncomfortable?

[harryskid 193]

He might mean hes got to hang on to the steering a lot more especially on fast take offs!

[welshpug 1,662]

probably needs better damping if its uncomfortable (but that would undoubtedly be rather more uncomfortable to the wallet....)

 

but as always, its a compromise, what works well for a track car wont work necessarily work for a rally or road car, and then you have Gravel

 

 

always wondered what it would be like driving the roads of North Wales, having been bought up and ridden my bike a lot up there

[Bigtimmy 1]

what makes it uncomfortable for long distances is the Sparco Pro ADV seat, the harness, the 300lb springs and Gaz Golds, the 24mm torsion bars and solid mounts at the back.

 

Like Welshy says it's a compromise.

 

Omega & Davey S, it's a superb mod and as a daily driver you don't really notice it until you "press on" which is ideal. My car is very much a track car for occasional road use just to test new mods and run stuff in....like the diff

With the suspension mods I have made which are ideal for the track, it makes it even more of a rattlebox than a standard 205...but however uncomfortable it might be I still get in and out of the thing with a stupid grin like a 4 year old!!

[DrSarty 90 1 Cars]

As has been said, a plate diff is a compromise, just like any diff is.

 

Goliath speaking to me on the phone last night said how he clearly remembers being in my 2.2 Mi round the 'Ring last year, experiencing a plate diff for the first time. He can't get one currently for his V6 conversion as it's not cost-effective.

 

He certainly remembers it with a smile, powering through corners.

[matt.f 16]

Awesome arnt they,completely transforms the car.

[Bigtimmy 1]

Well I used it on the track yesterday for the first time, and when the car was running and not pissing oil or falling to bits I managed 96 miles of on track diff induced fun.

 

It really does require a different driving style but the rewards are HUGE and the car was amazing and easily controlable especially on the limit (and possibly a bit beyond it too!)

 

There were a few Saxos and Clios there, although it was a super quiet day with about 20 cars.

 

They couldn't keep up, even the 197 Clio, although it was a new 10 plate on road tyres. I had a funny chat with the guy driving it.

 

After overtaking him and then just leaving him lap after lap we ended up in the pits together and the conversation went

 

Me - So its a Clio Sport what now?

 

Him - 197 mate

 

Me - Nice, it looks well

 

Him - Thanks, whats in yours? Mi16?

 

Me - No mate its a pretty standard 8 valver with about 130 brake, but I'm not scared like you!!

 

Him - Fair point mate it was new 3 weeks ago and it's on HP

 

Me - Mine was 3.5k and if it crashes it crashes!

 

Awesome, the look on his face was just priceless.

[James_R 3]

The diff just gives you the confidence to flick it in to the corner with a "I'll sort it out on the throttle" mentality the semi's and suspension will be giving you the huge performance difference that and the 300kgs less lard on board!

 

Defo worth throwing money at a sub 4kgs flywheel for bang per ££ performance gain