Tran-X Settings (Mild) For Road Use

[feb 47]

Having missed on a Quaife sale recently I am looking into plated diffs.

I drove my dad's Saxo years ago with one but what I didn't like is that the steering "locks" when pushing and doesn't return back to the straight unless you unwind it manually.

That was with a custom 30% plate diff made by someone.

 

Does a Tran-X behave the same? I hate torque steer like nothing else and the one above I tried gave me that feeling.

 

For a fast road/occasional track car which are the mild settings to use in a Tran-X?

 

The options I have seen are:

 

ramp angles: 30/60 or 45/45

plate settings 25-35 or 65-75lbs/ft

 

Anthony has kindly offered to try his if his car is ready next time I am around but being impatient I thought of looking around. I understand though that due to the previous experience I had in the past the best bet is to try one before parting with the money.

 

Cheers.

Edited April 2, 2011 by feb

[matt.f 16]

Plated diffs are a lot better than an ATB,fact.Not too sure if I'd have one in a road car with the excess noise and it's made my steering heavier and when coming off full lock it fires the steering wheel back round and weights up.I have no PAS though and will soon be getting it which will hopefully cure the problem.Awesome diff though,after every mod on my rallycar this is by far the best.It's set on lightweight 45/45

[welshpug 1,677]

IIRC Sarty had one of these in a box that miles built up, Miles does supply them afaik, so you could ask Miles

[Toddy 8]

Ask Tom Fenton what his settings are, I was surprised how good his red 1.6T was fitted with a Trans-X, no jerkyness or snatch.AllanAllan has one with Miles settings iirc, this was a little snatchy but still v good to drive,I went home with my bottom lip on the floor, considered changing my quaife for a plate diff.

 

I think when fitting a diff it is paramount to make sure every part of the suspension is in A1 condition,otherwise the diff will highlight the warn parts and feel worse than an open diff.

 

Feb - Do SBC only recommend the quaife for road use, or plate diffs as well?

Edited April 3, 2011 by Toddy

[feb 47]

Thanks guys, I have pointed Tom and this thread so hopefully he can shed some light.

 

@ Toddy, I have no idea to be honest.

 

As long as it is not snatchy and doesn't prevent the steering from self-centering when pushing then it sounds good.

 

In fact the lack of self-centering on the one I tried, the fact you had to unwind the steering manually to go back straight is what put me off.

Edited April 3, 2011 by feb

[Baz 421]

The self-centering could be massively dependant on suspension set-up, castor angles etc, rather than the diff.

 

Echoing above, don't even bother with a quaife, when i get mine back it will probably be up for sale.

[markw 1]

i think the question is what is the car going to be used for,

i have had most types of diff and in my opinion a quaife is better on the road than a plate diff,

if you are trying so hard on the road that you think the quaife is not locking up enough across both wheels then you need to get on a track because you will be travelling quite

quickly,

 

but on a track a plate diff leaves the ATB trailing, it can lock 100% which means the unloaded wheel will not be spinning the drive away like the quaife can.

 

i ran a gripper diff fitted with 60/30 ramp angles in my 180hp 8v sprint car,i did not like the 45/45 ramp angles as it unlocks to quickly and caused me massive lift off oversteer, the 60/30 RA unlock much slower the the 45`s, i also ran my car without power steering and it was fitted with a 320mm momo corse steering wheel, so yes it was heavy but it was not undriveable

 

cheers

 

mark

[Tom Fenton 1,561]

i think the question is what is the car going to be used for,

i have had most types of diff and in my opinion a quaife is better on the road than a plate diff,

if you are trying so hard on the road that you think the quaife is not locking up enough across both wheels then you need to get on a track because you will be travelling quite

quickly,

 

but on a track a plate diff leaves the ATB trailing, it can lock 100% which means the unloaded wheel will not be spinning the drive away like the quaife can.

 

Agree with this 100%. I have cars with both diffs in, ironically the track car has the Quaife and the road car the TranX. However the road car has enough torque that I think the Quaife would struggle. The Quaife in my eyes is nicer really for a moderate torque output (e.g. NA) road car, needs careful suspension setup to get the best from it, e.g. you need to keep the wheels on the road for it to work. For a turbo I have and would again choose a plate.

 

My TranX is on lightweight setting with 45 ramp angles, I don't find any problems with power oversteer but I do have a very wide track rear end and enough negative to keep the rear tyres contact patch even when pushing.