Which LSD?

[Shinigami]

Hi everyone,

I "need" to get an LSD for my '83 Levin, but I have no idea which one to get. I'm in Japan, so I seem to have a lot of choices.

I've ruled out stock or TRD ones becuase I've heard they won't hold up as well, however I'm open to all opinions.

From what I've seen so far they range from Kaaz at the lower end (about 65,000 yen) to Cusco on the high end (around 85,000 yen) There was another brand in between which I can't remember right now.

Not sure if it matters, but this is not going to be a drifting car. It will be a normal circuit/street car.

[Brian]

Any LSD will work fine. Stock diff doesn't lock very hard, and has somewhat fragile 2-pinion construction, especially when coupled with modern sticky tires or dori-dori action.

For motorsports type use, you will definately want a four-pinion diff, and that generally means TRD, Kaaz or Cusco.

In streetability terms, where smooth lockup is desired, I rate them thus:

1. TRD
2. Kaaz or Cusco RS
4. Cusco MZ

The nicest part of the Cusco diffs is that they can be converted from 1.5-way to 2-way without any extra parts. It does entail teardown of the unit, so you decide which you want before installation.

As for diffs not 'holding up' it depends on how you abuse them. For general street use and occasional shenannigans, they'll all be fine. And when they wear to the point it bothers you, you can disassemble and shim them up tighter again, but that won't usually be required for tens of thousands of kilometers.

[Shinigami]

Hi, thanks for the info. There's also a company called Tomei selling them, but from their website it looked like they were specifically designed for drifting, whatever that means.

I'm kind of getting cold feet about LSD now... I want to be able to power through corners, but I have no idea how easy the car is to control when it locks up?

Any advice on driving styles suited for 1,1.5, and 2 way LSD? I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around why one would want lock-up when decellerating.

Again any comments are appreciated since I've never driven a car with LSD.

[Brian]

You'll be fine. Just take it easy in the corners for a week after you install, and that will be that. Avoid abrupt throttle movements (jerky shifting) before turning and you won't go sideways unless you WANT to.

A Cusco RS 1.5-way or a TRD will be most streetable, and easiest to learn to drive.

We set up a lot of these here, and nobody really has problems. Just take it easy for your first week. That is all.

An LSD doesn't automatically make your car a drift car. Most american muscle cars come stock with an LSD. Doesn't make it a drift car.

[Brian]

ps remember to unwind the steering sooner when you power out of a turn. that's all.

[Shinigami]

Thanks for the help. Do you happen to know a part number for the Cusco? Looking on Yahoo Auctions (Japan) it looks like Zenki ones are...

LSD130F
LSD130F2
LSD130L15
LSD130L2 ... depending on 1&2 way or 1.5&2 way.

Might just go Kaaz because cheaper if you think they're all pretty good.

Meanwhile, my car has deeper problems at the moment. Getting Land Cruiser-ish gas mileage out of the 4A-GE...

[okinawalevin]

I've had both TRD and Cusco

If you want a LSD for daily driving, I'd go with the TRD

My Cusco feels similar to a welded diff, pops when making sharp turns, awesome for sliding the car (dunno about circuit)

I do have a spare Kaaz in my shed, haven't had any problems with the cusco since I put it in back in 2002, so so far I haven't had to use the spare (knock on wood). And I beat the shit outta my cars

Look on Yahoo Auc. sometimes you can find a decently priced TRD