OK OK...how's this:
(Q)How do you identify Torsen's on a Miata without dissasembly?
(A)The Torsen won't turn both wheels when you turn the driveshaft. Sometime
if they are cold they will. One way is to take out the fill plug to see the
gears which is hard to do because of the angle. The foolproof way is to pull
the stub axle on the type 1 or the drive axle on the type two. If you don't
see a bar and can see directly thru the diff. it is a torsen. If there is a
bar, (spider gears) it's an open.
Mazmart has noticed that the type 2 Torsen diffs were put into production
during 3/1995. They are usually charactorized by the use of the single half
shaft that goes directly into the diff housing instead of the prior stub
shaft and flange mounting assembly.
(Q) What is the pros and cons of the Torsen vs the Competition clutch types.
(A)Torsen Type: Superior torque rating of both the diff and the ring/pinion
over the early unit. If longevity is an issue the Torsen is hands down the
winner. Comes with 4.10:1 gears in 94-97, 4.30:1 in '99. Best in autox
situations because it is basically an open diff until about 2/3's the way
through the corner then it locks the *outside* wheel to about 40-45%. The
Torsen action helps prevent a push in super tight corners. The one downside
of the Torsen is that if one wheel is completely off the ground (zero
traction) then the charactoristics of the Torsen will make it basically an
open diff, both wheels have to have at least some traction for the unit to
function properly.
Competition Clutch Type: Not all that great in autox situations because it
can cause a push at corner entry and power-on corner exit since it is always
in a lock state. Better for drag launches and track events where you will be
accelerating in more of a strait line than in autox. Still susceptible to
breaking the ring/pinion teeth of the weak early rear.
JASON...wh found the above info at the omnipotent www.miata.net
>
>OK OK
>Here is the true torsen test
>
>Park the car with one wheel on pavement and one on dirt if the dirt
>wheel Spins wildly you have an open diff, if the car gets more traction
>on the Road side and pushes towards the dirt you probally have a
>standard LSD, if both wheels get as much torque as they can handle and
>the car launches straight as an arrow then chances are you are torsen
>equipped..
>YMMV
>
>Jeff
>
>>
>>At 09:32 PM 3/9/99 -0600, Jason Powell wrote:
>>>Yup...all R's have Torsens.
>>>The easiest way to tell if you have a Torsen is stop the car...rev to
>>>redline...dump clutch and lay rubber. If you see two pretty much
>equal
>>>length marks you got a Torsen :-)
>>
>>That just tells you that you have a non-open diff. any decent limited
>slip
>>diff will do that when you dump the clutch.
>>
>>Karl
>>
>
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