from:larrybsp@aol.com (Larry Stark)
20 odd years ago I couldn't find an LSD for my DP MG Midget so
I tried a welded spool. I took 1 autocross run and almost killed a corner
worker at the first corner, Ricky Hines, who thank goodness was quick on his
feet.
I turned the wheel but the car went straight off course without deviating
from a straight line. I then paid big bucks back then to get a Detroit Locker,
the onlyLSD available for an MG Midget at the time. The locker was murder on
axles. Even custom "Winners Circle" race high strength steel axles would twist
and break. I used to paint white lines down the axle and pull them to check how
far they had twisted from the on /off shock loading from the Detroit Locker.
If they hadn't broken I replaced them when the axles twisted 45 degrees, an
expensive solution. When an axle broke, the Detroit Locker would shift all the
torque immediately to the other axle. Usually the shock loading broke the other
axle as well. Breaking alloy steel custom axles is not easy unless you had a
Detroit Locker. I had a stack of broken axles in my garage. Many broke at the
end of the spline engaging the differential which meant I had to pull the axles
and banjo to remove the axles ends broken in the locker. People who complain
about about a Torsen or Quaife don't know how easy they have it now.
Larry
|