Suzuki Club UK

do they completely lock the diff up like welding it and are they safe.and has any body welded a diff.what are they like to drive with

Hi,

The lock right diffs aren't locked all the time. They lock if you put tension on them I believe...
So if you drive around sensibly, it will stay unlocked... Then when you give it the beans in will lock.

I've heard they can be interesting driving with them on the road! Just be aware that if you boot it while going round a corner, the diff might lock and get you powersliding

They work like this: the diff isn't a "diff" but a pair of gears that slot into some side gears. Without power added, they don't engage properly and "freewheel".

When you add power, the power is transferred from the ring gear into the "diff" by means of a large pin. This pin is in an eliptical hole between the pair of gears. As you add power, it moves around inside the eliptical hole towards one of the narrower ends, forcing the two gears apart slightly and forcing them to engage the side gears properly. The more power you add, the less likely either side will slip - or to put it another way, the more "locked" it is.

Because of this, most people suggest you lift off on a corner, to give it the chance to differentiate (or should that be sliperentiate?) which tends to make a lot of noise as the gears and the side gears click and clunk past one another.

I havn't used one, but I know people who have. All I can say is that I imagine they make hillstarts on a corner "interesting"...

I'd like one up front eventually, as I can just unlock the hubs when on road and it won't cause me any trouble, and then a true locker (KAM perhaps?) in the back.

We'll see if I ever manage to get enough cashola together for that!

Found a vid where someone explains it much better than I just did:


Click Here for Youtube Video

I only drive mine every so often green laning etc.mite just weld it and see wot its like

I would advise against a welded rear diff if its going to be used on road. I don't think its actually legal as well.

A mate of mine (well, a mate of a mate) welded his rear diff, in his SWB Pajero. Performed like a champ offroad (very little could stop the wee beastie) but he couldn't live with it on the road, and he didn't live far from where we P&P.

Essentially you scrub the tyres on every single corner, and very often the tail comes out because you're causing the back end (which is the lighter end, remember) to loose 50% of it's lateral grip.

The lockright is a MUCH better idea, and for £200ish (I'm pretty sure jimnybits is selling them for about that) you don't have much of an excuse to weld the rear instead of lockrighting it.

If you don't have £200, leave it alone until you do. Seriously. Besides anything else, you'll save yourself more than £200 in tyres over the lifetime of the locker.

My mate has a Capri that he drifts everywhere.... nothing broke since he got the car, then he welded his rear diff. 3 days later it went pop!!!

i've got a welded diff on my e30, been through 2 diff mount bushes and 2 sets of rear tyres in the last month just through daily driving, without skidding it at all haha

nathan.stevens wrote:without skidding it at all haha

Yeah right