LSD choice for street use 3.2 Carrera ?

[PorscheRally]

Originally Posted by Matt Monson

Hi guys...

Been a busy start to the new year, so not on the board much the last few days. Our LSD for 915 runs $2500. They are in stock.

That said, I don't know that it's worth the extra $1000 over a TBD for a street car. I run a TBD on my 914. They are great on country roads. You just need see the speed or threshold braking on the street that warrants the lock up under braking that the LSD provides. TBD should be fine. I'd pick a Quiaffe over a Wave-Trac. Though we also make TBDs. People just don't often realize that because the LSD is our claim to fame.

Regards,

Matt

Hi Matt,
Thank you very much for sharing your opinion.
Why would you pick Quaife over Wave-trac ? I was thinking that Wave-trac has a better feature in terms of response.
Also, could you please let me know your pricing for the GT TBD ? Is your product different than the other in terns of technology or just better materials ?
Regards,
Kerem

[Matt Monson]

Hello Kerem,

I think the Quaife is better made and has a better track records than the Wavetracs. Racers are funny. They always want to brag about their trick new part. But when they fail, they don't tell anyone it happened. And they almost never post about it on the internet. I know of a handful of Wavetrac failures. Quiafes break too sometimes, but if it does, getting warranty service out of the UK will be simpler than the States given your location. I also think after duties, the Wavetrac will cost a fair bit more than the Quaife.

My TBD is back ordered for a couple months. We've got some more popular products that are currently being made and taking up our production capabilities. When they are finished they'll be $1500. They are better materials and tolerances than the others, in our opinion. However, I also like to make sure people understand that we don't put warranties on our parts. They are for racing. Things break racing. We absolutely guarantee the materials and workmanship are correct when it goes in, but we like to say that there's a 1 lap warranty on things. However, our stuff pretty much doesn't fail. I won't say never because only a fool or a liar would speak in such absolutes.

I've dealt with exactly one broken TBD since I bought the company from Paul (Geary who posted above) 7 years ago. It's in a Formula car running a 915 gearbox and he actually wore it out. The car owner doesn't want to accept that is what he did, but in 4 seasons of racing he wore the heat treat off the gears, just like happens to regular gears inside a 915. I don't consider that a premature product failure, even though it did in fact break teeth.

[cliyde]

Been running a Wavetrac in my 915 for several years now and LOVE it for street and track use. Predictable "lock" during oversteer condition at high speed and or low speed in very tight turns (stop light 90 degree). Highly recommend!!!

Originally Posted by Berk

Has anyone used Wavetrac lsd? I installed tons of them on BMW/VW/Audi crowds and had nothing but great experiences.

[restauraciones]

I have install a 930 OEM LSD, that they borrow me and I didn't like it, mostly use on the street, and turning going uphill it just looks and makes it hard to drive it.

Maybe if my car was meant for track day or racing I could felt on tight turn trying to loose the back, when that happens you just press for more gas and the car goes wherever you want to go, but like I said, it depends on you driving style. I my case I didn't like it. off course I can try to adjust it but I will come to set it very light and it would loose the porpoise of the LSD.

[Geary]

I just read Matt's post above for the first time, and felt I should relay feedback I received during my decade or more selling TBDs in the Porsche market. NO TBD is indestructible .. and in fact NO TBD can compare longevity-wise to an LSD in any application, especially in a PRO-LEVEL rear-engined Porsche race car. (I use the term LSD loosely .. I of course mean a quality LSD, not a Chinese one.)

Greg Brown's experiences emphatically called out the weakness of TBDs well over 10 years ago in one of his infamous Rennlist posts. Porsche testing since then has time and again reconfirmed these weaknesses.

Alex Job / Jeff Gamroth borrowed one of our GT TBDs (which I consider to be the highest quality made Porsche TBD available BY FAR) for testing about 12 years ago, and returned it in a completely worn out condition. This was after a single race weekend.

Autocross and Club level track racers can get away with using a TBD for many years, but only because their cars don't tax a TBD's internals like a PRO-LEVEL race car does. What isn't seen is that the individual gear pockets are continually wearing egg-shaped, and effectiveness of the TBD slowly goes away along with the concentricity of those gear pockets.

Even in VW Vanagon track racing (which I probably follow now more than Porsche), TBDs don't hold up. For rear-engined track cars, you cannot improve longevity-wise over a true high quality LSD. Period.