re: limited slip is slipping!

From: J. Courtenay Brandon (jcbrandon@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Jun 11 2001 - 14:20:38 EDT


"Last year I had an Auburn LSD and 4.10 gears put in
my '95 Dak. I have been a little disappointed with the
performance of the unit. It will hook both tires no
problem when going straight but if I'm turning
(especially right turns) with any kind of throttle I
get the one wheel spin (whichever wheel has less force
on it i.e. the right wheel if I'm tuning right).
Anyways I was wondering if there is a way to adjust
the unit to grab harder."

Your limited slip is doing exactly what it is supposed
to do.

When you drive around a corner, your tires describe
two arcs of different radii. The inside tire makes a
smaller arc, the outside tire makes a larger arc. The
outside tire has to travel farther. Since your tires
are the same size, the outside tire needs to make more
rotations than the inside tire to arrive at the end of
the turn at the same time. The differential in your
axle allows that to occur -- it allows the two wheels
to turn at different speeds.

Your aftermarket limited slip is designed to enhance
straight-line performance -- at the expense of turning
performance. It is hooking up solidly when you drive
straight. It is also hooking up pretty strongly when
you make a turn. That is, your inside and outside
wheels are trying to turn at the same speed. So one of
them chirps. The limited slip is limiting slippage
inside the differential. But the laws of physics still
apply so something has to give. In your case it's the
contact patch on the inside tire. Your truck has
overcome the traction available at the inside tire and
it spins. If you had more traction it would be
difficult to make the turn.

You want less grab in the differential, not more.

-J.

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