has anyone ever put a Drexler LSD in a Contour?

[rollinstylee]

No results here or in the way old CEG archived sites for Drexler...just wondering if anyone is aware of this MTX75 diff being used in a Contour. It's wicked expensive but appears (from checking out their website) to be a real clutch-type LSD rather than the mechanical Torsen and Quaife options.
http://www.drexler-drivetrain.com/themes/drexler/Downloads/pricelist.pdf
Comments from the peanut gallery? :shrug:

 

[newb]

the trans in the focus' are different than what is in our cars. plus there is a reason guys switch from trac-loc to real lsd's

 

[rollinstylee]

I'm not familiar with the differences between the Focus and Contour diff...they're both MTX75s, so the differences must be small. Any details?

Also, it depends what you mean by a "real" LSD...mechanical diffs like the Torsen and Quaife are useless when the inside wheel leaves the ground. Properly designed and set up clutch diffs are king for racing.

 

[BrApple]

never heard of it..... so that might be the answer right there ....

 

[striker2]

1. none of the Focus versions listed use the MTX75 gearbox.
2. a clutch type LSD in a FWD car that is used for anything other than drag racing is a bad idea. there is a reason all FWD cars that are used on the street or track (other than a drag track) use a gear type LSD such as the Quaife or Torsen units.

a clutch type LSD will actually lock the 2 wheels together and force them to spin at the same speed. this makes going around turns nearly impossible and will cause massive understeer, especially if there is enough slip to engage the clutches and lock the wheels while the car is already turning.

 

[rollinstylee]

1. Third line under the Ford listing: "Ford MTX75 (Focus ~2003)"...
2. This generalization is completely untrue. Many a FWD national-prep autocross and touring series car has been equipped with a clutch diff, trust me. OS Giken, for example, is one of the most famous names in supplying top-level circuit cars of both FWD and RWD layouts with tailored clutch diff applications. It's all about the tuning, hence why I said "properly designed and set up" in my second post. Clutch diffs aren't the same as locking diffs; they are highly tuneable for progressive and degressive coupling characteristics under acceleration and deceleration, and when developed for a specific platform are the most effective and versatile type.

 

[striker2]

1. ok, missed that as i was looking for it under Ford Focus. in that case, that one would work.

2. while it is true that they can be setup to work well, it takes lots of time testing and tuning and changing the clutch packs/discs. thats not a big deal if you are a race team and thats all you do is spend your time tuning the car (and can replace most any part on the car in under an hour). but for a normal end user like you find on the forums, that requires lots of R&R of the transmission. nobody wants to do that more than they have to. while they may do the initial tuning, in this case it was done for a Focus. the weight difference alone will be enough that you would have to retune it for the Contour, not to mention the individual driver (since not everyone will like the same setup).

I dont see a reason to spend that kind of money on a diff when the Torsen and Quaife work very well already and are 1/4th the price.

 

[rollinstylee]

Yes, I agree it might need tweaking if used in the Contour, but there are people on here (and not on here) who currently and in the past road raced Contours, so it's reasonable to wonder if anyone had ever put the money and effort into it. It's too rich for my blood in relation to the car's value, but I am still curious about it since it was just brought to my attention by the Ground Control support guy I worked with to build my custom setup, and I'd never heard of it before.

 

[CSVT#49]

I've heard of these before actually. Terry Haines and I were talking about this at SZ08 IIRC. There are a few people over in the UK that are running these. Back then I seem to remember them being more in the range of $2800... looks like they are now $3074. They are better then the ATB Torsen and Quaife units, but you pay for what you get :shrug:

Oh and awesome pic on their webpage...