hey all,
was thinking of locking the diff in my 1200 rallycar as a cheaper alternative to paying $1400 for a slippery unit,i know this will cause it to understeer on tight corners but the way i drive i dont think i will have any problems getting the arse to come around.
i was wondering if locking the diff will cause there to be more horsepower lost through the drivetrain as opposed to an open diff.im running a t50 5 speed box so i need every one of the 120hp as it is

thanx

I've been told you can 'half lock' a diff by jacking up the rear, draining the oil and running it in top gear (with the back off the ground) for a while.
I dont suggest you do this...

that's creative...

here's another way ;) put car in reverse roll back shift in to forward, repeat, it's best if you do it while driving in a circle because you'll know it worked when the rear tires start chirping as you drive in a tight circle.

i don't recommend you do that either.

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I thought that would be called 'how to half #### a diff'???

I've never locked a diff myself but have driven a few cars with locked diffs and didn't really like it. But, for a rally car, I would do it. You can set it up so that you transfer a lot of weight so the outside to unload the wheel that would otherwise be fighting the car during cornering. But as you say if you flick it into corners this must help too.

120hp? that's quite good output for a 1200! Where in NZ are you?

hi...

i've locked the diff n the result is bad for normal driving condition but good for race/drift. juz make sure that u have a good set of suspension then u wont feel much the different. :)

I have had plenty of locked diff's running on a 3/8 mile clay banked oval track. It works well for that kinda racing , but I don't think you would wantto lock the diff. in a rally car, cause not every turn you make( left or right) are the same .If one of your tires ( left or right rear ) tires end up just a bit smaller in diameter then it will cause that particular tire to turn more revolutions than the other , then causing the rear of the car to want to step out even more than you anticipate (spinout) Limited slip diff's have their advantages in cornering, that is a fact.

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it has an a14 bored to 1460cc,so 120hp isnt a lot.im in timaru

alot of budget rallycars run locked diffs. go for it. It wil certainly be faster (and moreconsistent in its response) than an open diff.