Interest in Group buy Micra LSD?

[CMF_Nissanmania]

I feel a good LSD is an important part of any performance upgrade and its frustrating that there are so few options for a Micra. If I can get 10 people interested in a group buy could get a Torsen style LSD custom made to fit the stock Micra crown wheel for $1200 organised through Errol at Datrats.

This sounds like a lot of money (and it is!) but if you've spent buckets of cash on a power and suspension upgrade it all adds up to naught if you can't put the power to the ground. A Torsen (toque-sensing) diff sends power equally to both wheels regardless of how much traction each wheel has. It will immediately transfer power to the wheel that is slipping. Because it acts as an open diff the rest of the time it doesn't "push" or understeer like clutch-pack style LSD's and so is suited to tight cornering.

Anyway, if I can get 10 or more interested parties we can put the theory to the test!

 

[CMF_White Knight]

Yes indeedie !! Have talked to Errol on and off about what sort of LSD would be most suitable for the Micra. I agree 100% with nissanmania and thanks mate for raising the issue through the site.
Put me down for one.I will also have a chat with Errol and see what can be done.

 

[CMF_Snoopy]

brilliant idea. put me down for one

 

[CMF_fred]

i would love one....but not now.....damn

 

[cisco]

Hey white knight, don't you run a 31 series gearbox now?

Will this micra's 30 series LSD center fit the 31 series? I'm not sure..

 

[CMF_Yom]

If it doesnt there are heaps of LSD's available for the 31a.

www.gccorp.com.au might have a Nismo item. I'm sure there's about 3 available in the USA with the most popular being a "phantom grip."

The only time I have traction problems in charlotte is when turning hard left, inside wheel spins up pretty violently. Turning to the right it doesnt happen. I can live with that. There's better things to put $1200 to - like 2 years of rego.

Which gets me one step close to a mini cooper. LSD... or cooper...

 

[cisco]

As far as I knew, NISMO only made LSDs for the 31V, because the 31V had the different LSD housing and LSD shafts.

I did a lot of looking into LSDs for my old 31A (that Tony has now) and the only one I could find was the phantom grip. And lots of people said they were quite dodgy. But I have no first hand experience to be able to know if that's true or not..?

 

[CMF_Nissanmania]

That's fantastic White Knight and Snoopy! Good to see there's interest in the concept. Just need a few more on board to make it happen.

The beauty of going down this route is you don't need to source a different box with all the compatability and availability issues this entails to get a LSD in your Micra. And you get to keep the stock Micra gear ratios.

I'm no expert on the various Micra boxes available but a Nismo upgrade is, I believe, only available for the Japanese and Euro spec boxes already with viscous LSD's - and they aren't cheap. There isn't enough room in a non-LSD box to put a strong LSD in (why Nismo don't make one any more apparently) other than a Torsen which is compact.

Even if you don't need a LSD now but think you'll need one for a planned buildup get it now. It could be a while - if ever - before another group buy like this happens!

 

[CMF_White Knight]

A lot of web sites regarding Torsen type LSDs. Interesting reading to say the least.

 

[CMF_GTRHOLIC]

hmmm.... excuse my ingorance, but what is 31a and 31v? ive seen these codes come up before when i search the auctions. but stay well away from them because i dont know what they are. also, do nismo lsds only fit the japanese cars? the more stuff i buy from japan for my micra... the more differences i find. ive got a collection of things now that only fit the japanese march. i dont want this collection to get any bigger. especially when its over a thousand bucks! you know nismo side indicators dont fit either!?

 

[CMF_Yom]

Referring to the gearboxes - RS5F31a and RS5F31v.

The a = open differential and the v = limited slip differential.

Our micras use the RS5F30a gearbox. The RS5F31a/v is a slightly larger unit. The 31a is found in 1.6L n14 and N15 Pulsars. Also some older Nissan (Pulsar) EXA models.

 

[CMF_Nissanmania]

Cisco, what about having a tab/page/section devoted to group buys. This way members can scan through a list of things without having to trawl through the forum once it drops off the home page. This would especially apply to big-ticket items that will take a while to get the numbers needed to get a buy happening.

 

[CMF_ayat]

i have a torque bias lsd on my micra and it takes corners lovely, torque biased lsd are probably the best for a street micra ie. tarmac driving, as one wheels rarely leaves the ground, i have the ap sure track from the micra challenge cars, they stopped using them in rallys as the they would send all power to one wheel when the other left the ground. definately a must for a high powered micra.

 

[CMF_kneival]

I dont know much about LSDs etc but I remember reading something about the speedo drive not working with them fitted. Is this true?

 

[CMF_ayat]

mine works fine

 

[CMF_White Knight]

I spoke with Errol and he is going to see what the price would be say for in lots of 5.Hopefully very little differance.

 

[CMF_GTRHOLIC]

would a standard japanese lsd fit our boxes? what about a k10 one? are they different?

 

[CMF_Nissanmania]

Yeah, I was thinking of same White Knight as we'll be battling to get 10 orders this decade. Even if its a few hundred more it will be worth it.

Ayat has pointed out the one weakness of Torsens - they don't operate once one wheel is off the ground. In a well sorted FWD tarmac car you should always lift the inside rear wheel on heavy cornering (mine does fairly easily)well before the inside front one does so this shouldn't be a problem.

I believe torque steer can be more pronounced in clutch pack type LSD's fitted in FWD which shouldn't be a problem in a Torsen fitted car.

 

[CMF_Snoopy]

Sorry to be a pain, but put me down as tenitive for the moment. Something stronger that I never thought would come up for sale was offered to me.