Upgrade Differential
 

Hey all, i know im not an E46 but the E39 boards brought no answers. Since the Supercharger my 1st gear has been impossible to launch so I've been looking either into either the Quaife or OS Giken LSDs. Any advice?

A Quaife will be great on the street, but will be worthless on the track. OS Giken are probably the best of the clutch diffs. If you go OS Giken, tell them what you're using it for, as the ideal settings for the track could suck when autocrossing, and drifting is another beast entirely.

just get the os giken but be ready to shell out some serious cash i think.. try looking into wavetrac also

What about in regards to reliability, still the same?

Where to start,

First lets throw out all the supposition that already might be in this thread.

I own & drive both a Quaife LSD equipped street car (330Ci) and a Diffsonline Variable Ramp-3 Clutch LSD for my 325i race car. That said, I won't be giving any supposition.

For street use you can't beat the Quaife. Maintenance free, no new noises, never needs to be rebuilt like a clutch type & always gives full traction unless one rear wheel is physically off the ground. If you go to a road race track, you may find that in really tight turns you'll get a little inner wheel slippage. But still much faster times on the clock when compared to an open diff. For a lot of autocross events I'd go with a custom diff from Diffsonline or an OS Giken. So if your on the street 95% of the time, the Quaife makes an excellent choice. When talking with any of these companies, tell them exactly how you plan on driving the car & what RWHP you have.



For Quaife, go here first & ask for a deal. Harold / owner.
http://hpashop.com/main.sc

For a custom setup or Quaife, Kaas or OS Giken. Dan / owner.
http://www.diffsonline.com/



Good luck.

OP, I also felt I had the same issue, and switch a few years back. With the S/C it has been a great package.

:thumbsup: Rob

+1 on the OS Giken LSD.
$1,800 plus install is not bad at all. I had the same problem as you with my SC - now I have been really happy with the OS Giken. Both rear tires now wear relatively evenly.

Jim

Where did you get it for 1800? diffsonline offers diffs by wild prices (2.5K+)....

Here.

OS Giken
http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-13...e39-6-cyl.aspx

Quaife
http://hpashop.com/Quaife-LSD-E46-3-...sd-bmw-e46.htm


But that is just the LSD unit, you still need to get it installed in the diff housing.

Ah, I see. Is installation DIYable?

Yes/No.

Anything is possible, but if you've never done it before, I wouldn't. Most consider it difficult, they need to be properly "shimmed". Kind of an art form.

You really want a mechanic who you KNOW has done plenty of LSD installs before. Once you get it back, you can save money by installing the diff housing in your Bimmer yourself.

So a Quaife (cheapest) plus shipping, plus a 3.15/3.23/3.38/3.46 used diff (if yours is a 2.93 or 3.07), plus labor = a bare minimum of $1800. Pray you don't need new bearings, $300.

Anyway, that's why most LSD's cost $2000-$3000 without blinking an eye.

Good luck.

I got mine a few years back for $2100 from Performance Gearing. They shipped a complete unit, that just needed oil. It took a couple hours to swap.

I actually found several DIYs of LSD installation (for 370z, merc, 1-series), sounds completely doable. Not sure about shimming (didn't see anything about it in those DIYs.

Actually, looks like swapping whole M3 rearend gonna be a much cheaper option...

Now they sell them for $2,250.00 (http://www.performancegearing.com/pricing.php). Also an option, thanks!

BTW, the OEM M3 LSD diff is what type? Is it like maintenance free, like Quaife or it wears like clutch type?

this was my first big DIY project starting out. It's actually pretty easy to do. Just a bit heavy.

Not too sure about building an entire unit, having to shim ans stuff

Yeah.... What kind of diff they use for their rebuilds? Quaife or something else?

I'm just trying to figure out is LSD worth of 2-3K or not.... I am not tracking my car at all....

This Video is what got me excited
 

:excited:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIH0V8pg8jk

OE M3 is a clutch-type, as are the Performance Gearing units.

I have a Performance Gearing LSD in my car, and I love it.