Quick ? about LSD

[MazdaSpeed0020]

Well I live in Colo and was trying to get out of my driveway after it had snowed for two days. I couldnt get out so I had my girl give a little push and when I finally got out she told me that my right front tire was not moving. I was giving it around 2500 to 3500 rpm to get the tires spinning a little bit but I was surprised when I heard this because I thought with the LSD that both tires would spin. Any reason this did not happen?

Matt

[rocketspeed]

My understanding of the LSD is that it works as torque is applied to it. Because you were on a really slick surface, you couldn't apply enough torque to it to get the LSD to really activate and send power to the other wheel. The wheels can't always turn at the same speed, or you coudn't go around corners. Other folks will be able to get more specific.

[MazdaSpeed0020]

My understanding of the LSD is that it works as torque is applied to it. Because you were on a really slick surface, you couldn't apply enough torque to it to get the LSD to really activate and send power to the other wheel. The wheels can't always turn at the same speed, or you coudn't go around corners. Other folks will be able to get more specific.

That makes sense, I did not know if the LSD was activated by the torque or not. But since there was ice on the ground it does make sense now. Thanks for the reply. If anyone has any other information please let me know.

Matt

[KyRaceFan]

i was out drifting and sliding in some snow, and had a friend drive the car so i could get an up close and personal show of the HKS BOV i have. Both tires were spinning.
And both of your tires should be too.

Rocketspeed, you are correct, its a TORSEN clutch type LSD, which means that as one tire loses traction, torque is applied to the other wheel to even the distrubution.

[MazdaSpeed0020]

i was out drifting and sliding in some snow, and had a friend drive the car so i could get an up close and personal show of the HKS BOV i have. Both tires were spinning.
And both of your tires should be too.

Rocketspeed, you are correct, its a TORSEN clutch type LSD, which means that as one tire loses traction, torque is applied to the other wheel to even the distrubution.

So would there be something wrong with my LSD then if only one wheel was spinning? Because she said that one wheel did not spin at all, even when I got up higher in the rpm range.

Matt

[jred321]

both wheels should have been spinning

[jaymode]

The other day I was driving to a friend's house and on his street there was still some white/brown slush stuff on the ground. I am on stock tires, expecting them to slip, but not as bad as they did. I was moving at around 2000 rpms in 2nd gear and just trying to stay at that speed but when I went through the rpms went up to like 4500-5000 and felt like just the left front tire was spinning, did not seem as if there was much lsd action. Is that normal?

[MSP2746]

My car only spins one tire too. I thought my LSD was just messed up, now I'm wondering if everybody's isn't that way...

[jred321]

our road is pretty much pure ice and a little hill. when i start up it, at first only one tire spins, then you can feel the lsd grab and both spin, then i start moving usually. although i can see if you have absolutely no traction there might be issues. hmmm, someone who knows this stuff better should chime in soon.

[MikeyG_U2]

This is a common problem for Torsen-type diff's. They transfer torque, and if you have zero traction you have zero torque, so nothing to transfer:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential8.htm

[KyRaceFan]

This is a common problem for Torsen-type diff's. They transfer torque, and if you have zero traction you have zero torque, so nothing to transfer:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential8.htm


Good point.
When i was referring to my car spinning both, the car was moving forward, but if the car was sitting in place, this is true.

[MSP2746]

Awesome link Mikey!

One part on that page that's especially usefull is this:

"The HMMVV, or Hummer, uses Torsen® differentials on the front and rear axles. The owner's manual for the Hummer proposes a novel solution to the problem of one wheel coming off the ground: Apply the brakes. By applying the brakes, torque is applied to the wheel that is in the air, and then five times that torque can go to the wheel with good traction."

[yellerandahalf]

Yeah, the way I get both my wheels to get moving is i rev it a bit, give it a tad bit aggresive clutch engagement to give it some torque, so now both wheels are spinning, then back off the throttle and use the clutch if you have to to slow the wheels down enough to get them to stop spinning. P.S. This is not a ford or chevy-style "locking" diff, it is a torque-sensing, "torsen" diff. Try it out, see if it works for you.

[MazdaSpeed0020]

Well the problem I was having was that I was moving forward, it was not at a fast rate, it was pretty damn slow, but I would have figured that I could have gotten out of the mess with the LSD kicking in, and the fact that my gf told me the tire was not spinning made no sense to me. I dont think anything is wrong with my LSD, shit I only have around 7k miles on my car.

Matt

[mspracer21]

yesturday i had the same problem i was stuck in a parking lot by myself no one around but both of my tires were spinning i could tell cuz i saw the snow flying up in the air from both tires. and by the way no one was around when i was trying for like 20 min to get out then as my tires get traction and i was pull back someone come to my window and ask me if i need help.....errrrgh.