I finally put in my Quaife'd transmission last night. Thanks to Mike (Cumalot) for helping me, he's also a great lost part hunter! I ordered the Quaife from Cattman Performance back in September, but have been dragging my but a bit on the install.

First over all impression is very good. I was just able to do a little driving around last night. I can tell you that through turns the car grips like MAD!!! It pulls you through and straightens out very nicely!!! If your an auto-crosser this is for you!!!

I'm more of a drag racer though. I did a medium launch on my morning drive into work. The car hooked up quite nicely. I still lost traction as 1st gear wound out and the boost built up, but it wasnt as bad as with out the Quaife. This helps keep the car accelerating much better in first gear, so when I shift into second it dosent bog because I spun through first completly and land in 2nd at a low rpm. What was most notable was that it was much easier to control the launch. Clutch modulation seemed to be easier and since both wheels were pulling it was easier to keep the car going straight. Once I relearn my launches I'm sure it will improve even more. I also still get a little rip into second but thats it, after that it hooks and go's! Before the Quaife I would just spin through second also. Ahhhh the good ole days

Weather permitting I am going to the track this Saturday to give the Quaife a good work out. My last 60 foot times were in the mid to high 2.1's. Im guestimating I should see low 2.0's to high 1.9's. I have not done any other power mods to my car since the last visit to the track so the comparisson will be a fair one. My best ET so far was a 13.6 @ 102mph ,with any luck low 13's on street tires should be no problem. I did install a little bitty 25hp shot of intercooler in a bottle to use after I test out the Quaife and get my launches down. With that I'm thinking 12.999 or better We shall see!!!

 

AWESOME.....my car should be back today with my quaife'd tranny

I CAN'T wait to try it out with my NOS...

 

drugs are bad.. mmmkay..

 

Quaife is ordered... :-D

 

No more torque steer(ie... pulling to the left?)

 

Good to hear Matt. Since you just put the Quaife on, it will take you awhile to get use to it. I'm sure once you get use to it, you will get the most out of the Quaife. Happy motoring.

 

Wooohooo, PARTY

Gesh so many people are getting this that I am am now looking into it. Man you guys stink, the longer I am on the org the more money I spend

 

Gotta love having a LSD.

 

The term LSD (limited slip differential) on a Quaife is kind of a misnomer. A LSD such as the design that uses the clutch packs or the viscuous design simply prevents the 2 wheels from spinning by interlocking them at certain times. The Quaife is much more complex then that is, as it is able to bias the power from one side of the axle to the other side. One thing I had to get used to was if you nail it around a turn it acts much differently then before.

 

Quaife calls it an *Automatic Torque Biasing* Differential instead of an LSD. I've got more drive time with it under my belt, now, and the feedback I'm reading about the car being planted in the corners could not be more true. I thought my car was well-planted before, but this ATB helps my car go around curves like you can't believe. I think the whole suspension system behaves much better than before. When other cars are braking through corners and curves, I'm accelerating through and coming out straight (in complete control) without so much as a squeak from the tires. My straight-line acceleration still needs some help. But now, my car corners like a champ. If you don't have one of these ATBs now, go getcha one today! Have fun with it...

 

so where is the cheapest place to buy one and how much should I expect to pay for an install?

 

The only place that sells the Quaife for the max, is Cattman www.cattman.com, I think. Not sure on cost of install...I wish I had $$$...

 

install will cost $500-$700....

 

Bearings, seals, shims etc cost ~under 150
Speciality tools, dial gauge and multi position arm, and punch set ~60

Time to DIY 3hrs trans out, 3hrs disassemble and measure shimming, order shims from Nissan 2-3days, 3hrs to shim and reassemble, 4hrs to install trans.

I was quoted $250 + parts to just install the quaife in to a trans that was already out of the car.

 

will the quife LSD, work with my I30 VLSD ??

 

If you have a VLSD you already have something better than a quaife.

Stereodude

 

How is VLSD better than the Quaife? From my understanding the VLSD is not all that, especially compared to the Quaife.

 

Yes, please elaborate this!

 

VLSD is of course different than the Quaife styles. One could do a search but oh well .

VLSD units typically only transfer about 20-25% of the power to the slipping wheel and only after the speed differentials have occured enough to start solidifing the viscous liquid.

Quaifes uses clutches so once slipping occurs, the power transfer is quickers. Also depending on what Quaife decides to set the clutches at, the power transfer can be whatever(ie.. 20%-45% etc..) But at some point it's not really practical to get the lock-up %s high.

I don't if it would be worth the expense to switch to a Quaife, you already have a VLSD differential in good working order. It would be asking yourself if a CAI is worth it, if you have a cone intake already(but on a much more expensive scale)

 

Jeff, I thought and from what I could tell by looking at the Quaife it is all gears, no clutch's. They have a life time warenty on the unit also? I thought the VLSD has clutched that will wear out?

 

I "think" the Quaifes are clutch type. Torsen and Helical have gears I believe.

Viscous liquid LSD have no gears or clutches. When the liquid gets agitated(ie.. big speed differential bewtween the two drive wheels), it's starts getting thicker. When that happens, it starts to transfer power to the other side.

 

Just wondering why Canadian models have VLSD on some Maximas. I think after the dollar conversion, cars are actually a little cheaper there (although their tax is outrageous). Also, I thought a lot of their cars are more stripped down in terms of options than their US counterparts. VLSD sounds pretty cool if it were stock...

 

Mardi,

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ghlight=TORSEN

I knew did this crap before!

 

Jeff you are mistaken, Quaifes DO NOT use clutches at all. From http://www.quaifeamerica.com/differentials/diffs.htm, I cite: "The Quaife is extremely strong and durable and since the Quaife is gear operated, it has no plates or clutches that can wear out and need costly replacement."

Here is a picture

 

Hence the thread that just posted. It has explainations on most of the different types of differentials.

 

Yup, read it in my scc mag that Quaife is the gear type LSD not clutch used. It has a lifetime warranty, being its done with gears the action is Quicker, clutches are slower!!

 

Quaiffes are superior to VLSDs in that they do not REACT to slippage, but are rather PROACTIVE if you will. Whereas with a VLSD, one tire will lose traction for a moment before the torque transfer to the other wheel takes place, the Quaiffe doesn't even allow the slippage to occur in the first place. Quaiffes instantly detect a differential in torque and automatically apply torque to the other wheel. Also, like was previously mentioned, VLSDs can only transfer a limited percentage (20-25%) of engine torque to the non-slipping wheel. Quaiffes can transmit far more (isn't it 100%?) so the benefit is even more pronounced.

However, a LSD is a vast improvement over an open differential. The change from a VLSD to Quaiffe will be a more subtle improvement. I personally would not see it to be worth the time and effort to upgrade a VLSD to Quaiffe. "Good enough" has always been my life's motto...

 

Although, i'm stuck with my VLSD now, I benefit from the bigger axles I had to put in to make the tranny work. I wouldn't have had them if I went just with the quaife. I still haven't had the chance to do a nice hard launce on my tranny...hehe