Hello members! We are going to buy our daughter a car. I’m considering the I30T with a VLSD in them because we live in Western North Carolina. I thought the VLSD would help in snow and ice around here. I would like to know from those who have owned/driven a I30 or Maxima with a VLSD and open diff if the VLSD made much difference in these cars getting traction in snow and ice. I would also like to know how many miles a VLSD will last in a car driven in normal situations. In my search all I read about pertains to some sort of racing concerning the longevity of a VLSD. If a VLSD doesn’t last long or they don’t offer much more traction over a open diff I don’t want to pass up a sweet deal on a car with out one in it. I’ll be trying to purchase a car with the mileage under 125k or so. Thanks.

 

I can tell you from experience that swapping out my open diff trans for a VLSD unit in my fourth gen completely transformed the car. In wet, dry and snow the car gripped.

Specifically in snow the car was predictable and had increased traction. Teamed up with a set of Dunlop WinterSport tires and the car was awesome in the snow. I also own a 4x4 F150 and found it unneccesary to jump in the truck in light to moderate snow. Don't get me wrong it won't make your A-chassis Nissan drive like an AWD or 4x4 but it is certainly adequate for light snow.

BTW this is referencing a manual trans.

 

Thanks Requin6. That's the kind of experience i'm looking for. Our problem is that long after the roads are cleared our private road still has ice/packed snow on it. If you can't get up it you have to park your vehicle at the end of the road which is right off the highway. We don't like to do that plus it's almost half mile to walk. Yesterday I couldn't get up our road in 2wd in my Dodge truck with a LSD in the rear. Had to put it in 4wd for a small section.

 

I've never owned an open diff but my VLSD works really well in the snow. The only time I've ever gotten stuck was when I bottomed out my floor on packed in snow/ice with deep tire ruts. I'm about 3-4" lowered though.

 

Requin6 or 95naSTA. How many miles are on your VLSD and have you perceived any loss of lockup because of age with them? Thanks.

 

I had about 170k on the VLSD before the diff bearings went and I swapped in another (rebuilt) trans. I made about 10-15 track passes on that trans toward the end of it's life. No issues at all getting both wheels to spin. No loss of lock up. When the diff bearing went, they didn't even make noise. I just couldn't stop the driver's side axle seal from leaking.

I'm only about 20k miles into the current trans.

 

Yeah I was actually at about the same mileage (170k) when the input shaft bearing started to go. The IPS failure has nothing to do with the VLSD as it an issue with both non VLSD and VLSD units.