kclman

Had anyone has a chance to drive both an s and non s relatively spirited yet?

I'm wondering about differences in traction and speed out of corners.

Thanks.

AMGTTV8

i haven't driven and s and non-s but my 204 had the factory LSD and I'll just say that the difference in performance under braking, acceleration and turn-in in my 205 is incredible. Hope this helps.

MB Dave

Both the s and the base have a lsd

RDOCA

But the S has a electronic LSD

kclman

Thats what I was wondering the difference between the electronic and mechanical.

FastLaneJB

There's reviews that have talked about this. Electronic diff is more gradual / smooth to kick in where as the mechanical diff kicks in later and harder. This makes it harder to control at that point as it locks quickly. However once kicked in a few reviews have said the mechanical is then easier / more predictable when drifting.

So based on what I've read it seems they both have advantages but they do generally still say the electronic one is better. It's smarter and faster to react.

You've got to think if the electronic diff wasn't better they wouldn't have put it on the S model. However if you go for a base model the diff on that is still really good I'm sure.

MB Dave

Ive heard that the e diff is the same used in the sls black series.

FastLaneJB

Yeah I think Chris Harris mentioned that in his review. I think he also said its an updated version of it so maybe newer software, kind of like the gearbox isn't new but with updated software is so much better than the older version of it.

JPMBenz

I drove both when I did my technical training in Palm Springs. The main difference is the Non-E diff doesn't react as fast as the E-Diff. The E-Diff allows you to "play" and "throw" the car around more, let it slide, while still being safe.

FastLaneJB

That's makes sense. Does the base car have an ESP Sport mode as I believe that's selected in Race mode which the base car doesn't have? Or maybe it's missing Race mode because it doesn't have ESP Sport which is setup to work with the e diff only.

msd3075

S has Comfort, Sport, Sport+, and Race.

Non-S has only Comfort, Sport, and Sport+.

Outside of those, there is a separate console button to toggle between the ESP modes. Both S and non-S will have the same ESP options.