smgC32

Info from Quiafe:


Quaife FAQ’s

General Product Questions

What sort of gear lube should I use ?

For QUAIFE ATB Differentials:
When running a QUAIFE ATB Differential in a standard transaxle gearbox, we recommend that you use whatever your vehicle's manufacturer recommends. The QUAIFE ATB Differential does not require any special lubricants.
When running QUAIFE gearbox internals and a QUAIFE ATB differential – we recommend Silkolene SYN5 75W90.

For a QUAIFE ATB differential, running in a rear axle – use a hypoid 90 or 75W90, as above.

For those applications that will accept a GL5 or SAE75W90 gear oil, we recommend and sell Silkolene SYN5 75W90 gear oil. We use Silkolene in all our own QUAIFE racing transmissions.


What is the torque bias ratio of the Quaife differential?

QUAIFE does not specify bias ratio details and generally, does not use the term. The QUAIFE ATB differential is an all helical gear design. The angle and tooth form of the helix used, the number of pinions used, and many other factors (including the particular car fitted) all contribute to how the differential behaves and biases drive torque. Each QUAIFE differential application is designed to offer the best compromise between performance and durability.


What kind of horsepower can the Quaife differential handle?

The QUAIFE differential is engineered to take just about as much horsepower as you can throw at it. In almost any given transmission or rear axle, the QUAIFE ATB Differential will not be the limiting factor. If you have any questions regarding this, please feel free to contact us.


What sort of maintenance is required when using a Quaife differential?

There is no additional maintenance required when using the QUAIFE differential. You can simply "forget" about it, and let it do its magic!


Are there any special parts needed to install a Quaife differential?

There are no special parts required to install a QUAIFE differential, beyond what may normally be needed to install a stock unit. The basic parts needed will be: differential bearings, transmission or rear end gaskets, and possibly some shims if required.


Is the Quaife warranty transferable?

Yes. With the purchase of each QUAIFE differential, we include a warranty card, which explains the warranty in its entirety. Feel free to contact us for a copy of this warranty card. You can view a copy of the Quaife ATB Differential Limited Lifetime Warranty terms by clicking here.

m3_eater

LOL! That's exactly what I did! My car is there now
So far, they seem like a first-class shop, and I'm looking forward to the finished product.

otoupalik

It was not me, but I can clarify the conversation that I think you had with Mike. Cory has repeatedly told both us and another Kleemann dealer we know that ALL diffs have to go to Kleemann to be built. Perhaps this is or isn't true, but it is what Kleemann tells us and what we have to tell the customer.

Now as for a Quaife, we have the tools and ability to do the job without issue. This is no different then what we do to BMW diffs all the time in the shop.

Vadim can certainly give anyone a honest opinion of the Phantom Grip though. He is not affiliated with evosport any longer, so there will not be bias, just honest real-world experience.

Thanks
Brad

smgC32

Quaife and MB have been successfully mated!

AMGSC

So what shop can install this and for how much? I believe the retail price directly from Quaife America is $1,750 but dealers/installer shops get the wholesale price. How long does it take to install?

mig888

Now wait just a damn second! #215 to work on non-AMG c-classes eh? Hmmmm... of course, I assume, this hasn't been confirmed?

flip

smgC32

9V is the 215mm, 7V is the 210. The 7V is the smaller of the two and uses smaller bearings. My C32 utilizes the 7V.

smgC32

Here is the stock diff.

Tump43

Well, I definately want the Quaife LSD for my C55, put me down for the group buy!

What about buying a stock pumpkin, sending it to Quaife and having them install the LSD -- can this be done?

I'm sure (and you guys would know) that MB uses the same differential housing on a number of different models.

smgC32

Sorry, but please go back and read the history of the Quaife LSD over the past one and a half years and your questions will be answered.

smgC32

A few days have gone by since my install. So far, the Quaife has proven to offer a noticable difference in traction and handling. I had an opportunity to test it in the rain yesterday with and without ESP. You can actually feel both wheels pull. With ESP off, the car tracks straight even at full throttle off the line and then the attitude can be held with throttle input. In the dry, the same observation, both wheels are in action, especially around a corner where you no longer wait for the inside wheel to stop spinning. Took it through the canyons today for a light run and it appeared to perform better than the stock open diff. There is no noise at all at any power imput level, and driving around the city, you can't tell it is there. Finally a solution for those of us who can take advantage of its offerings. Can't wait to test it at SOWS.

Vadim-SoCal

smgC32: Glad to hear Quaife is working out for you. Mine should be in shortly. Can you break down install costs, labor, bearings and so on.

Thanks.

m3_eater

How is the cornering "feel"? Specifically, does the additional traction when cornering make the car tend towards understeer (push) now more than before?


P.S. Mine is going in as we speak. I may be able to answer my own question in a few days

My_C55

Hey man,

I saw your car over there during one my many visits. The new diff looked great! Can't wait to hear what your thoughts are of the drivability.

smgC32

There was discussion early on with the LSD options presented that questioned how an LSD will react with ESP and if there needed to be any special tuning to accomodate any variations caused by its install. Having the Quaife in the car for about a week, I can say that there is no interuption or intervention by the ESP system caused by the installation of the Quiafe unit. The ESP system works as programmed with and without the ESP system engaged. I have done countless power slides, sharp corner accelerations from a stand still, and other oversteer manuvers, and the ESP systems acts no differently than with the stock open diff. The difference is that the slides are now more controllable, the power more fluid, and the driving more fun.

Zeppelin

SMG,

Have you noticed any improvement in the turning right from a red light where ESP would just kill the motor with the slightest of wheel spin. Do you think the Quaife unit will allow us to drive on the street with ESP enabled without alot of these annoying traits?

Tump43

SMGC32 -- No Prob. I did go back and re-read all posts. Seems that Evo Sport will be able to install the Quaife LSD in the correct C55 differential sent to them with the total price somewhere in the $3K range within a month or so. (Then it's just the simple matter of swapping in the new diff. for the OE open diff.).

I did not discover whether we really got a group buy together from Quaife directly, but I suppose I could telephone them.

My other questions were about installation. I don't want my car to be off the road for too long and it seems that if I do not have my C55 diff. removed and sent to whichever shop can properly install a Quaife LSD, I will need to buy a diff. from a junk yard from a wrecked C55 and even then, I or any other C55 owner should use their car's vin # to find out the exact part number of the diff. their car originally came with before going ahead.

Don't mean to render your great thread duplicative, just trying to clear up a couple of points for my late-to-the-thread self.

Regards,

smgC32

This was not a group buy. Quaife decided to make them as part of their offerings and we are very pleased by their decision to do so.

"...Seems that Evo Sport will be able to install the Quaife LSD in the correct C55 differential sent to them with the total price somewhere in the $3K range within a month or so. (Then it's just the simple matter of swapping in the new diff. for the OE open diff.)...I don't want my car to be off the road for too long and it seems that if I do not have my C55 diff. removed and sent to whichever shop can properly install a Quaife LSD, I will need to buy a diff. from a junk yard from a wrecked C55..."

I don't fully understand what will be done with your car. Is EvoSport going to provide you with a new diff carrier for the C55 as part of their 3K package, or do you have to provide your own and it appears that you may need to search for one. You say that EvoSport can do the install which they have said they can, but you go on to state that you will find a shop to do the work. If the diff's are exchanged, you can have your car back in a few hours as this is how long it takes to make the carrier swap if they are working on another carrier in advance. Can you explain?

I am glad you are the first C55 owner who wants to install one. Good luck and report back on your installation and impressions. Have you confirmed that the C55 utilizes the same carrier as the C32?

My_C55

I wouldnt say he's the first... we have already begun checking compatability on my c55. Luckily the shop I deal with is doing M3_eater's c32 right now, so its easy for us to compare.

Tump43

SMG
I finally found a guy in my neighborhood who worked as benz technician for 23 years and now that he has his own star computer and all the necessary benz tools, he only works on a few benzes in his garage in his spare time. So, I will buy the Quaife LSD and give the car to this guy for two days to do the install and tweak the ECU a little bit.

In my earlier post, I considered buying compatible C55 diff. and sending it along with the ordered Quaife LSD to EvoSport or to another shop to have the LSD properly installed. I was then going to use my local mechanic friend to swap out the differentials. In any case the about $3 k. quote from EvoSport was for the purchase of a Quaife LSD and its installation in a diff. carrier. I would then have to pay extra for the diff. carrier, the shipping involved and the labor to put the new LSD diff into my car.

I have not positively determined whether the C32 and C55 differentials are identical, but an earlier post in this thread indicated that they were, or that the same Quaife LSD upgrade would fit each diffential pumpkin.

My C55
Definately keep me posted about what you learn from your shop about the compatibilty of the C32 and C55 Quaife LSD. I will push my star computer guy to check the part numbers on each differential and ask him if he believes that C32 and C55 diff's are interchangeable. Knowing Benz and their propensity to keep costs down, I am rather confident that they are.

Other Mods
I kept the EvoSport underdrive pulleys from my C43 and will have those installed on the C55 with a new belt next week and I will put the Magnacor street/race wires from my C43 on the C55 as well. I just bought Green Filters for the C55 and will install them this Saturday Along with the LSD, these mods should make the car quick enough for me. As it is, I'm still learning what this car will do in stock form. The car continues to amaze me while I'm getting to know it (I've only owned it for 3 weeks and only get to drive it on weekends, working full time in NYC).

smgC32

Just ran the car this week at WSIR for more than three hours and the Quaife was flawless in its capabilities of delivering controlled power to both wheels on this fast road course. There was a very noticable difference in turns three and five which in the past resulted in frequent power robbing single wheel spin. Now, there was almost no wheel spin and a very controllable and minor slide through these turns with ESP off. You could actually feel both wheels engaged in providing the power to the rear and the slide was seamless and intuative in its control. With less wheel spin and more power to the ground, the car was faster through these turns. In addition, the reduced wheel spin with ESP on or off was more liveable and power cut out was less severe as a result of the Quiafe install. Overall, the Quiafe changed the driveability for the better at this track. I can't wait to test it at SOWS which will be the ultimate test of the Quaife's capabilities on this short and very tight road course which emulates real world driving. Quaife did an outstanding job with this application.

Zeppelin

SMG,

You will have to tell me where you got the Quaife installed. It sounds like they got the backlash and shimming right on the thing or it would have given you problems by now. Might as well stick with a proven shop.

m3_eater

Hi all,

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I've received enough private messages asking about the gains I've experienced from the Quaife LSD that I thought it would be a good idea to add info for interested parties.


BEFORE:
The stock open diff is just so incredibly annoying - the inside tire goes up in smoke (while you wait to go anywhere) as you are coming off of any corner, especially tight ones. Also, oversteer is hard to modulate, so when the rear end steps out it is more of a snap and the DSC steps in without permission to help get you composed. Even from a straight-forward launch, you have to be extermely careful on the throttle because if not the right rear spins until you hit second gear and the car falls on its face before taking off again. Even with experience, it is difficult to get clean launches - and the M3s of the world are walking away in the meantime. Aren't those of you with modded C32s and C55s tired of beating lesser cars only because you finally hook up and reel them in?

AFTER:
Smooth clean launches are possible, in both a straight line and turning. You can control wheelspin so much easier that it is possible to drift the car! Also, it is fine to start in manually-selected 1st gear in way more situations where before you had to settle for 2nd because otherwise you would either be beneath the power curve, or it would just spin and you went nowhere (especially when the pavement is less than ideal). A classic example is the 90-degree right-hand turn from a stop. Just leave it in sport mode, hold left for a second to get 1st gear, and pull away like you mean it! Turn-arounds on multi-lane divided roads are also an absolute riot, because you can downshift into 1st coming into the 180-degree corner, then roll on the throttle and dial in oversteer coming out, and it's all controllable with throttle and steering angle. In a nutshell: Less DSC intrusion, better launches, WAY better corner traction, and easy to modulate oversteer in all situations, period. Basically, the car went from annoying to something that I want to sort the handling on and keep for a while. It's also completely quiet and I have experienced no drivetrain backlash.

By the way, I do not work for Quaife or any reseller, and I don't get anything from talking them up. I just love this thing - it's keeping me with MB instead of going back to BMW. I can't recommend it enough.

2QUIK4U

M3_eater,

Thanks for the insightful feedback. I am definitely very interested in the quaife unit. May I ask how much it has ended up costing you, unit+install?

RLS

I had ordered the 210 unit from Quaife and was about to have it put in at the MB dealership last Thursday. I then called Quaife to see if they had any more updates on this fitting a C55 before taking it in. Quaife informed me that now they are somewhat sure the C55 takes the 215 unit, so I had them send that so we would have both to try- in this past Thursday. Well, as usuall, when I got there this past Thursday to have it installed, the man I set this up with at the dealership, was on VACATION !! The service advisor called back to the shop and the service manager said no problem! so I left it thinking it was all set up. I get a call about 3:00 P.M. from the service manager telling me he thought it was the complete differential and they were just swapping it out. But since it was only the unit itself, MB could not do it that day and they may not be capable of doing it at all !! So now I have both units and have to wait till Monday to talk to the original man at MB to see what can be done !! What a pain.

If I ever get it installed, I will post which one fits a C55.