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For those of you who've had the factory LSD for a very long time or since vehicle purchase, has the grippiness or performance deteriorated over time? How many miles until you began to notice reduced performance and grippiness from the LSD? Do you track or drive your car hard often?
the LSD you sent over had good friction material on the clutchplates I couldn’t find details on the mileage unfortunately but it was a ‘13 e63. I didn’t Have to change the friction discs and clutches but did it anyway.
W204 C63 Coupe, W166 ML350 BlueTEC, 928GT, C5 Z06 & IS300 race cars, EQE 4Matic+ on order
Took a good look at the LSD when I had the finned cover ("rectifier") installed a couple of years ago. There didn't seem to be any appreciable wear after ~32K km (20K miles) including moderate track use even before the finned cover went on.
For what it’s worth,
Mine has about 40k miles on it. Started life in a E63, now in an R231-SL550 (same HAG215 diff as W204 and various Chrysler products)
Did an inspection and re-seal when I did the swap. Preload was still tight and there appeared to be very little to no clutch plate wear, with very little friction material deposits in housing/oil. I believe AMG has spec’d. 35/40 lock on these 2-way Drexler’s. 35% under acceleration and 40% under deceleration. I believe the Black Series HAG215 diffs are set at 40/50. This diff certainly wasn’t road raced or anything like that by the previous owner, so depending on how you use it, I’m sure your mileage will vary….
thanks all. I was rather curious as the only factory LSD i've driven felt like it wasn't there until you were on throttle. vehicle was a 720whp c63. even then it was very gentle in engagement and felt almost like it wasn't there. it did work though, just very soft on engagement.
W204 C63 Coupe, W166 ML350 BlueTEC, 928GT, C5 Z06 & IS300 race cars, EQE 4Matic+ on order
The factory LSD is pretty mild and AFAIK only does work when you are on the throttle (as in I don't recall it providing much if any lockup on deceleration), but on a 720whp car - at almost twice the OEM power - it is indeed possible that it is worn. Any clutch-type LSD will wear out over time, so just because it generally lasts a relatively long time under 98% street use and 2% track use with ~380-410whp, at that power level all bets are off.
Is the wavetrac LSD really a big improvement over the factory LSD? The guy at my indy was talking it up but then again, he sells them. I've been considering going with a LSD.
Is the wavetrac LSD really a big improvement over the factory LSD? The guy at my indy was talking it up but then again, he sells them. I've been considering going with a LSD.
My opinion, for what it’s worth….
Only you can answer that question. It’s a two part question, there’s budget, and intend usage.
If you don’t have a LSD now, and budget is a non-issue, then it comes down to intended usage. I would do some research on what you’re needs are and what you are looking for out of a LSD. If you’re a tracking the car you may want a different system than someone who wants to drift or drag race the car.
In my case the decision was easy, I knew the history and mileage of the car my differential came out of, and for my needs, the factory AMG Drexler was a perfect fit. The cost was also much less than a new carrier+setup. I did my own install (fairly easy).
the wavetrac is not an improvement over the factory LSD if you already have one. a clutch style LSD will always perform best. for drag racing or abuse, the wavetrac or quaife would be the most durable by design.
W204 C63 Coupe, W166 ML350 BlueTEC, 928GT, C5 Z06 & IS300 race cars, EQE 4Matic+ on order
^ What Barry said. In any road racing or performance driving application, I'll take a clutch-based LSD over a gear type any day. Of course, a Wavetrac or Quaife is better than an open diff, but in terms of performance, a gear diff would be a downgrade from the OEM LSD one.
There have been several discussions on the subject over the last few years - see threads below (second thread started by Barry):
08-08-2022, 12:50 PM
