Common Track Failures

[csamsh]

OS Giken for 8.8? How much will that be, $3k?

 

[Vorshlag-Fair]

OS Giken for 8.8? How much will that be, $3k?

http://www.unitrax.biz/?tag=os-giken-super-lock

Saw this mentioned at trade shows last year, and in the link above.

 

[Dubstep Shep]

What is the bias ratio of the eaton? I didn't see one on their website...

 

[Sky Render]

What is the bias ratio of the eaton? I didn't see one on their website...

My sources at Eaton told me 3.5:1.

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArtic...art-5--Putting-the-Power-Down-with-Eaton.aspx

 

[ddd4114]

There were a lot of factors at play with our super fast diff wear: power levels (430-440 whp), tire size (315mm Hoosier A6s at the time), and "amount of yaw angle" from the driver. Yea, my "style" of (over)driving was probably the leading factor to early diff demise, heh.

Yikes... what actually failed there? I assume you kept the fluid level good up to that point?

 

[csamsh]

Yikes... what actually failed there? I assume you kept the fluid level good up to that point?

Looks like a failure of static friction to me

 

[ddd4114]

Looks like a failure of static friction to me

I meant besides the obvious...

 

[steveespo]

Clutches are funny, the disc on my 23000 mile unit also looked brand new with almost no wear and no dust collection in the bell housing, pressure plate looked fine too, no heat checking or bent diaphragm fingers, just the disc marcel spring stamping gave way and shot the spring out and game over. Saw this on 4 other track day/WTW cars including my friends twice. Just not up the the sustained rpm I guess.

Also heat in the rear axle assembly is huge, differential cooler will help with longevity on all the parts mentioned in the posts, except maybe T-Lok discs.
Steve

 

[modernbeat]

Yikes... what actually failed there? I assume you kept the fluid level good up to that point?

Driver failure. Broke his brain and added too much throttle on corner exit, hence the tire smoke and opposite lock.

Terry was just trying to illustrate how he overdrives the car.

 

[ddd4114]

Driver failure. Broke his brain and added too much throttle on corner exit, hence the tire smoke and opposite lock.

Terry was just trying to illustrate how he overdrives the car.

Haha oh, I completely missed the point. I thought something let go, and that was uncontrollable.

 

[Apex50]

Clutches are funny, the disc on my 23000 mile unit also looked brand new with almost no wear and no dust collection in the bell housing, pressure plate looked fine too, no heat checking or bent diaphragm fingers, just the disc marcel spring stamping gave way and shot the spring out and game over. Saw this on 4 other track day/WTW cars including my friends twice. Just not up the the sustained rpm I guess.

Also heat in the rear axle assembly is huge, differential cooler will help with longevity on all the parts mentioned in the posts, except maybe T-Lok discs.
Steve

My clutch failed the same way at 21k, friction material was fine. Since replacement I've changed my driving style, I run each corner a gear higher, and save the red lines for long straights only. Time will tell of this makes the clutch last any longer

 

[lost won]

May be this:

There are several nationally-competitive SCCA guys who rebuild their TracLocks after every event.

I guess they just prefer the way the TracLock performs. That sounds like too much work to me.

Could be for some folks who need a near locker, and are saddled with rules that allow only the stock differential. You can easily set a clutch pack up real tight, but the friction material wears quickly and only lasts for an event or two. I went there with a stock '90 Mustang LX on Hoosiers back in the day. It does work for some types of auto-x courses and T. Fair type drivers....

Got so with a little help, I could change clutches at the track in a half hour or so.

 

[tang-o]

Here is my list:

- loose joint in right front control arm (apparently I have to replace the whole control arm. A good opportunity to upgrade to the GT500 control arms)
- small leak at the power steering line
- rear pinion seal
- the famous axle valve leak (fixed with a catch can)

Since I bought the car (with 9k) the car has been driven to/from track days and at the track of course

 

[Whiskey11]

Could be for some folks who need a near locker, and are saddled with rules that allow only the stock differential. You can easily set a clutch pack up real tight, but the friction material wears quickly and only lasts for an event or two. I went there with a stock '90 Mustang LX on Hoosiers back in the day. It does work for some types of auto-x courses and T. Fair type drivers....

Got so with a little help, I could change clutches at the track in a half hour or so.

Doing the diff swap on my car made me appreciate folks who can do rear diff work this quickly. Replacing the clutch packs doesn't look to be any easier than just replacing the diff! One of our local CP guys used to do this with his T-Lok. He'd rebuild it before Spring Nats and again before Nats. Eventually he swapped to the T2R and has been loving not smelling like gear oil and friction modifier before the big shows in Lincoln!

 

[Vorshlag-Fair]

OS Giken for 8.8? How much will that be, $3k?

Its hard to see it in my Potato-Cam (TM) photo above, but it was shown to be $1890 for the OS Giken 8.8" diff at SEMA. We had a good chat with those guys at the show and we're now talking about testing one in an S550. We'll see...

 

[claudermilk]

$1890?! What is it made of? Fairy dust and unicorn farts? Why would it be worth 4x a Truetrac or 3x a T2-R?

 

[csamsh]

$1890?! What is it made of? Fairy dust and unicorn farts? Why would it be worth 4x a Truetrac or 3x a T2-R?

2-way tunability, adjustability, 30 clutch packs, etc.

Probably more unicorn than fairy.

 

[claudermilk]

Gotcha. Full-on racecar part with racecar pricing and maintenance. I'll stick to my Plan A: T2-R or Truetrac.

 

[fdjizm]

2-way tunability, adjustability, 30 clutch packs, etc.

Probably more unicorn than fairy.

Sounds like a headache encased in a nice steel package.

 

[modernbeat]

$1890?! What is it made of? Fairy dust and unicorn farts? Why would it be worth 4x a Truetrac or 3x a T2-R?

As with most higher-performance and race parts, there is certainly a level of diminishing returns once you get up to the really nice parts. But if you want the ability to customize the diff, and have good longevity from it, the the price is very reasonable.