Originally Posted by
oledoc2u
Sorry man. Neoprobity's link to wavetrac vs quaif . I wouldn't want anyone thinking that is a good assumption. I linked to the wrong quote. You read that thread over there and wonder what the hell they are thinking.... buy the wavetrac.
What would not be a good assumption? Techevo said the Wavetec is all the Quaife is, and more.
From Techevo's post:
I've used Quaife, Wavetrak and full Motorsport plated diffs on various cars, road and track, over the years. I've had problems with loss of traction after changes in suspension setup, where before the mods, the Quaife worked perfectly, and once changed to a stiffer setup, it was just hopeless, loosing traction very easily.
The ultimate mechanical LSD is a plated one. These can give a very high percentage lock-up depending on the number of plates, ramp angle and plate area. Pre-load adjustments can also be made to tweak the diff depending on application, tarmac, gravel etc. The downside is they are noisy, difficult to setup correctly and require maintenance due to wear. The positives are they give great traction thus the choice for hardcore road and track cars.
This is the whole reason the Wavetrak was developed. It combines the maintenance free and quiet operation of the Quaife, but still gives great traction if one wheel looses complete grip. It does this because when one wheel looses traction, the plated part of the diff activates, whereas normally the helical torsen part gives lock-up as per the Quaife. The reason the plates don't wear out is because they are only 'used' for a small percentage of the time.
So, a Quaife is a great diff if used on a road going car or a track car with decent suspension droop and not too stiff anti-roll bars. On a hardcore setup where one wheel can have a complete loss of grip they do not work.