[MrBooby]

Is a limited slip differential the same thing as a regular differential? And how come some cars like FWD don't have them?

[///MU]

haha nice find...we watched this video while studying for our machine design final. damn hard to visualize how it works just from reading the book.

[TheM]

Very nice how he showed the progression of spokes to gears. Teaching as it should be! Nice find E - keep 'em coming!

[John_T]

Originally Posted by MrBooby

Is a limited slip differential the same thing as a regular differential? And how come some cars like FWD don't have them?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpf2pK-gGKk


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_slip_differential

[MrBooby]

I still don't get it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHmSDXrVG84

So does an LSD make both wheels spin at the same velocity just like a regular axle without a differential?

EDIT: Nvm, I get what it does now. So the wheel on the road will still get power even if the other wheel slips on the grass and needs to spin faster. But wasn't the differential working just like that in the first video? Or does that differential work by giving 100% torque/power to the slipping wheel and 0 to the one that has traction?

[ClutchKickChris]

I figured this out when I was 7 with my lego technics The lego video above is a horrible solution to a LSD and is more of a temporary locker defeating the purpose of the differential in the first place.

[vmchurch]

Originally Posted by MrBooby

Is a limited slip differential the same thing as a regular differential? And how come some cars like FWD don't have them?

Because with FWD any form of Differential must be fitted to the transmission gears inside the housing, as a results of packaging constraints. This is very costly and the benefits are minimal to the average consumer.....hence the few FWD cars that DO have LSD's are performance oriented (where the benefits make a difference to the customer)

Civic Si
Golf GTI
Focus RS/ST

[beebo100]

that's quite entertaining, thanks!

[M3n00b]

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential4.htm

[Super Gyros]

Great post Ekaru.

Originally Posted by MrBooby

Is a limited slip differential the same thing as a regular differential? And how come some cars like FWD don't have them?

An LSD compensates for the difference in rotational speed between the internal and external wheel and at the same time it makes sure that the wheel that is easier to rotate (because it has lost traction) gets less power so that friction will slow it down and it will regain grip. This is achieved using either gears, clutches, disks or other electro-mechanic systems.

Originally Posted by MrBooby

I still don't get it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHmSDXrVG84

So does an LSD make both wheels spin at the same velocity just like a regular axle without a differential?

EDIT: Nvm, I get what it does now. So the wheel on the road will still get power even if the other wheel slips on the grass and needs to spin faster. But wasn't the differential working just like that in the first video? Or does that differential work by giving 100% torque/power to the slipping wheel and 0 to the one that has traction?

An open (non LSD) diff will send almost all the power to the wheel that is rotating more freely. The LSD does the oposite. Slows down the wheel that has lost traction and prevents it from rotating a lot faster than it should in the first place. Depending on the amount of lock you can make sure that no more than a% of power gets in a single wheel.

Some LSD's use locking while braking too, to adjust the traction of the car without only depending on the brake balance.