Saab9-3

I'm not talking about a clutch drop. My tires are pretty bald and they love to spin coming off the line from a normal street start. I dont let them spin til redline or anything, but sometimes I will fishtail and revs will climb to about 4-5k without much traction. Is this doing a lot of damage to my diff?

BTW, new tires are on the way.

Nobody

I'm sure that spinning the tires temporarily is a lot easier on the differential (maybe not the clutch), but what I'm wondering is if one tire is spinning faster than the other for, say, 25 seconds (counter-clockwise drift in a few 70' circles, for instance), how long will it be before the diff. implodes?

boostd4

I'm starting to believe that as long as the wheels are spinning, its pretty much the same as normal driving...now clutch drops are a different story. Its just like starting a drift, 180, or a donut while the car is in motion. Starting a 180 or donut from a standstill is definitely MURDER on the entire drivetrain...but rolling at 5 mph, letting the clutch out and punching it does the same thing without b!tch slapping your diff!

Nobody, I'm curious about this as well. I would think that an LSD in good shape and maintained diff (meaning good gear oil etc.) It should be able to handle that sort of stuff pretty well...especially with your reinforced diff.

KRAZYKOREAN

No it isnt..

Destiny2002

The damage happens from overheating. A few seconds of spinning shouldn't cause problems.

When you get your new tires, change the diff fluid at the same time. Good rule of thumb.

HI SPEEDR

Well, from some experience with muscle cars of the past with positraction/limited slip differentials, putting pressure on the ring and pinion doesn't help it over time, creating wear on the components. Remember it spins both rear wheels. Hard cornering will do more to harm it quicker than an occasional wheel spin as our cars have a limited slip diff. Check your fluid back there often as well. To check condition of the ring and pinion, drive along the highway in 6th at 60 MPH and take our foot off the gas to coast. If you hear a whine coming from the rear end...it's time to go to Honda and check it out.

davepk

Its not the spinning due to inside rear wheel lift that causes the problem. Its the sudden deceleration of that spinning wheel when it finally regains traction that will destroy your diff. Remember that a Torsen diff acts like an open diff when one of the wheels is free to spin. Its only when both wheels are on the ground and turning at different speeds that the diff experiences a load on its internal torque biasing components. And, The shock of suddenly having to torque bias a wheel that is spinning substantialy faster than it would otherwise can send hammer blow shocks threw the diff and driveline. If your experiencing inside rear wheel lift you need to be very aware of it and feather the throttle back to keep it to a minimum. Otherwise say bye bye to your diff.

Destiny2002

Right guys.

I was thinking about general wear, not shock. Shock stresses components past their safety factor and overcomes the hydrodynamic film of oil.

Do you guys think Saab9-3 is seeing a lot of shock in the way he is driving?

Me- I try to appropriately lift when I know traction is breaking loose. Cars with traction control do this automatically.

Is the torsen-2 a wear item, or is a properly cared for diff supposed to last the life of the vehicle?

davepk

Its seems to me that the typical shock damage results in a shattered ring and pinion. I've never heard of a torsen going out without the ring and pinion first being destroyed and causing the resulting torsen damage.

The only other type of failure i've heard of results from huge engine power loads forcing the diff bearing caps to fail resulting in the diff being shoved out the back of the pumpkin.

davepk

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Destiny2002
[B]Do you guys think Saab9-3 is seeing a lot of shock in the way he is driving?