Solid Rear Diff, mmmm ????

[heedsy]

Hi, Do any of you know of the solid diff mod from GPM, is it a good idea, or does it play heavily on the steering of the truck???? I'm running an OS30VG and want to put all that power down without ripping my car to bits.

 

[macsquirty]

Not a good idea if your going off road m8!!

 

[heedsy]

Whats the reason for this??? Will it damage my savage??

 

[macsquirty]

Locking a diff is designed to do one thing and that is to get the power down to both wheels equally, if you start driving on surfaces that require a diff to work normally...ie grass, off road and jumping etc then i will put money on you damaging something....probably strip your dogbones very quickly.

 

[Chaos]

They suck......don't do it...if you want to do it...when you buy it..also grab 10 dog bones also....cause you will need them.

 

[Jeepguy]

Using any method to lock up a differential can be damaging to it and other parts downstream (think weakest link) if in fact there is enough TRACTION and power and not enough differentiation... What that means is a differential is designed to allow both ends of an axle to turn at different speeds as in a turn where the outside wheel has to travel a longer distance, therefore turns faster than the inside wheel. If you try to turn with a locked differential and both wheels are turning at the same time.. it tends to cause your steering to be ineffective because both rear wheels want to go the same speed, therefore the same distance.... If you continue to turn and there isn't a loss of traction, (so the wheel can slip) the next weakest link WILL fail. So if you are off road where there is a very slippery surface.. sand, dirt, rocks, whatever.. you can run a locked diff for better traction.. but as soon as you take it onto pavement or any high traction surface, where there is no way for the wheels to slip, something's gonna break. For racing, locked or limited slip diffs can help in the handling characteristics.. Locked rears vs locked fronts are a different topic all together.. However, I wouldn't suggest that locking ANY diff in an RC truck for racing is a good idea.. it just isn't necessary. What you CAN do instead is rebuild your diff(s) with some VERY HEAVY diff fluid.. I've heard of fluid that is 30,000 weight.. (a measure of it's viscosity) and the thicker the fluid the less differential action you get, (acting more like a locked diff) So you can get some of the benefits of a locked, or limited slip diff (better traction) without the true locked diffs drawbacks of an all or none situation.. That way you can take it and race it,, and then take it out and bash it.. without fear of breakage like true locked diff. I run 8000 weight in my Savage both front and rear, and while mild, it does make a difference in it's handling.. so experiment.. and start with the rear.. the front with too heavy a fluid and you wont be able to steer it at all... Good luck (sorry this was so long)