Differential retrofit question
Discussion
Hi Folks
I was curious if anyone can anyone speak to whether of not you can retrofit a useful diff on eg a front wheel drive vehicle.
I'm interested because I do a bit of climbing in a group and we're forever going to wet campsites or parking on verges and frequently somebody's car gets stuck.
I'm aware you can fit a [quaife] limited slip diff to make your sort of sporty ride more sporty but can you fit something that would be useful in the [wet grass / slightly muddy] use case? Is a retrofit of a locking diff to a FWD vehicle even a thing or have embarassed myself with this question!
I'm in the market for a van and the all wheel drive has an appeal but really all I want to do is reduce chances of getting bogged down in 'light' off road scenarios....and there's a lot more FWD vans around!
Cheers
I've never heard of anyone putting a locker on a fwd car, even drag cars use LSD to try and keep steering from going weird. Should be possible though.
I think the main consideration would be that by the time you have done/paid someone to do all the work you might've been as well to buy something 4wd.
I think the main consideration would be that by the time you have done/paid someone to do all the work you might've been as well to buy something 4wd.
DeLorean75 said:
Hi Folks
I was curious if anyone can anyone speak to whether of not you can retrofit a useful diff on eg a front wheel drive vehicle.
I'm interested because I do a bit of climbing in a group and we're forever going to wet campsites or parking on verges and frequently somebody's car gets stuck.
I'm aware you can fit a [quaife] limited slip diff to make your sort of sporty ride more sporty but can you fit something that would be useful in the [wet grass / slightly muddy] use case? Is a retrofit of a locking diff to a FWD vehicle even a thing or have embarassed myself with this question!
I'm in the market for a van and the all wheel drive has an appeal but really all I want to do is reduce chances of getting bogged down in 'light' off road scenarios....and there's a lot more FWD vans around!
Cheers
More importantly, what vehicle ? But I would highly doubt any locker style diffs exist for a front wheel drive car. And even an ATB will border on useless for slippy muddy conditions.I was curious if anyone can anyone speak to whether of not you can retrofit a useful diff on eg a front wheel drive vehicle.
I'm interested because I do a bit of climbing in a group and we're forever going to wet campsites or parking on verges and frequently somebody's car gets stuck.
I'm aware you can fit a [quaife] limited slip diff to make your sort of sporty ride more sporty but can you fit something that would be useful in the [wet grass / slightly muddy] use case? Is a retrofit of a locking diff to a FWD vehicle even a thing or have embarassed myself with this question!
I'm in the market for a van and the all wheel drive has an appeal but really all I want to do is reduce chances of getting bogged down in 'light' off road scenarios....and there's a lot more FWD vans around!
Cheers
Just buy a 4wd or avoid wet/muddy fields.
That said, proper tyres to suit the ground would be worth doing, and are easy bolt on items.
As mentioned a switchable locker wouldn't be cheap if there's even one available. You wouldn't want a permanent locked diff on the front wheels as it'll make the steering very awkward and it'll destroy tyres.
IMO the best bet would be to keep an eye out. Ex utility company 4wd vans come up for sale every now and again and they're usually a bit cheaper.
Either that or a Hilux/L200 size pick up with a tray bed is fine for carrying stuff/camping. Get a crew cab if you want a bit more secure storage.
IMO the best bet would be to keep an eye out. Ex utility company 4wd vans come up for sale every now and again and they're usually a bit cheaper.
Either that or a Hilux/L200 size pick up with a tray bed is fine for carrying stuff/camping. Get a crew cab if you want a bit more secure storage.
DeLorean75 said:
As a thought experiment say a Renault Traffic / Vauxhall Vivaro - loads on 2nd hand market.
AWD attracting a huge premium
Good tyres a given yes
May be loads of vans on the market, but not diff options.AWD attracting a huge premium
Good tyres a given yes
And "good" tyres, isn't quite the same as "tyres for the task in hand"
A Michelin PS4 might be a very good tyre, but certainly not designed for mud
Or not sure if a snow chain style part exists that might be some sort of option if you did happen to find yourself in a slippy situation ? Or just a long tow rope for someone to pull you out ?
E-bmw said:
As above vehicle details are key here.
For instance an r53 mini can have an LSD in certain trim/model combinations.
And on top, a lot of modern vehicles simply don't use LSD's as they tend to use the braking system aka stability control and all that malarky to reduce wheel slip and apply more drive to the other wheelFor instance an r53 mini can have an LSD in certain trim/model combinations.
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