Fitted a LSD to my e85 Z4 3.0

plymouth said:
I believe the E46 M3 has a clutch type diff. I owned an M3 before my Z and with this diff feels more refined. you only know its fitted when you push it.
A quaife feels just the same way. You dont feel any point of lockup or so, wheels just spin in pairs like they always recieve the same torque and have the same grip, never one wheel anymore. Thats it. Never any unpredictable snap.

Did you also have to open up the diff to get it into the casing? (in 2 parts, and then bolt the 2 parts together inside the casing). Because that has to be done when installing a quaife, the diff is a bit too wide/massive to make the corner to get it in.
like this:
21.jpg
But once you know that the install is pretty straight foreward. There is no possibility in the z4 diff casing to adjust the offset position, so a backlash check&data is all there is to confirm the wear status of the ring/pinion and fitment of the diff.


£580 for a lsd with lifetime guarantee is pretty much a steal. the Quaife is almost £1000 after vat etc (at least where I live)
 
http://www.teammfactory.com/helical-lsd_BMW

Yes It is a Mfactory LSD

The lsd unit fitted straight into the case without grinding so that was cool. Was worried the backlash wouldn't be correct but again was perfect. The C clips that hold the bearings in place are machined to a specific thickness, the backlash can be changed by machining them. Would be a tricky job thou.!!

Didn't touch the pinion gear, hear if you mess with that it's a whole world of pain :headbang:
 
plymouth said:
The C clips that hold the bearings in place are machined to a specific thickness, the backlash can be changed by machining them. Would be a tricky job thou.!!
You can't change the backlash by grinding the C clips, I think you'll create bearing play with that :wink:
If you want to change backlash or change the alignment, you can only do that at the pinion side. But that is more of an initial alignment, I don't think you can compensate for any wear. (luckily the pinion and ringgear hardly wear)
Those C clips are a pain to get off (I bought a special large C clip pliers for that), and the bearings themselves are also a pain to get off (I had to use a very sharp chisel and a pretty hard blow to get it going before the (very beefy) hydraulic puller could get the rest.

But I can see that this diff is easier to fit. The quaife is bigger (or at least the end piece is more thick, that's why you can't get it in in one piece with the ring gear installed):
15.jpg


Having that done with the car on stands in your back yard is not easy :thumbsup: Not a lot of people dare to do this this way on their own.
I have a lift, so I could pretty easily remove all kinds of stuff like the exhaust to get easy access (and the comfort of indoors :lol: )
 
Yeah I was amazed how hard it was to get the bearings off. I bloke one pair of pliers getting the clips out. Was amazed how quick it was taking the diff apart thou. Removing the diff from the car was a different matter. Really could of done with a garage but such is life. Don't like crawling under cars it never feels to safe, but it does keep the cost down.

How you getting on with your Quaife.?? Looks like you had a fun job too :)
 
I've had the quaife now installed for 3 years or so.
It was the first mod on my car, and probably the best, as it makes the car in essence better without any drawbacks (apart from the money). Every other mod results in less comfort (or better comfort but less handling generally speaking), less fuel efficient, or less reliable or whatever. A helical/torsen lsd has none. No extra wear etc, just improvements.
I'm also amaized that it works really well with the traction control/esp. That was something I thought about before installing one and I could not figure out on forehand how the two would react on eachother.

The difference between every safety on and the second step (don't know exactly how it's called) gets bigger before the ecu cuts power. Probably because a Torsen type diff reacts before there is any slippage of the wheel (an (adaptive) clutch type can only react after slippage has been detected!). So rather than cutting power because slippage between the left and right rear wheel is detected, it can only really react on wheel speed difference between front and rear.
So even with traction control on it is an addition to the capabilities from the car, and the two steps of traction control/esp get more useful as the difference between the two steps gets bigger. There is definately more drifting allowed in step two, but it's still 100% foolproof (you can't get it to spin (or at least I cant :D )
 
SO basically this is a remove the diff, remove the main gear from the diff, replace with QUaife/Mpower and re assemble???
 
£508 including shipping... I'm assuming customs cost you about £70?

How long did it take to arrive?

I had an RX8 before my Z4, and still do miss the LSD that the RX had. Any time I've searched for one though, the only ones I find have been £1000+
 
plymouth said:
Job done......Works a treat soooooooo Happy :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


how did you change the final gear ratio ? i have a 2.5 and I would live to take some top end and swap it for acceleration
 
You soursed it for 500gbp in uk, or you are just converting the price from usd and you bought it in us?

TapaTalking
 
This is such an interesting read guys thanks. I was going to go down the M3 diff swap route. But now i am not so sure this seems like a better option. And knowing you are buying something new with a warranty and not a possibly dead second hand one. I think i had better start saving for this :)
 
I brought second hand differential so decided to go for 3.23 ratio from the Z4 sport. The reason I built up a second diff was I wasn't sure about these Mfactory LSD's, and as far as I could see no one had fitted one to a BMW. I was worried that I might need to make adjustments to the LSD's tolerances which would require taking it to a machinist. But my fears were proved wrong. The unit popped in a treat and when I measured the backlash it was spot on.!!!

In hindsight I wouldn't buy another diff again. I'd just strip down the one on the car.


MFactory LSD suppliers

1......You can buy direct from Mfactory and it's £530. You may get stung with VAT and import duty thou.!!!

2.... They are for sale on Ebay £603 all in.

3..... The Route I took. I contacted a guy named Stevie who owns Grinspeed and is a recommended supplier and also installer of these units for Mfactory.
I spoke to a few people about these units but it was Stevie who was the most help and filled me with confidence. Also if the unit was to go wrong he can sort any warranty issues.
I ordered the LSD on a Wednesday and it was sent over from the U.S to Grinspeed then on to me, it arrived on the following Thursday. So 8 days is pretty impressive.
£600 delivered to my door :)


http://www.grinspeed.co.uk
Stevie's Number tel:07980793414
Email:
[email protected]

:driving: :driving: :driving: :rofl: :rofl:
 
shawna said:
SO basically this is a remove the diff, remove the main gear from the diff, replace with QUaife/Mpower and re assemble???

Yep that's it mate. Then it's drift and doughnut time :D
 
McKoval said:
You mean an mfactory lsd? I was wondering weather to buy quaife helical lsd or do a homemade lsd of e36 m3 lsd (that conversion was made by one or two z4 owners in poland)

TapaTalking


That was one route I was looking at doing but I couldn't find any proper info on it for a Z4 or a E46. Think it could of got quite expensive also.
 
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