Mayolives Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 What temperature should a Nissan LSD unit reach on a track car? My differential temp. gauge goes "over the top" at 250 degrees after running some laps. Is this too hot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 What diff? R180 right, isn't your car a 240? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayolives Posted September 13, 2006 Author Share Posted September 13, 2006 My body is an 1978 280. The lsd unit is from an 1987 turbo car. I haven't checked but the ratio should be 3:70. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 They get hot - over 250 degrees is not unusual. At the very end of my time with my racing 240Z I put a diff cooler on it after spending years changing the fluid after every event. Run a synthetic and change it often if you've not installed a cooler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 They get hot - over 250 degrees is not unusual. At the very end of my time with my racing 240Z I put a diff cooler on it after spending years changing the fluid after every event. Run a synthetic and change it often if you've not installed a cooler. John didn't you say previously that you've seen over 300 degrees on yours? Mayolives, are you running the finned cover on that diff? That might help a little bit if you aren't already doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 John didn't you say previously that you've seen over 300 degrees on yours? Yup, but that was an R180 with a Quaife which is about the biggest heat generating combination you can run. And that 300+ degrees was measured with a IR gun on the rear cover after a 30 minute session at Buttonwillow. I started shopping for a cooler after that weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 I seem to remember katman talking about 'twisting the needle off' a 325 degree gauge on another forum using the r180 in a 240, that's why I asked. I believe he suggests BG gear additive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 I used the BG additive for years and thought it worked really well, but then I found SWEPCO 201 and was sold on that. It seemed to keep the LSD smoother longer than the BG stuff. In my mind this meant the BG additive was "breaking down" faster. Don't know if that's the case, but that was my thought process. I changed out the SWEPCO about every 3 months, when it smelled burnt or when the LSD started to whine, but at that time I was autoxing every month and only doing a couple track days a year, so I wouldn't have been going through it as fast as John or Keith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1 Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Mine gets real hot. 30 min after a track session you can't begin to touch it, not for a second even. I use the mobil 1 synthetic and change it every 3 or 4 events. Shooting it with a IR gun is a good idea, I'm going to try that. jt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 I and several other Datsun racers have had the same problem.... I have an open R180 that needs a catch tank because it is brand new and gets hot enough to spew oil out of the vent... actually the vent fell off last event... That is with Redline blue pasty stuff... I have a Nismo 3.54 CLSD R-200 I have modified to run a cooler... for the V-8 project.. ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayolives Posted September 15, 2006 Author Share Posted September 15, 2006 Where are you going to mount the cooler and what pump will you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Milodon pump, the cooler is small and will be mounted under the car near the differential... I have not actually decided where exactly it will go... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katman Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Broke the needle clean off in 7 laps, on a 325 degree gauge. To break the needle off you had to go past 325, down across the bottom of the gage, and run the needle into the stop at zero. Us, and least a couple other competitors, went through the gammet of different fluids, bearing preloads, etc. before happening upon the BG MGC. Some guys still puke fliud out after every session and change fluid constantly, even with Redline green. Don't know if they use the MGC or not. In our case it wasn't the LSD as much as it was the gear ratios. At 3.7 and below we could run all day. At 3.90 and 4.11 we'd be puking fluids before 10 laps at RA before the MGC. In ITS you couldn't use a cooler, so once you generated more heat than the diff case could shed it was stinky time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 I hear that.. I know when it has had enough... the gear oil smell is unmistakable... especially when it starts puking it all over the exhaust... I get a lot of wheelspin on shorter tracks... VIR south course, Roebling Road, and Rockingham are my worst for overheating the diff... I run an open diff NON LSD... 3.54 ratio... I must say that I used to never have any glaring issues before I swapped in BRAND NEW R180... I should have broken it in first... It is getting better the last few events... The first event it got so hot it whined after about 20 minutes of run time... I refilled it every session and ran a few shorter sessions at a slower pace to work on new lines... I only get 160HP on a roller dyno... but that is with toe in, negative camber, and sticky tires... It is probably a little higher but I am sure I am running the rear end to it's limits... The new race car is getting the cooler and it is an R200 Nismo LSD with a 3.54 ratio for the V8... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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