johnc Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 I really don't know how quaife sells their units for $1,400+. There's the "lifetime warranty" thing that applies even if you race the car. That's worth something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 I believe OBX warranties these units in racing use also. However, I can't imagine trying to get in touch with them. I already emailed them once and got no reply. The unit is working very well in my car so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowlerMonkey Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Torsen set the price bar that high back in the late 80s/early 90s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Torsen set the price bar that high back in the late 80s/early 90s. Torsens are cheap! When I worked for Randy's we had a big pile of the 7.625" Torsens and were selling them for ~$175, and nobody would buy them. Regular prices for a Ford 8.8 or similar are about $500. Similarly True-tracs which are another all gear LSD sell for $4-500 for the sizes that are close in comparison to the R200. Quaifes are hyper expensive. Whether you want to say that's because their machining tolerances are tighter or because it says Quaife on it, or because of the warranty, they're very very very very expensive for what they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowlerMonkey Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Torsens for the R200? Datsun dynamics got a few from Leitzinger when they bought some former showroom stock Z31s and replacement quotes in 1990 were around a grand. Maybe it was markup from a bad vendor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Torsens for the R200? Datsun dynamics got a few from Leitzinger when they bought some former showroom stock Z31s and replacement quotes in 1990 were around a grand. Maybe it was markup from a bad vendor. Bad vendor is possible, or Torsen charged more for the R200 because there is no market for the R200. My point was that Torsens in general are cheap. Quaifes seem to be expensive for any application. Price points for Ford Mustang 8.8: Quaife MSRP: $1599.08 Ford Racing Torsen: $573.57 True trac: $453.07 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeron Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 i believe obx warranties these units in racing use also. However, i can't imagine trying to get in touch with them. I already emailed them once and got no reply. The unit is working very well in my car so far. It is very difficult to telephone anyone in china' date=' Mr. President. The country's so full of wings and wongs, every time you wing you get the wong number.[/quote'] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMWHYR0HEN Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 There's the "lifetime warranty" thing that applies even if you race the car. That's worth something. Yes, to an extent. I really think that's quaifes selling point more than anything. The part is sooo darn simple It makes sense to throw a lifetime warranty on the part just to have that edge over the other diffs. Even OBX has a lifetime warranty. It just shows that anyone can back such a simple, low/ no maintenance differential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Scott Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 I did however, replace the thinner bellville washers with the Mcmaster carr ones. Since I'm a bonehead on the subject, what would be a good starting point for washer number and stacking order? Perhaps this will make more sense when I open one up, but since there's been a variety of number and order, still searching for proper set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMWHYR0HEN Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 I used 4 washers just which is how it came in the first place and stacked mine ))))(((( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Scott Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Received mine yesterday. Unit looks good, oily, not too dirty, all bolts match. No part number on box or on the differential I can find. My gears are in upside down like cygnusx1! Goes to show, forget the voided warranty if tampered with. Best to open it up. The labor involved in putting this in is worth more than a "free" replacement. My washer stack came installed: ())()(() aprox .76" Any rhyme or reason why there is a difference in how the washer stacking changes from the manufacturer? Mine ())()(() lbhsbZ ((()())) cygnusx1 ()()(()) EMWHYROHEN ))))(((( ???? What are we shooting for? Anyone? If I stack the McMaster's like mine came ())()((), the height is only .65" Otherwise Backlash is .007+, gears look great, as do bearings. I was reading that 12.9 casing bolts should be torqued to 28 lb ft. Someone correct if that's not a good figure. Otherwise, just need to check backlash with OBX in place. Didn't occur to me that axel spring clip retainers need to be removed from old carrier and put in new. I figured they'd come in the new carrier. Sorry for the obvious, really new territory for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexicoker Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 I believe on the Quaifes they are stacked )()()()( I would need to see better pictures of the OBX to confirm, but the Quaife has a small lip on the clutches (the small splined or scalloped pieces that retain the belleville washers) that would only catch the wide side of the washer on the ends... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 I really don't know how quaife sells their units for $1,400+. IMO this unit is way too simple to be expensive. As long as the manufacturing processes are legit it's really hard to screw this up. The same can be said for Centrifugal Air Compressors... Just that little caveat: 'As long as the manufacturing processes are correct (sic)'... You would be amazed at how 'simple' things really aren't so simple. The pricing is coming down through China, and through Fuji Heavy Industries producing in large quantities a similar differential. Once the OEM's get supply chain management going in third world machine shops, they have all the testing gear and training to make extras for everyone else! Believe me, this is not as 'simple' as it sounds. The forces on the gears internally are quite high, and metalurgy/heat treatment is critical to longevity. Quaife was amortizing developmental costs for a small market. The market has grown, and as demand has increased so has the competition. Expect to see lower pricing, or extinction of that alternate source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 I think they stack the washers, according to a temperature/time/planet-alignment cross reference chart, hung loosely on a door, partially blocked by a sleazy Baywatch poster, in the smoky break room, at OBX headquarters. Stack them so they are stable, and so that you get about 10-15 foot pounds of dry breakaway when the allen bolts are torqued. Those are the numbers that mine came out to be by chance, and it seems to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Quaife was amortizing developmental costs for a small market. The market has grown, and as demand has increased so has the competition. Expect to see lower pricing, or extinction of that alternate source. You make it sound as though Quaife originally developed the helical LSD. I don't know that they didn't, but the Goldtrac for 9" Fords and the Torsens have been around for a LONG time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Scott Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 I think they stack the washers, according to a temperature/time/planet-alignment cross reference chart, hung loosely on a door, partially blocked by a sleazy Baywatch poster, in the smoky break room, at OBX headquarters. Stack them so they are stable, and so that you get about 10-15 foot pounds of dry breakaway when the allen bolts are torqued. Those are the numbers that mine came out to be by chance, and it seems to work. If its just a crap shoot then I'm going )()()()( Seems they might last longer this way since all the washers take an equal amount of the compression rather than just one or two getting repeatedly abused.. Dropped an email to OBX Racing, just letting them know about the QC issues. If they really wanted a competitive place in the performance parts world, truly were a company with pride, they would respond. Surely OBX is not a manufacturing firm with active and ongoing design and engineering. I'd guess its just a warehouse running cheaply made items through as fast as possible. Not expecting a response. Can't locate side bearing puller, local machine shop still think their service is priceless. Anyone interested in new R200 side bearings, National 30209-C, best price I could locate was autopartsgiant.com. 5/01/09 price was under $85/2 no charge for shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Scott Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Is there a cool trick in installing the axle C-clip retainers into the groove inside the helical gear on the OBX? Seems like the simplest part is kicking my butt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Did you try pushing it in with a socket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Scott Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Yes, my choice of sockets are not the ideal size. Maybe I've got the wrong music playing or not holding my tongue right. Edit, that was it. Found a better socket in my "old" tool box, changed radio station and held my tongue left. Went right in. Thanks Jon. Also of note, when I stacked my McMaster's like the Quaife, )()()()(, I'm getting a bit more "dry breakaway" torque than cygnusx1. I have a click type torque wrench, but notice it breaks just under 20 lbs/ft. Not a real accurate measurement, but I'm satisfied with the idea of using the force of all the washers. Reading an old post johnc mentioned upping the internal preload for higher hp platforms. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=71750&highlight=breakaway+quaife Never did hear the result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMWHYR0HEN Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Believe me, this is not as 'simple' as it sounds. The forces on the gears internally are quite high, and metalurgy/heat treatment is critical to longevity. This isn't some cutting edge technology were talking about here. If the Chinese knew nothing about metallurgy/ heat treatment why does my 50 year old China made AK-47 still fire rounds so flawlessly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts