rcdude236

iTrader: (12)

Well im trying to get ready for a big race with my sc10 and im not sure what to get. Is a ball diff that much better then a gear one? Like if i switch we arent talking about like 1/2 second faster a lap are we? All help is appreciated.

mugenlife

iTrader: (4)

Ball diff helped me others like to run 30k oil. I think it matters more on your driving style and where you get on the throttle. Seems a gear diff is a little more likely to pull to one side but excellerate faster where a ball diff seems to keep it correct a little more but adds some slippage.

???E-Racer

iTrader: (3)

Gear diff-dirt oval
Ball Diff-Offroad

Depends on track type and is a preference thing.
Ive done better with a gear diff on oval. Ball diff is smoother.
Also depends on the track surface, if it's hard packed clay,
then a ball diff will be better. Outdoor it doesnt matter which one.
As the track is so big it wont make any difference at all.

Gear diff also is less maintenice, as that's why AE has
taken the B4 and T4 and put gear diff in them to make the B4.1 and T4.1
But the SC10 did the gear diff thing first and it was reliable.
Just my opinion

rcdude236

iTrader: (12)

so it sounds like its more preferance.

Bus

iTrader: (4)

Ya pretty much hit the head on the nail right their!

Less Maintenance.

Have yet to test it out in my T4.0 But thats what ive been hearing most are going back to the ball diff. for better performance. More give to the T4, gonna start with 3000wt.



4.1 trans
SC10 Tplate

Bus

iTrader: (4)

I read it as the opposite.

Gear = less maintenance poor performance

Ball= more maintenance better performance

AreCee

iTrader: (1)

Think of the ball diff as a Limited Slip Differential vs. the gear diff as a standard differential. A ball diff will give you traction to the wheel on the ground when the unweighted wheel is off the ground, a gear diff will just pass the power to the wheel off the ground which is why people are using heavy grease or thick oil to slow down the diff action.

The reason you see Associated putting gear diffs in their RTRs is that it's cheaper to assemble and requires no adjustment and maintenance from the user. All AE's FT kits come with ball diffs, key word there is Kit.

bigmike22

iTrader: (20)

I started racing 8 months ago. When i first started i had a t4 with a ball diff and a sc10 with a gear diff. I couldnt tell the difference between the two. So when the ball diff went out on the t4 i didnt rebuild it i bought a gear diff off ebay and ran that. The last 2 sc10s i had had gear diffs in them as well. i bought a factory team sc10 with the ball diff. And now that i have grown as a driver and have become very competitive with just about everyone at the track i can tell the difference between the two. I am much faster with the ball diff vs the gear diff now. The ball diff is much smoother easy to come out of the corners faster and doesnt spin on one side more than the other like the gear diff. With the gear diff i always had to get off the throttle after coming out of the corner because only one side was slipping like it should have been. Ball diff isnt much more maintance but well worth it.

Dave H

Ball diffs work well because of the way they react to load/throttle. Under no or low load a ball diff is fairly free, which allows good off throttle turning into and through the corner. Then under power they bind up some, which prevents one wheel spinning and generally provides good forward traction.

Gear diffs tend to be more of a compromise. Too light of oil and they tend to spin one wheel (aka diff out), hurting acceleration. But if you go thicker to help it tends to reduce turning ability.

This is all based on 2 wheel drive. For 4wd, and high traction (touring cars for example) gear diffs don’t appear to be as large of a drawback best I can tell.

rfleck

iTrader: (58)

Lot of good info in this this thread, so no need to add info. Most racers here will probably agree that ball diffs are much better for 2WD applications. I personally prefer ball diffs for 2WD and geared for 4WD.

RACETEK

iTrader: (41)

It all comes down to application and user preference.