Rook? Diff Oils - How do they affect Setup/Performance

[carlosm]

Hey guys been into racing now since last fall and I wanted to get your input on diff oils and how they affect setup. Ligher weight oil does what? And where? Center Diff, Front Rear? I've been running the stock oils in my 8B & T and wanted to know how changes might affect it. Thanks guys.

[jamminnay]

diff oils affect alot.. different weight can increase steering, traction, etc

[Tree]

Check out the link below. There is some good infor there.

http://xtremerc.com/pages/howto.php?howto=24&page=3

[DOMIT]

Originally Posted by carlosm

Hey guys been into racing now since last fall and I wanted to get your input on diff oils and how they affect setup. Ligher weight oil does what? And where? Center Diff, Front Rear? I've been running the stock oils in my 8B & T and wanted to know how changes might affect it. Thanks guys.

In simple terms...

in front, the heavier the diff oil, the more traction you will have, but it takes away steering.

In the rear, the heavier the diff oil, the more traction you will have, but at the expense of steering, "rotation" in a turn, and stability over bumps and ruts.

In the center, the heavier the diff oil, the more aggressive the car will feel.

[Semple]

Beat me to it^.

Front diff fluid: Thicker fluid = better stability off power. Better steering on power.

Thinner fluid may mean better off power steering, but steering on power will often become twitchy.

Center: thicker fluid means better acceleration. Your on-power steering will be better, off-power steering will be reduced. If you go thinner in the center, you'll have more power up front. Your fronts will "unload" because it's super easy for them to spin and balloon up like crazy. If you've ever tried to control a car with excessive ballooning, you know it's not fun. The car is all over the place.

Rear: Thick fluid gives more forward bite, but you'll oversteer in the middle of a turn because both sides are trying to spin at the same speed and struggling. Thin fluid lets you corner better at the expense of the forward bite.

Typical starting points are 5,000F-7,000C-2,000R for buggy and I think 7,000F-20,000C-5,000R for truggy?

You want to avoid things like unloading, where one diff gets too much of the power and spins too much more than the others and the tires balloon up, you won't be able to control your car.

You want your car to pull, not push.

[carlosm]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll be testing all day tomorrow getting ready for a big race this weekend. Your help is much appreciated!

[vladconnery]

Excellent thread and replies. This Rook just learned a ton.

THANKS

Vlad

[desertbird]

I've found if I use too heavy (>20,000) of a fluid in my center that I can get the front wheels to lift off in bumpy or rythem sections. I've tried all the way up to 30,000 and have found I like 15,000 in the center of my 8-T the best.

[superdave2]

well i race a muggy and i run

front 7000
center 10000
rear 5000


i found that that i a good combo for me i just kept screwing around with them until i found a combo that worked for me