spenzalii

iTrader: (2)

OK, I have two kind sof diffs, ball and bevel gear. My instruction manual on the ball diff said the diff should be tighter in the front than the rear, to which I said, 'OK" and did it. In my Nitro, I was told to run really thick oil in the front and thin oil in the rear, to which I said, 'OK and did it. The problem is, I HAVE NO IDEA WHY. Can somebody evplain the principal behind a diff, what tightening or loosening it will do and how silicone oil will affect the way it drives?

zachzachz

The diffs or differentials help you when turning. When you turn a wheel will turn faster than the other. Basically the diffs allow this to happen with out any skidding or binding. if you go to www.howstuffworks.com and search for differentials they have a great explaination of how diffs work and the different kinds of diffs. tighteneing and loosening them is just that, it either allows the wheel(s) to spin more freely when turning or less freely.


zach

Im2lazy

Why is it supposed to be set like this? Mostly because it is much easier to drive a car with a tighter front diff than the rear diff. That is about all you need to know when it comes to the manufacturers' suggestion.

However, the differential action has a drastic effect on a car performance:
Tighter front diff will have less turn-in, but be very stable and 'pull' a car out of a corner more effectively.
Looser front diff will allow a car to rotate more freely entering a corner. But the car will be less consistent when exiting a corner.

A looser rear diff will make a car rotate more freely throughout a corner, and a tighter rear diff will help you accellerate more effectively when traction is high.

Im2lazy

oh yeah, about the softer rear diff I was mentioning... it also -usually- adds rear grip to the car. But when it is too light, it rotates too freely and causes the rear end of the car to wag when you get on power heavily. Basically, it doesn't allow the car to get on-power hard and keep the corner speed up properly.