Originally posted by IMPACTPLAYR
Steevo- you make a few god points, however your thinking is a little off.... The friction inside of a diff isn't going to effect efficiency of the car the way a busted bearing does.... Fricion is actually the freind of your differential.... without any friction inside of the diff you don't get the "diff" action.
Hi IMPACTPLAYR,
I understand what you are saying and you are totally right in the case of the Ball Diff. The ball diff requires the friction of the plates sandwiching the balls to make it work.
In the case of the standard Planetary diff it does not "require" the friction to work as such because it has the teeth in the gears which mesh which in turn make the whole thing work.
After more careful thinking and taking in your points, I agree that In the end a ball diff is no more "efficient" than a standard planetary diff it is just more adjustable.
I did find though that the weight difference between ball diff and Standard diff was considerable and when teamed with lightweight outdrives there was a noticeable increase in performance due to less rotating mass.
Steevo
