Lsd?

hey everyone. ive read in a few posts about when checking for an lsd, you "turn the steering wheel, mash the gas, and count the stripes" or something similar. i was just wondering what was meant by this. afaik, an lsd lets the two wheels turn at different rates (like the inner wheel turning slower during turns). correct me if im wrong. thanks.

btw, how many stripes should there be?

What they are saying is when you "mash the gas" this theoretically locks the axles and distributes power equally to both tires. There should be two stripes. Jacking the back of your car up and spinning one tire will tell you too b/c the other tire will spin the opposite way.

Oh and your best friend on this forum is the search function and google. Many people get pissed answering these questions b/c a million other people asked them before you. No offense meant.

hey everyone. ive read in a few posts about when checking for an lsd, you "turn the steering wheel, mash the gas, and count the stripes" or something similar. i was just wondering what was meant by this. afaik, an lsd lets the two wheels turn at different rates (like the inner wheel turning slower during turns). correct me if im wrong. thanks.

btw, how many stripes should there be?


The limited slip effect in a differential uses a series of clutches or viscuous fluid to let both drive wheels spin at the same speed. This is advantageous in a turn because of greatly increased stability. In a straight line, it lets you launch much better with both wheels giving you grip instead of just one.

With the common "open diff", there is no limited slip effect. An "open" differential means that the drive wheels spin independantly of each other at all times, with no connection to each other. If you ever watched a stock Mustang launch in a drag race, you might have noticed that one wheel is spinning...a "one wheeler peeler." With an LSD, all that power would be transfered to both wheels, giving the car about twice as much grip to work with. The same applies to a turn...imagine trying to drift at high speeds with one wheel spinning all fast and the other doing whatever the hell it feels like...no thanks.

thanks guys. both replies helped me understand better. i did do a search before i posted, i just wasnt sure about this specific procedure. btw, nissanfanatic, jacking up the back of the car and spinning one tire, shouldnt the other tire spin the same way? i read in another post about the stock lsd that if it spins the opposite direction, then it is an open differential. thanks again.

thanks guys. both replies helped me understand better. i did do a search before i posted, i just wasnt sure about this specific procedure. btw, nissanfanatic, jacking up the back of the car and spinning one tire, shouldnt the other tire spin the same way? i read in another post about the stock lsd that if it spins the opposite direction, then it is an open differential. thanks again.

If you sipn one wheel and the other spins in the opposite direction, then you have an open diff. If it spins the same way, then you have a lsd.