Turbo II LSD into S5 GXL?
 

Hey,

I picked up a nice running GXL for very little money. I'm intending to use it for drift days only. My friend has a spare TII differential from an 88 tnth AE. Will this fit? Has this been covered before? If so, send me the link.

Thanks.

Ok, actually after I looked on google, the TII LSD will not fit.

How about S4 NA clutch type LSD. Will that fit?

How well do the S5 open differentials respond to being welded? (Keep in mind this is strictly a drift car...trailored to and from the track)

s4 diff will fit fine in the s5.....very common swap..... now welding the spider gears, i know the s4 can handle it (friend did it to his drag car) ...and i dont see why the s5 would be any different..but im not positive

why wont the turbo II diff fit? From what ive read, you have to have more than JUST the diff to make it work. You have to get a TII diff, driveshaft, and halfshafts.

i thought gxl models came with lsd....i had an 88 gxl and it had lsd

i maybe wrong

I dont think the 89+ gxl's had LSD.. But im not 100% sure.

s4 gxls had lsd, not s5 gxls

yup....your were almost there, but you forgot about.......tII tranny, and tII motor.... the turbo driveshaft will not go in the output shaft of a na tranny

Swap out the yoke on the ends of the driveshafts.... Im sure that would work. If the 2 have different size U joints, they make stepped u joints. Then you could use the NA engine trans and yoke, and the TII driveshaft, diff, and halfshafts

Isn't the tII drive shaft the wrong length?

Any other opinions on the durability of welding an S5 open diff?

yokes can be changed.

all you need for a tii rear swap is the half shafts, diff, and both your non TII driveshaft and the TII driveshaft.

no tranny needed, no engine needed.

Welding the diff gears is the poor mans way of creating a posi. The rear end with a welded posi is useless except for driving straight (drag racing). Im sure it would hold up just fine. You will chew through tires if you plan on doing any type of driving besides straight.

Welded diffs are useful for sliding the car. Works like a 2 way on steroids. Many of my friends are running welded diffs on their 240s. I see them hopping around u turns and such on the streets, and so far their axles haven't broken.

This will be for a drift event only car, so I'm not worried about tire wear, especially when a set of rear tires will alst a day at the most...

Tell me more about using the TII rear differential @theantirotor

Do the yokes come off the ends of the drive shafts? The turbo II and the NA rear subframes are the same?

Thanks for the info guys!

Get your hands on a Miata Torsen LSD, the best in my opinion, just need to swap out the diffs.

You should try it sometime...
All the guys that I know that have done it swore they will never do it again.
It's unnecessary stress backlash through the drivetrain - it is really not necessary if you pay for a proper LSD.
Now that's the catch, isn't it?
Good, aftermarket LSD's cost good money. :(


-Ted

@Ted

I appreciate your insight. What was it that your friends hated about the welded diff? Why would there be back lash with a welded diff? Do you know anyone running a solid diff on an FC or are your friends mostly 240 guys?

Of course a proper 2 way or torsen would be the optimum setup, but this S5 cost under 1K and I fully intend on getting my money back out of it even after it is crashed. We're taking the tail lights, front bumper, and spoiler off now to keep them out of harm's way. S4 parts are going on. There already is a stiffer suspension going on the car (free I might add) so all I need to worry about is driveability issues with the engine and the LSD/welding.

Nobody else has previous experience in welding an S5 NA open diff? I find that hard to believe, especially in the 2nd gen forum ;)

Yep, they are mostly hachi and S13 guys.
None of the FC guys are stupid enough to try something like that. :)

I've been in them with the welded diff.
You can feel the suspension and tires fight the turns.
It feels like the suspension and wheels were going to fall off the car at any moment!
It does eat (rear) tires prematurely.
I've seen welded diffs eat through brand new Falkens in a month down to the cords...


-Ted

Lets I recall.. Didnt the S4 GXL COME with an LSD?

Oh wait, thats an S5 GXL, never mind. I think that was the new base model for the S5 models.

I thought the GTU was the base model for the s5's? (I very well could be wrong).

gtu was the base model for s5.....gxl was the "luxury" model

Damn.. In the S5 GXL didnt get LSD! Thats wack! the S4 GXL did!

I thought the GXL for sure would have VLSD. Took it around a U turn and found out the hard way that only S5 Turbo II and GTUs came with LSD. (Does the GTUs really come with a torsen instead of a VLSD???)

I'm still looking for someone that has actually welded the spider gears so I can get some tips on FC specific preperation and welding procedures. Thanks for the posts guys!