The mechanical one, not the psychotropic drug ... rtm

Despite (in previous threads) MMC stating that the open diff was preferred as giving a more progressive character, quote: "When testing the Plus Four and Plus Six with our and BMW’s chassis development engineers, we had cars fitted with both LSD’s and open differentials. There was debate at the time as to whether the LSD improved the drive of the higher power Plus Six, but the consensus was that all preferred the more progressive character of the open diff. This was even more the case for the Plus Four. We haven’t fitted an LSD to any customer cars, and are not sure it would deliver any real-world benefit"

I know that these are now fitted as an option to the Supersport. So what really changed that made the LSD a good option? The 10% increase in stiffness of the CXV chassis compared to the CX perhaps? Or is the LSD only a good option if the dynamic handling pack is specified?

I'd be interested in looking at a retrofit of a Quaife differential on my P6, seems to be the best of both worlds, and should be an easy replacement given that the existing diff is said to be a BMW item.

"The Quaife ATB Helical LSD differential has many benefits over a standard open differential, including maximising traction and minimizing wheel spin, eliminating torque steer and snatching."

In conjunction with the existing ESC on my P6, I'd have thought this would further improve safety. What are your thoughts?


Plus Six "Rachel"
Volvo C40