Rear end locker

[JustSomeGuy]

I have a base GT that I’m building, wondering what everyone’s thoughts are on diffs. I believe mine came with the Traction Lok. Should I go straight to Torsen or is there a better option? Anyone use the Eaton locker?
I will be going FI, my car is a toy only. I have a 6spd.

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[GT-DM]

Clearly the Torsten/Gleason is a favorite of FoMoCo, & they do work well.

We have had good luck with the Detroit/Eaton TruTeac as well. They are not identical, but similar.

We did quite a few in regular 8.8" solid axle rears, & the TruTrac's held up very well, even when drag raced w/FI.

I'm sure either will do you right. Even the clutch style TracLoc is pretty decent. They (clutch style) are said to wear out quicker in the 8.8" it seems, than say, the 9" versions.
(That's more of our own opinion/personal experience, than fact based thou)

Most recommend the clutch style TracLoc for drag racing applications, but I would look into the Trutrac before the Torsten in that were your preferred area of use, if it were us.

Again, all 3 do things rather well when used as intended, so I'm sure you will find the right fit for your needs by asking around, & researching.

 

[JustSomeGuy]

Clearly the Torsten/Gleason is a favorite of FoMoCo, & they do work well.

We have had good luck with the Detroit/Eaton TruTeac as well. They are not identical, but similar.

We did quite a few in regular 8.8" solid axle rears, & the TruTrac's held up very well, even when drag raced w/FI.

I'm sure either will do you right. Even the clutch style TracLoc is pretty decent. They (clutch style) are said to wear out quicker in the 8.8" it seems, than say, the 9" versions.
(That's more of our own opinion/personal experience, than fact based thou)

Most recommend the clutch style TracLoc for drag racing applications, but I would look into the Trutrac before the Torsten in that were your preferred area of use, if it were us.

Again, all 3 do things rather well when used as intended, so I'm sure you will find the right fit for your needs by asking around, & researching.

Thank you for the information. Most of my application is drifting and track use here and there. Suggestions for gearing while I have it all apart anyways?

 

[308 Cal. Bullitt]

There is a deck thickness difference between series of carriers.

We know nothing about drifting.

If I recall, anything above 3.31
(Again, im trying to go from memory, & am likely wrong)
uses the same carrier (traction device) series, up to, & past 4.09 .

What we like to do w/our cars isn't anything like drifting, so you may want more wheel speed, & thus,
a lower numerical gear like a 3.55 or 3.31.
Maybe even a 3.15. I just dont feel I can give any good advice on that topic.

Perhaps there is a drifting section here you can post in, or on another forum thats drifting oriented?

 

[illtal]

I have a base GT that I’m building, wondering what everyone’s thoughts are on diffs. I believe mine came with the Traction Lok. Should I go straight to Torsen or is there a better option? Anyone use the Eaton locker?
I will be going FI, my car is a toy only. I have a 6spd.

you want the os giken super lock clutch type LSD.
it will wear but for drifting that's what they use.

 

[TeeLew]

Thank you for the information. Most of my application is drifting and track use here and there. Suggestions for gearing while I have it all apart anyways?

Drifting and track use are quite a bit different. In both scenarios, though, you're going to want the diff to be tight. The Giken is the 800# gorilla with a big stack of plates to take heat you're going to throw at it. For drifting, I can see going to a spool. They just suck to push around the paddock.

 

[illtal]

Drifting and track use are quite a bit different. In both scenarios, though, you're going to want the diff to be tight. The Giken is the 800# gorilla with a big stack of plates to take heat you're going to throw at it. For drifting, I can see going to a spool. They just suck to push around the paddock.

he could use the giken with an agressive ramp for drifting and a more gentle engagement for circuit stuff.

 

[TeeLew]

he could use the giken with an agressive ramp for drifting and a more gentle engagement for circuit stuff.

It's more the diff clutch pack wear that I was thinking about. Unless you've got the preload tight enough that it never slips across the axle, you're gonna tear some sh1t up.

 

[illtal]

It's more the diff clutch pack wear that I was thinking about. Unless you've got the preload tight enough that it never slips across the axle, you're gonna tear some sh1t up.

What do you mean diff clutch pack? You can "tune" the lockup and ramp in the OS Giken unit.

I'm assuming you mean the the initial torque required for lockup?

 

[TeeLew]

What do you mean diff clutch pack? You can "tune" the lockup and ramp in the OS Giken unit.

I'm assuming you mean the the initial torque required for lockup?

The Trac-Lok and Giken both use stacked plates to provide the friction to lock the diff. The ramps on the Giken and the side gears on the Trac-Lok are used to provide the force on the plates to provide the side-to-side locking. Trac-Lok diffs are notorious for being good for a short amount of time and then losing effectiveness. The friction material on the plates wears quickly and the preload goes away. The Giken has more discs (distributes the wear over a significantly greater surface area), so there is just more friction available. The ramps are much better as transferring load into the clutches than side gears, so we get more locking capacity in that way as well.

Beyond all this, the Giken has some some pretty cool ramp delay tuning tools that allows you to tune the car that no other diff has.

For a drift car, I think the Giken or a Torsen would live. I don't think a Trac-Lok would. It would be constant maintenance. It might be easier to just run a spool, though. For a GT car, they're actually very tough to beat around a racetrack and if you get a good one, they don't break.

I'm doing an experiment of going to a 3.15 gear with a Trac-Lok, but I don't want to run the stock diff. I've made alternative plates out of tool steel and can stack 5 pairs on each side (stock is 3) for additional friction. I haven't ran it, yet.

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