Opinions on racingdiffs.com

[bigjae46]

So how are people rating the rebuild kits with the clutch packs? Where are the bearing sourced from? Would I be better off ordering seperate koyo bearings and just ordering there clutch packs?

Are there any alternatives to racing diffs clutch packs? Diffs online offer bearings and seals but not clutch packs from what I can find.

For the OEM V1 and V2 diffs, not aware of an alternative for the clutches. The bearings they supply seem to be fine. I typically use Timken bearings, just a preference, and BMW seals, o-rings, crush washer and ring gear hardware.

I haven't had an issue with the V1 and ZF 4 clutch kits. I have had problems with the V2 clutch pack. As I mentioned earlier, probably an install issue but won't rule out that the RacingDiffs' clutches are crap either.

[sapote]

For the OEM V1 and V2 diffs, not aware of an alternative for the clutches. The bearings they supply seem to be fine. I typically use Timken bearings, just a preference, and BMW seals, o-rings, crush washer and ring gear hardware.

I haven't had an issue with the V1 and ZF 4 clutch kits. I have had problems with the V2 clutch pack. As I mentioned earlier, probably an install issue but won't rule out that the RacingDiffs' clutches are crap either.

When I unbolted the V1 ring gear, those bolted were thread-locked by the factory and they took a big torque to turn loose. Do you heat the bolt to soften the thread locker? I thought about using the torch, but the ring gear and the whole LSD together is a very big thermal mass, and I was afraid the hot bolt might be soften a little and broken off.

[Feffman]

This is why I'm going with a Drexler setup from Limitedslip.de... buy once cry once.

Ditto. I have a Drexler unit from Autotech Driveline (http://drexlermotorsport.com/) in California and couldn't be happier. Dan at DiffsOnline excellently installed and set the diff in the case for me. After five years on track, I opted to replace the Drexler clutches (clutches from Autotech) which wasn't necessary. There was very little wear on them, but I was in there.

That being said, a fellow M3 driver/racer and I installed an upgrade with new clutches from what used to be Thayer Motorsports, now Street Driven Industries (https://streetdrivenindustries.com/) in a used 210mm ZF unit form an E39 M5. This kit added a clutch to each side (if memory serves me correctly) and did away with the Belleville (pre-load shim) washer but retained the stock ramps and ring & pinion. It's light years ahead of stock and the owner's been very happy. He had SynchroDesign Works in Atlanta install/set up the internal unit in the M3 case. This was a fairly economical solution to the tired stock E46 M3 LSD.

Dan at DiffsOnline offers new clutches (https://diffsonline.com/friction-dis...ferential.html) as does Racing Diffs (https://racingdiffs.com/products/bmw...35321034178722) if you need a Winter project. It's not hard to do this, but it's a bit messy. If you have access to a parts cleaner tub/tank, it would be great as the heavy fluid not only stinks but is (properly) everywhere. The cap bolts come off with an impact wrench, then just place the parts in order as they are removed from the internal unit and reverse the process with new clutches or upgrade kit. Pretty easy and honestly, hard to screw up. Have a pro install/set up the unit in the case for shim and backlash.

Feff

[bigjae46]

When I unbolted the V1 ring gear, those bolted were thread-locked by the factory and they took a big torque to turn loose. Do you heat the bolt to soften the thread locker? I thought about using the torch, but the ring gear and the whole LSD together is a very big thermal mass, and I was afraid the hot bolt might be soften a little and broken off.

I just use my big Milwaukee impact. No heat. Quickly zips them off. Just need to make sure you hold on to the carrier. I use a large bench vise.

[bmw m3 s50]

Has anyone heard of diffsonline having any issues as of late?

Someone posted on another forum that diffsonline were having problems, but didn’t go into detail.

[bigjae46]

Has anyone heard of diffsonline having any issues as of late?

Someone posted on another forum that diffsonline were having problems, but didn’t go into detail.

Have never heard a bad thing about diffsonline so far.

[eacmen]

Has anyone heard of diffsonline having any issues as of late?

Someone posted on another forum that diffsonline were having problems, but didn’t go into detail.

link to the other forum? What sorts of issues


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[bmw m3 s50]

link to the other forum? What sorts of issues


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https://e46m3.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1960582

No idea person to who posted never responded.

[bigjae46]

https://e46m3.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1960582

No idea person to who posted never responded.

I think CrookedCommie has a built RacingsDiffs unit that is locked up.

[sapote]

For those who got the v2 kit, can you confirm if the Belleville washer (preload shim) is included...this is NOT the freeplay shim which goes under the first large spider gear, I am asking about the larger shim that goes on last, on top of the clutches/dog gears before the coupler.

If you're talking about the large spring washer (under the locking disk to preload the clutch stack), why do you want a new one? Just use the stock old one, as the threaded locking ring can be used to adjust to any desired preload on the clutch stack.
BTW, what are the dog gears and coupler?

[sapote]

Some other extraneous info for those who care. I can not find info (searching, or even talking to Dan or Luka) about v2 lsd units being "better". They were used in more powerful cars, not sure they are more stout. The basic design change was to address the noise/clunk when clutches wear out and extra play in v1 could mismash the spider gears (a bit), because in v1 everything is just stacked on top of each other, while in v2 spider gears are held in place with pins that are actually fixed to lsd unit (slide through + c clips), so even if the clutches wear out and get looser the spider gear mash pattern stays constant. V2 units have a pain in the butt disassembly and reassembly process, testing of preload torque since you can tighten the final cap differently from where you started during disassembly. This also changes the natural stack height (or width once back in the diff) and therefore requires reshimming and resetting the backlash every time. V1 unit is more "fixed" stack height, so once it's shimmed once and all you replace are the clutches in lsd unit you can just pop it back in and off you go, no backlash adjustment is needed.

Saying the spider gears backlash is affected by the clutch stack wear, is not correct, regardless it's V1 or V2. Fact is the clutch stack never pushes any force on the spider gears. On V1, the clutch bottom pushes against a thrust disk which is resting on the LSD housing shoulder, so nothing push on the spiders. For V2, the clutch stack rests on the LSD 4 corners, and nothing pushes on the spiders.
I believe the reason they moved from V1 to V2 is to have the threaded locking ring to set the desired clutch preload force, independence of the clutch stack total length. I guess after received many complains about the M-clunk, engineer wanted to be able to adjust the clutch preload easily. On V1, it is too time consuming to adjust the shims for the desired preload.

[mrgizmo04]

If you're talking about the large spring washer (under the locking disk to preload the clutch stack), why do you want a new one? Just use the stock old one, as the threaded locking ring can be used to adjust to any desired preload on the clutch stack.
BTW, what are the dog gears and coupler?

I provided the reason for the question in the same post that you snipped the paragraph from. When I was ordering, racingdiffs website was really confusing in terms of what kit what pack included based on descriptions and pictures, and was also somewhat contradicting depending on individual product pages vs bundle pack pages. Some information/answers to questions I got via email from their team, others were still ambiguous. They did confirm that the way racingdiffs simplifies their processing is they reuse the same clutch pack for v1 or v2, and include a thicker spring washer for v2 to take up the gap. I was ordering several kits at once to play around and wanted to make sure I was getting the right parts.

I haven't opened up a v2 unit (to this day, I have one sitting on the floor) so I don't know if the screw on plate bottoms out or not. I also have not figured out the purpose of the small ball bearing that acts as a lock (you also get it included from diffsonline, for example when Dan rebuilds your diff) and how it is placed under the plate (you have to grind the edges of the plate around the ball bearing to have it come out before you can unscrew the plate).

On dogs...the clutch pack comes with 2 kinds of discs included - clutch discs (which have teeth on inner circumference to mesh with the splines of output shafts) and are stacked in alternating fashion with steel plates (what I call dogs), which have teeth on outer circumference and mesh with the lsd case. That's what causes the friction and lock up when wheels turn at different speeds.

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[mrgizmo04]

Saying the spider gears backlash is affected by the clutch stack wear, is not correct, regardless it's V1 or V2. Fact is the clutch stack never pushes any force on the spider gears. On V1, the clutch bottom pushes against a thrust disk which is resting on the LSD housing shoulder, so nothing push on the spiders. For V2, the clutch stack rests on the LSD 4 corners, and nothing pushes on the spiders.
I believe the reason they moved from V1 to V2 is to have the threaded locking ring to set the desired clutch preload force, independence of the clutch stack total length. I guess after received many complains about the M-clunk, engineer wanted to be able to adjust the clutch preload easily. On V1, it is too time consuming to adjust the shims for the desired preload.

Yes these quoted posts are from a year ago, based on my (at the time) guesstimates from what I saw in racingdiffs videos (which obviously don't show everything clearly and sometimes skip things). Since then I rebuilt the V1 and dug into it and posted my videos on YouTube around April/May last year.

On v2, I don't know if there is unlimited adjustability. Per what I posted in previous post, I don't know if the plate bottoms out and the usage of the ball bearing. And I'm sure if you were to readjust the preload because you felt like your clutch was getting loose and clutch was slipping or you are not getting lockup you were used to, there would a point when friction material is just gone and tightening it more might not solve the issue (the plates themselves and the friction coatings on them are very thin). IIRC, the entire clutch pack with all the discs is like 13mm or so, and that is across about 10 or so discs stacked together.

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[sapote]

I provided the reason for the question in the same post that you snipped the paragraph from. When I was ordering, racingdiffs website was really confusing in terms of what kit what pack included based on descriptions and pictures, and was also somewhat contradicting depending on individual product pages vs bundle pack pages. Some information/answers to questions I got via email from their team, others were still ambiguous. They did confirm that the way racingdiffs simplifies their processing is they reuse the same clutch pack for v1 or v2, and include a thicker spring washer for v2 to take up the gap. I was ordering several kits at once to play around and wanted to make sure I was getting the right parts.

I haven't opened up a v2 unit (to this day, I have one sitting on the floor) so I don't know if the screw on plate bottoms out or not. I also have not figured out the purpose of the small ball bearing that acts as a lock (you also get it included from diffsonline, for example when Dan rebuilds your diff) and how it is placed under the plate (you have to grind the edges of the plate around the ball bearing to have it come out before you can unscrew the plate).

On dogs...the clutch pack comes with 2 kinds of discs included - clutch discs (which have teeth on inner circumference to mesh with the splines of output shafts) and are stacked in alternating fashion with steel plates (what I call dogs), which have teeth on outer circumference and mesh with the lsd case. That's what causes the friction and lock up when wheels turn at different speeds.

The threaded locking ring must compress the spring washer on top of the clutch stack to provide the breakaway torque for the clutch (during slow turning).
The steel ball acts like a locking pin for the threaded ring. The reason the design used the ball instead of a pin: it's easier to peen the lip of the hole around the ball to prevent it from backing out, and it's harder to do this for a pin.