Need stronger differential maybe gears... any ideas??

GtownMX3v6 · Post by **GtownMX3v6** » January 7th, 2005, 5:36 pm

I have a 92 mx3 with the 1.8l v6 and a 5 speed... im currently building the motor and ive heard i might need a stronger diff. and possibly gears... any ideas guys??

GtownMX3v6 · Post by **GtownMX3v6** » January 7th, 2005, 5:39 pm

i already know about the Quaife diff from corksport.. its like $1500.. cash is an issue for me so thats outta the question

babyblueMX3 · Post by **babyblueMX3** » January 7th, 2005, 6:39 pm

I heard the mazdaspeed lsd diff. can be used..
as far as gears and all that stuff you can take the ones from a 99+ zx2 sr..wich are suppose to have better syncros.
Gro could explain to you more than I could...he's the tranny expert around here

mazdubber · Post by **mazdubber** » January 7th, 2005, 8:24 pm

babyblueMX3 wrote:I heard the mazdaspeed lsd diff. can be used..
as far as gears and all that stuff you can take the ones from a 99+ zx2 sr..wich are suppose to have better syncros.
Gro could explain to you more than I could...he's the tranny expert around here

The Mazdaspeed lsd is the quaife. I'm trying to get into the mazda motorsports program as we speak.

TsiMiata · Post by **TsiMiata** » January 8th, 2005, 12:13 am

SOmeone here installed the protege mazdaspeed diff in their mx-3. It was not a quafie and was ~$400.

Gro Harlem · Post by **Gro Harlem** » January 8th, 2005, 3:46 am

Ya, i got both. ZX2 SR transmission guts (brass synchros instead of crap copper that wears) + Tochigi Fugi Sangyo (aka mazdaspeed protege factory) LSD. The tricky part about the MSP LSD is there is no speedo ring since the MSP doesn't use a gear to measure its speed. It uses its ABS sensors or something.

Since we use a gear, you have to press on a gear for a 4.11 mazda final drive (get one for a 90-94 protege LX) and press it on. You also need new bearings as it doesn't come with these. And there is also a pin...forgot what the proper name is, but it goes inside the diff.

And a word of advice. I read on the MSP board that these diff's have a fatal flaw. If you search around on there, you'll see people talking about "breaking" their differentials. The ring gear is basically riveted to the rest of the diff which isn't particularly strong (the stock open diff is also riveted all shitty but since its open it doesn't absorb as much abuse).

Luckily there is an easy solution to this problem.....take the diff to a machine shop and have them weld a seam around both sides so the fawker will never break off. Then your diff will work great!

BTW: The MSP LSD is a 2-way clutch-type. The quaife is the best choice but 3x the price. I think its a torsen type (i forget), but if you aren't going to run 400+whp i wouldn't worry about it, just be sure to get the thing welded.

TsiMiata · Post by **TsiMiata** » January 8th, 2005, 10:12 am

Grassroots motorsports had a big article about limited slip diffs a few months ago. They were saying the mazdaspeed style was the best choice for autocross/street driving in a front drive car. Don't remember the specifics but it was able to put the most power down with the least effect on handling.

mazdubber · Post by **mazdubber** » January 8th, 2005, 6:07 pm

http://www.quaifeamerica.com/

Go to the lsd application guide. For the MX-6/626/Probe, contact Mazda Motorsports.

rebel2k4 · Post by **rebel2k4** » January 13th, 2005, 7:53 pm

With the limited aftermarket, there is no way to make a bulletproof tranny. Just have a backup or 2 waiting.

The mazdaspeed and quaiffe both use the stock ring gear. This is a problem, seeing as the ring gear strips more often than the diff itself breaks (ask slammed6 on PT). There was a guy who put a MSP LSD into his n/a PGT and stripped the ring gear 5 months later. If you dont care about drilling rivets and have some custom low profile ARP bolts, the ring gear can be replaced. but it is definately a weak point.

I'm having a spare stock diff spider gears welded on a spare tranny myself. I bought a set of slicks and I'll be pushing 15 psi shortly, so this is a must if I want to keep my case intact. I can always swap gears, but if the pin shoots through the case, game over. Big no-no to weld the spider gears, but so is running 15 psi on stock internals on a KLDE, non intercooled.