LSD Slips

No I'm not suffering from cold turkey and need the LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide) drug but I do need a Limited Slip Differential. As you know making more than 300hp with equivalent big torque is going to be useless if one cannot properly put the power to the ground. Wheelspin is only good enough to put on a smoke show. This led me to sending emails to popular limited slip differential manufacturers to see if they have one for my RS5F70A gearbox.

The first to reply to my email was Yasu from ATS/PPI - "I am very sorry but ATS does not have an LSD for RS5F70A. We do have one for Primera P11 but it is for Primera with SR18DE and stock viscous LSD". Yasu told me that for ATS to design and manufacture a custom LSD would require 30 unit order quantity.

This was followed by Yu from Across - "Thank you  for your inquire. Unfortunately we don't have LSD for your vehicle".

Wavetrac and Cusco Japan/International/Malaysia did not even bother to respond.

Cusco USA did and was very helpful. A lady by the name of Yuki concluded our email chain with the following - "Dear Andrew, bad news for you.... :( Our LSD won't fit your transmission. The size of the LSD for SR motor is little bigger than one for your transmission. In addition, we don't set up the LSD for your application. Sorry..... when you swap the motor to SR, let me know. we have LSD for SR".

The response from Quaife was also the same "unfortunately No".

I did not bother to try Kaaz or OS Giken because there is no listing for anything similar on their website. OK, I basically gave up.

My last option would be Drexler but boy are they expensive. Really expensive like more than twice the cost of a Cusco! So this leaves my only viable "economical" LSD option as the Nismo Mechanical LSD, part number 38420-RS360. But this was discontinued circa 2008-2009. I went ahead and emailed the whole world anyway with the hope to secure one from some left over inventory or Aladdin's cave somewhere. My search led me to a popular speed part mail order service based in Japan as recommended by Bro Jack - RHD Japan whom initially told me they had the LSD in stock. Unfortunately after payment they told me the LSD had been discontinued. "WTF!!!" To their credit RHD fully refunded me though I lost some ringgits in the currency conversion :(

In the end Greg from GSpec found me one but did it cost me. Lets just say the Nismo LSD cost me more than five big ones! Super Ouch! My excuse would be desperate people take desperate measures. The other excuse would be the Nismo is still cheaper than the Drexler. Per Greg, this might be the last brand new Nismo LSD for 32A/70A gearbox left in the world! Pictures below courtesy of Greg.

Hopefully the LSD will drop right into my gearbox without the need to change the final/ring gear/crown wheel and side gear. Here's how the complete assembly looks like.

More details to follow once I arrange for delivery back home.