[Richard 350z]

My Nismo LSD is being installed at Performance Nissan in Duarte, Calif. as I write this. I am picking the car up tonight. There are three settings, soft, medium and hard (full race setting). They have installed 6 of these so far, and every customer wanted full-race intially and then brought the car back to change it to the softest setting. So what did I do? Asked for the full-race set-up, of course!!! LOL If I can drive the car on the street with the Tilton rally clutch and 8 lb. flywheel, no LSD is gonna bother me (unless it is the Timothy Leary type).

I am going to Buttonwillow Raceway this Sunday May 9. I will post a review next week. Here is my total set-up now:

2003 Silverstone Track (NAV & all options except side airbags)
Competition wheels and tires: Nismo 5-spoke forged 18" x 18.5" front, 18" x 9.5" rear,
with Kuhmo Ecsta MX 245/40/18 front, 275/35/18 rear
Street wheels and tires: Stock Rays forged 18" Track wheels with Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position tires, 225/45/18 front, 255/45/18 rear
Nismo Limited Slip Differential
Tilton 8 lb. Flywheel
Tilton Rally Clutch
Tein Coil Overs with Electronic Damping Control
Nismo S-tune Swaybars
Crawford Strut Brace
TechnoSquare ECU - custom flash
Nismo R-tune Cams
Crawford Plenum
Borla Headers
UR Racing Pulleys
RT High-flow Cats
JWT Popcharger Intake
Borla Dual Cat-back Exhaust
Z-xtreme Grounding Kit
Drilled Titanium Pedals
Airbag Cut-off Switch (passenger side)

 

[John]

Good stuff. I'm waiting on the 350Evo FD before I do the diff. Then again, my car is incarcerated in the body shop for a few weeks, so I'm in no immediate hurry. I was thinking of going to an 80% lock-up, but will likely stick to the soft 60%. I look forward to your writeup...

 

[Daking350Z]

You are not going to like full race setting at all..trust me..When taking turns it clunks to the point that people look at you like "whats wrong with that guys car"

 

[Richard 350z]

You might be right, we will see. I have a very high tolerance for unstreetable mods on my Z. The Tilton flywheel and clutch are proof of that. I could leave my car parked on Hollywood Blvd. with the keys in it, the engine running, and the driver's door wide open. No one would steal it because no one can drive it but me and a very few others who have driven a car with a clutch/flywheel set-up like the Tilton. LMFAO

As for the EVO 3.9 final drive ratio (ring & pinion), I wanted to combine that installation with my LSD too, to save on labor. But I got tired of waiting for EVO to deliver it. They first promised it would be available last November. Six months have passed and all they do is make excuses. Blaming problems in the steel industry??? Come on!

 

[John]

Originally posted by Richard 350z@May 5 2004, 05:00 PM
Six months have passed and all they do is make excuses.  Blaming problems in the steel industry??? Come on! 

It wasn't the steel industry that has caused the delays, it was the manufacturer. 350Evo doesn't make the parts in house, they contracted a particular manufacturer that specializes in the production of final drives (for the certain high end European car crowd). Since he was able to negotiate a significantly lower price than what the other "clientelle" pays in production, I'm pretty sure the 350Evo FDs were put by the wayside at times. Should be any day now...

 

[Richard 350z]

Got the Nismo LSD. Can't even tell the difference. Anyone who doesn't like the full-race setting on the street should be driving a Lexus LS430 (read: soft as driving your living room down the road). LOL

With all the clatter from the Tilton clutch and flywheel, and the rattle of the Tein Coil Overs, and my loud exhaust/cats/intake, I can't even hear the supposed clicking of the LSD. Frankly, I am disappointed. I thought it would make the car more hairy-chested. Maybe it will make a difference at the track. I hope so for what it cost.

 

[Daking350Z]

You sure they installed it??Cause my friends is VERY noticable and distinct..You can even hear and SEE his wheels jerk when he turns..

 

[Richard 350z]

Yes, they installed it. Apparently you have to take it easy for the first 200 miles while the LSD wears in or "seats." Then it will start popping, expecially on the track.

I am sure they installed it. I got the stock LSD parts back. And I trust Performance Nissan.

I only have 100 gentle miles on it, but I am beginning to feel it. I will have more than 200 miles when I hit Buttonwillow Raceway this Sunday.

Waahhhhhhhhhhhoooooooooo!!!!!!!!

Will post review next week.

 

[Frankenfatz]

So you had an LSD before? Why didn't you install the nismo yourself????

 

[Richard 350z]

I just drive it. I hire others to work on it.

 

[DiRN]

Where's the fun in that??

 

[Frankenfatz]

Originally posted by DiRN@May 7 2004, 11:28 AM
Where's the fun in that??

So who do you let explain to you what an LSD does? and why you should "upgrade" to the nismo.

A 350 with the stock diff and nismo suspension will pull around .97-.98G
A 350 with the nismo suspension and nismo diff pulls around 91 or so.
Given the nismo is adjustable, but i doubt that you'll be able to tune it for the best results by switching between 3 different settings.

You should've installed it yourself, after taking it to the shop to have some of the clutch plates re-arranged to avoid all that popping and groaning. Otherwise i think you're gonna miss your viscus : /

 

[Richard 350z]

Each to his own. I don't even change the oil in my cars by myself. I have been forced to learn how to lower and raise the Tein adjustable suspension and swap out the street for the race wheels/tires, but I hate doing it.

I enjoy driving it, not working on it. Why would I do something I don't enjoy, when I can pay someone else to do it? Besides, I am not competent to do a complicated job like replacing a limited slip diff.

I would be pretty uncomfortable installing parts in a car I race. If I do the job wrong, I could get myself killed.

Finally, at the rate my law firm bills me out, the cost of the labor for Performance Nissan to install the LSD works out to 1 1/4 hours of my time. Definitely not worth the time.

 

[John]

Originally posted by Frankenfatz@May 7 2004, 01:43 PM
A 350 with the stock diff and nismo suspension will pull around .97-.98G
A 350 with the nismo suspension and nismo diff pulls around 91 or so.

Where are you getting these statistics? Magazines?

The OEM viscous unit is a piece of crap, transfers very little additional torque to the outside wheel. Everyone I know who has the Nismo unit has improved their lap times from between 1.5 and 3 seconds, depending on the track.

 

[Richard 350z]

That's good to know, and further supports my point that if you are going to seriously modify your 350Z, you should get a Base model as cheaply as you can, and don't spend the extra $$ for stuff like the stock LSD, VDC, 18" wheels that are too narrow at the rear, etc. etc.

I wish I knew that when I bought my Track model.

 

[Sosa]

Originally posted by Richard 350z@May 7 2004, 10:32 AM
I just drive it.  I hire others to work on it.

It's not necessarily a DIY job-- it'd be a biatch w/o a rack and proper tools to do efficiently.

 

[350ed]

I'm about as excited to see/hear your car as racing at Willow on 6/4

 

[Richard 350z]

Just posted 27 pics of my day on the racetrack at Buttonwillow, Calif. May 9. It's on the General Z forum. Check em out. June 4 on the big road course at Willow Springs Raceway is gonna be awesome. We got 8 350Zs, 4 G35 Coupes, and 2 300ZX TTs so far. If you live in SoCal and own a 350Z, please sign up at www.speedventures.net and come out to show what our cars are made of. We will be competing with Boxsters, EVOs, S2000s, Corvettes and RX-7s. Cost is $120. Timing equipment is free if you show up in a 350Z ($20 value).

 

[John]

So where's your review of the LSD?