Any owners with experience of the Quaiffe ATB please?

[Geoff Brown]

Yes diff will drop on its own - just the prop to disconnect & clear the rear end of everything to make the job easy. Of course removing everything will bring up items that require replacement/upgrade. So more money spent!

[Nigel B]

I don't think the AP Suretrack is a plate type LSD. If I recall correctly, it's a torque biasing diff similar to the Quaife ATB.

[7 wonders of the world]

Correct.

 

[p.mole1]

I fitted one, I did not want the hassle of having to regularly service a plate type diff. Plate type diff can be noisy and clunky.However if you are using the car for motorsport and fractions of seconds matter these are the type to use. I got my Quaife diff from Burtons they were offering huge discounts at the time.

I only fitted one due to fact I had to change my diff ratio, you don't need one on the road unless you drive like a loon or have poor tyres. I was running a 150 bhp K series on 185/60 14  888 tyres on track days and I never found having an open diff to be a problem.

[SM25T]

In your first paragraph do you mean... not the type to use ?

[p.mole1]

I think the Quaife diff is the one to use if you are mainly using the car on the road.

[DJ.]

I think the Quaife diff is the one to use if you are mainly using the car on the road.

Thank you for your comments

I've come to the same conclusion,and as I could buy at £480 including VAT and delivery from Burton, it seems a bargain

Duncan

[Nigel B]

‘You only need a LSD on the road if you’re driving like a lunatic’ is an opinion that crops up fairly frequently during discussions about various types of diff. Having covered a lot of road miles in 7s fitted with open, Quaife & plate type diffs, I have to disagree with that. 

For me, a LSD isn’t about doing doughnuts or about sliding around every corner with your hair (& rear tyres) on fire. It’s about increased predictability & that delicious sense of solid connection between throttle opening & the attitude of the car. Caterhams are all about responsiveness & that fine sense of precision & I think a well set up plate type LSD really adds to that sense of connection with the car. 

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think a LSD is absolutely essential. I drove my first 7 with an open diff for over ten years & thoroughly enjoyed myself. After breaking a drive shaft (it had an Ital axle!), I decided to fit a Quaife as the general consensus seed to suggest it helped with the reliability of the Ital axle & I felt the Quaife diff was an improvement, with more grip in the wet & that increased sense of connection between the throttle opening & the car’s response. 

Moving onto a 420R with a Titan diff, that sense of being able to finely control the car’s attitude with a combination of steering & throttle took another leap forwards. The sense of connection between the throttle & the rear wheels was far more obvious than with the Quaife.

In my opinion the ability to subtly & delicately point the nose with the throttle & feel precisely the point at which rear wheel grip fades greatly adds to the enjoyment of the car. 

Yes, maintenance is a factor that needs to be considered & plate diffs do require periodic rebuilds, but for me the rewards of a plate type LSD hugely outweigh those disadvantages.