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    Tail happy?

    Hey, any of you other 4WD drivers, I'm just wondering how tail-happy these cars normally are.

    I've been driving on ice the last couple weekends, and the car seems to be extremely tailhappy. This is with the VLSCD-equipped GTX transmission that came with my front clip, not the normally-open, switch-lockable original one that came in the protege.

    I drove a friend's Audi Quattro 20V, and noticed that when you give his car the gas, the front actually pulls you where you want to go. (torque and weight difference might make up for quite a bit of that, though.) I had a couple people drive mine, and they both said it oversteered like crazy, and took a lot of work to control.

    I didn't get enough time on dirt/gravel before winter came around to know if it handles the same on that surface or not, but I'm wondering what happens when the diff itself 'wears out', being a viscous device.

    Am I just being paranoid that my drivetrain's going south, or is it naturally this way? Is it just the surface of ICE, allowing for slippage everywhere?

    Is there really a way to test and make sure that the 43/57 Front/Rear diff split is actually functioning?


    yeah.....

    anyway, in-car video to come, as soon as I spend enough time at home to get it uploaded...

    --sarge

    #2
    being a viscous coupling... if the center diff wears out it will simply revert to functioning like an open diff.
    Escort GTR -- 11.87 @ 117.6 mph -- 320 HP / 325 Ft. Lbs. @ 23 PSI
    ... The first FWD BG with a Toyota E153 transmission conversion in the USA!
    Looking for BP x Toyota E153 adapter plates? PM me or contact me on Facebook: Riel Performance Parts

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      #3
      What's the rest of your setup? Swaybars, or not? My rallycar was more tailhappy than my GTX, despite the longer wheelbase, cuz the rear shocks are too stiff. Taking a few psi air outta the rear tires solved the problem well enough that I'm not sure I wanna revalve the shocks. Street car understeers a little, so I've stiffened the rear bar as much as possible and am figuring out ways to soften the front bar without working too hard.
      Riel's right, if the centerdiff gets tires it acts more and more open. You might try parking the back end on mud or snow and the front end on tarmac and see how the front end pulls you out.
      '90 AWD Protege, full GTR drivetrain swap, ~320 whp daily driver, RIP, and
      '90 AWD Protege, yet another GTR swap, Open class rallycar with a Toyota GT4 gearbox swap, thus crossing the line between hobby and mental illness. And a Brabus E55 K8, removing all doubt.
      http://www.wihandyman.com/forum/vbpi...?do=view&g=110
      http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2599486

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        #4
        Suspension is 100% OEM original, including swaybars. I don't even know if the struts have been replaced in the past or not. I'll play around a bit with differing surfaces and see if I can figure anything out, but the front seems to pull ok when driving out of parking lots at gas stations on slimy slush so far.

        --sarge

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          #5
          correct me if im wrong but isnt a viscous diff just plates with various holes in it sitting in fluid designed to transfer energy from the from one plate to the other?

          i guess i dont see how that can wear out if the fluid can be changed.
          "Discontent is the first necessity of progress."
          -Thomas A. Edison

          "There is a fine line between ballin' on a budget, and dreamin' on an empty wallet."


          *Junked* 92 mx3, BP swap- milage whore, beaten up and down the east coast
          *Junked* KLZE powered 323 on Megasquirt 1
          172.60HP & 156.93 TQ with only headers and short ram intake. back under the knife for a BPT swap.
          New Daily stock 1.6L 1999 Mazda Protege LX

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            #6
            the fluid cant be changed, its a sealed unit with a special silicone fluid. after a while the fluid wears out.
            Escort GTR -- 11.87 @ 117.6 mph -- 320 HP / 325 Ft. Lbs. @ 23 PSI
            ... The first FWD BG with a Toyota E153 transmission conversion in the USA!
            Looking for BP x Toyota E153 adapter plates? PM me or contact me on Facebook: Riel Performance Parts

            Comment


              #7
              With the stock 4wd locked in it was pretty neutral on dirt, gravel, etc. Snow it was always tail happy, locked or not. I just learned to drive it that way, made for a shorter learning curve driving my truck.
              No car! I soldz it. Now I have a truck. I like it, but apparently it has a hard time keeping up with a slightly modified 4WD protege with half the hp. Neat.

              Comment


                #8
                I just replaced my front struts with the OEM KYBS, and the rear with the OEM tokicos out of a GTX. Its only been two days but I have noticed when leaving a corner the tail likes to come out, before I had to try to get it out.

                I have a rear GTX sway bar and I have a feeling if I put it in the car would want to drift. So I guess I will just wait for the front GTR sway bar to get here so it will be nice and netural

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                  #9
                  Mine is tail happy as well, just give it some gas past 2.5K rpm and the tail goes. I have an open diff in the back atm and the GTX centerdiff which is still doing it's job. Car is lowered on eibachs and tockico blues with GTR spindles and swaybars.

                  The car is a great drifter on ice, just tap the gas and the rear goes.

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                    #10
                    I seem to be the only one with out mine being tail happy. But then again I have a 1.5way lsd in the rear too.. Mine rails around the sharpest of corners even in the semi wet roads. I have not had a chance for Ice testing yet, but it likes the cold of the local mountains to say the least..

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                      #11
                      My Protege tends to understeer most of the time too, push it fairly hard and it goes nuetral, push it insanely hard, then it'll oversteer, but only slightly. It could have to do with the fact that my car still has the single cam engine and three open diffs though...

                      -Jon R.

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                        #12
                        Mine will oversteer easily. Probably has more to do with horribly worn struts than anything else.

                        But also the GTX tranny gives a slight rear bias (like 43/57) while USDM tries to be 50/50.
                        1990 Protege 4WD
                        GT-X BP26 swap [AT->MT]|Cup holder cut to fit|Synthetic gear oil|Synthetic brake fluid|Corksport SS brake/clutch lines|Mazdaspeed HV oil pump|GT-X front STB|Corksport type I rear STB|Matching full-size spare wheel|Homebrew Brass shifter bushing|Speed Source brass shifter cable bushings|EDM headlights/corners|FMIC|EDM cabin vents

                        1 3 5
                        ├┼┤
                        2 4 R


                        Seeking: Canadian 4WD seatbelts.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by jrally View Post
                          My Protege tends to understeer most of the time too, push it fairly hard and it goes nuetral, push it insanely hard, then it'll oversteer, but only slightly. It could have to do with the fact that my car still has the single cam engine and three open diffs though...

                          -Jon R.
                          Thinking on it a little more.. thats pretty much how mine is(Right now we have the same setup with the diffs and engine). If Im entering the right way, around 75% its pretty calm..no bad under or oversteer. When Im pushing past the limit though I do find myself countersteering..

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