Hi guys,
I'll toss my two cents in, for what that is worth! Remembering I really am
very new at this stuff with less than 10 race weekends under my belt, I'll
relate my experiences.
I bought my TR4 race car with a stock rear axle and with a welded diff. Ran
my first three events that way. The car had small front sway bar and a rear
sway bar and oversteered terribly. For the '01 season I had a Southwick
axle made and ran one of Jon Woods new Salisburys. I took off the rear sway
bar and suddenly the car was a joy to drive. As everyone says, you do not
know anything is back there. You can lift your inside rear wheel and you
get no wheelspin at all. Ran 4 events that way, happy as could be as my
confidence grew and my lap times shrank.
Then I broke the ring and pinion in the diff. Getting parts took way too
long, and I ended up putting in the old welded rear that I bought with the
car to run at Watkins Glen last September.
Transitioning back to the welded rear was weird. The biggest thing to
remember was if you can't hold your line because of understeer, add
throttle. Lots of it! That kicks the rear around and points you where you
want. A tad unnerving...
The welded rear takes getting used to, and I think once you get the
techniques down you will be quite fast.
The Salisbury has no learning curve to get used to, get in and drive. I
think you are going to be as fast as the welded diff out of the box. But,
remember you do generate lots of heat in there and the Salisbury becomes a
maintenance item. I recommend having spare clutch and shim packs on hand!
I have never driven a Quaife equipped car, but have watched plenty of
in-car video. You can easily tell when wheelspin occurs, the car is exiting
a corner and you hear the engine spool up for a second. You have to loose a
wee bit of time when that happens...
The way I see it, if you already have a Quaife, and are running Vintage
where the prize money is moot, I will quote our fearful leader!
"It doesn't matter"
Cheers!
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