240Z: Differential / LSD Choice decision & Spring compressor
I’m at home with a flu. While this is generally a bad thing, on the other side i have plenty of time to do all the meticulous research on Suspension, Transmission and differential Options available. And the good thing is i’m seeing the light at the end of the Tunnel. Suspension wise i still miss some small chunk of information so i got myself this spring compressor to remove the old ones and measure them a bit:
However The most important part is: I made a deceision when it comes to the Differential.
I’ll go with the Subaru STI Hitachi R180 Differential. This one is similar to the R180 From my datsun and looks absolute OEM from the outside. The main difference is the “K” casting on the top which indicates that there is a 115mm inner ring gear diameter compared to the 110mm of my old one. Now is this worh a swap? No. The main reason is that there are plenty of spareparts available and even optional parts Like limited slip Units.
The good thing is that Torsen-type (Helical) Limitied slip units (LSD’s) come factory from subaru in some applications so its even better 🙂 I decided to go with the torsen type since i drive the car mainly on th e street. German readers might want to check out this page about the different LSD types: https://www.limitedslip.de/varianten.html
The bad thing is that the Subaru Differential has a 27Spline (teeth) side axles while Nissan had 25spline axles. Beta Motorsports made some adapters but from what i understoud the owner died a while ago and now they’re available through wolf creek racing:
https://www.wolfcreekracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22&Itemid=31
I hope to get my questions regarding the suspension answered soon. so the next steps will be more about collecting, preparing and assembling these parts. It can get a bit boring in front of the computer 🙂
2 Comments
Nils
Just as a side note: John Coeffey was the founder and owner of betamotorsports but gave up the business a few years ago. He was a real corner stone of Datsun knowledge and I’m sure you read stuff from him on hybridz and other forums. Unfortunately he did die just over a week ago in a motorcycle accident :(.
Have you looked up CV-Axles? I have thought about LSD options for mine aswell and was wondering whether to go full on CV-Axle setup or leave the normal ones in (With proper suspension geometry and not too much power they will hold – but while one is in there :D…)
JDMjunkies.ch
Hi Nils, Thanks for the notes and Inputs. Sad to hear About John..
I’ve looked for CV-Axle conversions but i think It’s a bit too much for a slightly modified L-series.. Most of them are rated for Hybrid cars with up to 800HP. As far as i know Petitjean is still running stock U-Joint shafts on
His 400 HP racecar. And i guess the swap is easy aftwarwards if needed. However here are a few options for CV-shaft conversions:
Troy ermish racing: https://www.ermish-racing.com/home
Modern motorsports: https://www.modern-motorsports.com/datsun-240z-280z-complete-cv-axle-conversion.html
T3: https://technotoytuning.com/nissan/240z/complete-r200-r230-rear-end-conversion-z-car
Wolfcreek racing: https://www.wolfcreekracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72&Itemid=61