Watching recent youtube videos of cars with open differentials spinning out and hitting curbs when taking a turn onto a city street and accelerating pretty hard is making my now wish I had LSD in my base. I would assume that the ABS, DSC, traction control nannies would suffice, but what exactly does the LSD add in terms of real world examples? Is there a way to add an aftermarket diff currently and what would be the approx. cost?

 

You're obviously referring to YouTube videos of "idiots" with limited or no skill horsing around on the street. LSD wouldn't do much for that category of driver. However, it is of great benefit to a skilled driver on the track near the edges of the performance envelope.

 

+1.

I've owned/driven cars with far more horsepower and far less refinement and auto-gadgets than an F-type and had no trouble keeping the back end from swapping ends with the front.

It all comes down to respect for the machine and understanding what the limits are.

An LSD will not prevent any of the self inflicted accidents you've seen on the internet. In the hands of an unskilled driver, an LSD can create a bigger problem than a standard open diff.

 

As you suggest, the traction control (DTC, etc) on the vehicle is what maintains directional control. The value of the LSD comes in when powering out of tight turns. With the weight shifting from the inside rear tire to the outside tire, the inside tire looses traction and will start spinning, with the open diff transferring the power to the spinning tire. In this circumstance , an LSD will maintain some percentage of power on the tire with traction. That percentage will depend on the LSD design. In short, LSD is for maximizing acceleration out of a turn.

 

Thanks, that give me a much better understanding.

 

lhoboy is correct and gives the foundation of why LSD can do more harm than good in the hands of the foolish or inexperienced. With an open diff, the inside wheel would simply spin rather than propel the car forward. Since the outside wheel still has full traction, the car will simply follow though the turn without incident albeit without maximum possible speed.

With an LSD, the drive to both rear wheels combined with excess throttle will bring the car closer to losing rear end grip causing the car to spin out. DCS is meant to intervene and eliminate this, but YouTube gives us solid proof that idiot proofing just offers bigger challenges to bigger idiots.

I have one car with LSD and it's a bigger handful to drive on snowy icy roads than it's non-LSD equipped cousins.

 

On a track - where you should be driving to the limits of adhesion - the LSD will also maintain drive through high speed turns, keeping corner speeds up and lap times down.

On the road, they have greater benefit in monster horsepower front drive cars. Although as Ford's Mk1 Focus RS proved, you can have too much of a good thing.

 

Agreed. It is a common misconception that limited slip means it limits the car slipping, I've even come across it on 4wd boards where people should know better.

LSD is about maximizing traction to keep power on the ground. The safety stuff is the DSC, ABS, BFD etc.

 

Had SLK55 without LSD package. Keeping the 418 hp and 389 torques on the ground was always an issue, the nannies kept the car from spinning around coming out of a turn.

 

You forgot perhaps the most important safety feature, and that one resides inside the brain of the driver, who needs to have some knowledge of the laws of physics as it pertains to car-handling characteristics. That brain must also contain some amount of common sense.

In addition, I suspect many of those videos star individuals, who have none of the above, and who have "brilliantly" decided to turn DSC off.

 

I've never taken LSD or any other type of drug before driving, but I imagine driving any of the F Types on LSD would be a very risky, albeit psychedelic, experience!

 

Driving the F-Type (especially if it's Stratus Grey) is the drug.

 

Unfortunately, many cars don't seem to be available with that option.