Quaife Diff: missed my chance

The Australian Quaife distributor ordered me a diff, but after being told it was in stock, I was told that Quaife had sold the last of the current stock and did not intend doing another production run unless there were another 10 diffs ordered. So, it looks like I've missed out again. I'm now exploring other options, but Quaife was easily the cheapest. Damn. Missed by that much. I was told the last of the diffs went to Alfapassion in Hong Kong. Anyone know anything about them?

I knew from my friend there that these diffs were in limited supply - they only machine batches of 10 as you say. I'm sure they'd sell 10 reasonably quickly, might be time for some lobbying!

Originally Posted by 147owner

The Australian Quaife distributor ordered me a diff, but after being told it was in stock, I was told that Quaife had sold the last of the current stock and did not intend doing another production run unless there were another 10 diffs ordered. So, it looks like I've missed out again. I'm now exploring other options, but Quaife was easily the cheapest. Damn. Missed by that much. I was told the last of the diffs went to Alfapassion in Hong Kong. Anyone know anything about them?

I have purchased few times from them in the past when I went to HK. They were ok in my personal experiences but I also heard some negative comment from HK local Alfa community.

Originally Posted by jwyatt

I knew from my friend there that these diffs were in limited supply - they only machine batches of 10 as you say. I'm sure they'd sell 10 reasonably quickly, might be time for some lobbying!

Quaife e-mailed the distributor in these terms:

"Unfortunately at present there is no planned production for this differential. The last batch we manufactured has taken a long time to sell out.

If your able to generate orders for 10+ units production would consider re-manufacture."

I'm not holding my breath.

If I was going to keep my car I would definatly do so. I have a LSD in my Racecar already! Nothing better.

So happy to have the Quaiffe diff now!
Thanks to jwyatt for the tip off in the 'LSD group' thread a few months ago; otherwise, I may have delayed my purchase till it was too late.

Someone elsewhere recently recommended AH motorsports for Alfa upgrades. Perhaps some UK members will have heard of them?
Anyway, link to diff details is on this page: http://www.ahmotorsports.co.uk/index2.htm
Price seems comparable with Quaife's unit.
They also have 3.5L (300bhp) and 3.8L upgrades for the V6 models: http://www.ahmotorsports.co.uk/3500conv.htm

Originally Posted by bmoferrall

So happy to have the Quaiffe diff now!
Thanks to jwyatt for the tip off in the 'LSD group' thread a few months ago; otherwise, I may have delayed my purchase till it was too late.

One thing that may help is this - if I tell my friend that we finally have a 100% confirmed 156GTA customer using the diff, then they can list it as suitable for both GTA's and the GT 3.2. To date they've never been 100% sure this fitted, they know it should and we worked it out would because people were using it! Quaife are very careful in thier listings, I was going to fit one in mine and then get them to list it. It's no wonder the batch sold out slowly, the only car it was listed for was the 156 2.5V6.

hi re atb diffs
quaife have none in stock but a kent company has a batch in production?

got any thoughts as to who? and were i can buy one

It looks like the AH Motorsport diffs are clutch type diffs, i.e. are not Quaife diffs.
At least the reference on their Website to being able to set them "with various ramp angles" indicates this. AFAIK ramp angle adjustment refers to clutch plate type diff tuning which affects how quickly the clutch plates lock together.

Cheers,
TB

Originally Posted by bmoferrall

Someone elsewhere recently recommended AH motorsports for Alfa upgrades. Perhaps some UK members will have heard of them?
Anyway, link to diff details is on this page: http://www.ahmotorsports.co.uk/index2.htm
Price seems comparable with Quaife's unit.
They also have 3.5L (300bhp) and 3.8L upgrades for the V6 models: http://www.ahmotorsports.co.uk/3500conv.htm

I think the AH Motorsports diffs could be from Gripper

Not trying to hijack your thread, but...

What are the downsides to having an LSD?. More maintenance?

And. This may sound silly, how about the q2 from Alfa direct? Is it a spare part that can be ordered?

http://forum.alfa156.net/forum/forum....asp?TID=27770

have a supply of quaife diffs for 3.2 v6

kcr in kent have some on order,

i will update later today as to number they have left after outstanding customer have been supplied

Not trying to hijack your thread ...

What are the downsides to having an LSD?. More maintenance?

And. This may sound silly but, why not use the q2 from Alfa direct?

Is it a spare part that can be ordered separately?

Not trying to hijack your thread, but...

What are the downsides to having an LSD?. More maintenance?

And. This may sound silly, how about the q2 from Alfa direct? Is it a spare part that can be ordered?

Originally Posted by jwyatt

They are definitely.

crazy server!

Anyone know if the Quaife unit will fit a 2006 oil-burner?

I know this is going to sound a little 'pie-in-the-sky' (money talks, bs walks...) but...

Does an LSD really make a difference to everyday driving? How hard to you have to go before noticing the effect with/without?

I ask 'cause:

My disappointment with the Brera's line-up led me to contact a local Alfa tuner, who specialises in Alfa-Turbo applications, i.e. about fitting a turbo to the 2.2 jts. (But for TORQUE, not higher kws).

When I enquired "Should we also get an LSD" he flatly said "NO. Not unless you race".
Which I wont be doing.

The lead-time from me to order the Brera i want, and then add the Turbo (which, admittedly could come later) is 6 months. That's for the car only. Yes, that's how long I have to wait to get the 2.2 with the 'fruit' to my specs.

The estimate for turbo is another 4 weeks, as they'd have to play around with re-mapping etc. Seemed like the perfect time to also fit an LSD.

So. Does an LSD make a heap of difference to everyday (admittedly, spirited) driving?

Depends how hard you drive - it would help me, for sure - and in the wet I think any reaonably powerful FWD car could do with one.

Anyway, back to the Quaife stock situation - they are making up a new batch early in the new year...

James

Without spirited driving you don't really need an LSD IMHO, unless you have a pretty decent dollop of power..

With spirited driving it depends on the power to weight and also importantly the max torque to weight of the car concerned..

If you find you are spinning an inside wheel on cornering, or are suffering push understeer as you apply hard power on corner exit then an LSD will help bigtime.
Personally I found on the GTA without an LSD that on corner exit on windy roads it always felt like the car was being pushed out as I applied the power, especially on longer corners.
With an LSD it feels like the car is really trying to stick tightly to the line and sometimes feels like its sucking you in tighter - which is a pretty cool feeling

Cheers,
TB

Originally Posted by Classic Martini

Does an LSD really make a difference to everyday driving? How hard to you have to go before noticing the effect with/without?

The question is: are Quaife making the diffs again? Or is this a case if we order then they'll make it, but there aren't enough orders yet? The complication for me is that I'm in Australia, so it is more complicated to join in a group buy. If they are definitely going to make them, I can chase it up with the Australian distributor.

Originally Posted by 147owner

The question is: are Quaife making the diffs again? Or is this a case if we order then they'll make it, but there aren't enough orders yet? The complication for me is that I'm in Australia, so it is more complicated to join in a group buy. If they are definitely going to make them, I can chase it up with the Australian distributor.

They are definitely running another batch after Christmas - will be 10 diffs at least. I had confirmation from my mate that works there yesterday.