280z Diff " to weld or not to weld "

[xyzalvarez]

hey guys..

i been working on my dime for some time..

never had the intention of getting a LSD

( mostly because of the $$ and dont having a clear idea what to get)

 

but now im swaping another engine, and i would like to upgrade the stock diff. something beffy

 

question:

 

i have a non LSD 280z diff with shafts sitting on my shelf

can snatch some pics but it reads :

P60 on the case and the gears JH 39:10 BB 14.7

 

is it a good idea to weld it ? i know some ppl love it but some dont...

anyone have a first hand experience on how to?

 

thanks

[]2eDeYe]

I've welded up a few, I use a peice of 1/4" plate cut to fit in the open space between the spiders. Crank up the welder and burn an inch at a time. Allowing it to cool to hand touchable between each pass.

 

Axle shafts, pinion gears and control arm bushings don't like welded rears.

 

But I do :D

[LAYEDOUTB2K]

^^^you forgot to mention tires. my brother always welds them up real similar to what you mentioned and they really stand up to a lot of abuse at drifting competitions and everything holds together fine.

[Duke]

Well, the real question is what are you planning on using the car for?

[xyzalvarez]

well the car would be driven normally...im not looking to drift or show off...

maybe maybe some tire burning ...lol

but i would like to take advantage of the swap...

and not to fear i would bust the stock diff ....

 

may be keeping to stock axels and using the shaft the diff came with.

i may snap some pics later...

 

 

hey btw: theres any chance you have some pics of your welding procedure?

[]2eDeYe]

haha, tires....so far in 'the celica' we haven't got as far as tires yet :lol:

 

Heres a pic of the first one I did. Don't mind the double pass goober weld...one pass is more than enough.

 

[datrod]

On a street car it will suck.

[xyzalvarez]

thanks for the pic!

so basically i need to " lock" all four sides inside the diff.

using a metal plate...

 

 

 

 

and btw these are the shafts i got with the diff...

the guy who gave it to me said " straight bolt on with the stock 510 axels "

 

 

any coments?

[Guest DatsuNoob]

Comments? Yeah, welded diffs are retarded and unsafe for daily driving. If you dont plan on drifting or showing off, what's the point? Not shooting your idea down, it would be fun used as a "toy" vehicle, but honestly it seems impractical for casual daily use. You'll soon find out lane changes and making turns will be a quite a bit different.

[datzenmike]

I have to be the voice of reason here. There's a reason for rear ends the way they are. It allows proper turning, where the inside wheel turns slower than the outside one or the outer one turns faster than the inner one. With a welded diff, the only thing that has any give, is the tires. This is a disadvantage on sharp and high speed turns when dry and very dangerous when wet. Due to weight transfer to the outside, (and increased traction on the outer tire) the inner tire will be forced to turn slower than it wants and looses traction and have to slide. This will then place most of the road holding and turning pressure on the remaining outside rear tire. This places you at a serious disadvantage when on wet roads, sudden lane changing or breaking on turns.

 

Welded rear diffs are fine for 1/4 mile runs and give maximum traction in the straight ahead direction. The sharper the turn the lesser the traction, with more stress and wear on the weakest link... the tires. Save your money and get a proper LSD.

[]2eDeYe]

I should have been a bit more specific, you'll want one plate for each side just like in your pic. Weld in one rotate the diff, weld in the other.

 

...and listen to these guys. I weld up my 'toys' and my DD is open for all of the above reasons ;)

 

Mike, you can gain some turning radius back by 'punching it' in the corners...of course your tires won't appreciate it :D

[xyzalvarez]

got it ! thanks guys... welded diff idea = cancelled.

 

i should keep it stock then...

 

will the shafts i have will bolt in?

is the 180 diff a good upgrade? or should i look for the LSD one..( hard to come by huh? )

[bonvo]

i would look for a lsd this thread should help you out some http://forum.ratsun.net/showthread.php?t=790

[datrod]

got it ! thanks guys... welded diff idea = cancelled.

 

i should keep it stock then...

 

will the shafts i have will bolt in?

is the 180 diff a good upgrade? or should i look for the LSD one..( hard to come by huh? )

 

I don't know what your budget is but an LSD is the best money you will spend. I have a nissan comp clutch type in my street Z lot's of fun. And I run a quaffe in my race car WAY FUN. They are pricey but worth it.

[banzai510(hainz)]

Calmini make a LSD for the R180.

 

I say dont weld unless your RICH so you can buy alot of U joints and tires

[hang_510]

is the 180 diff a good upgrade? or should i look for the LSD one..( hard to come by huh? )

 

yes, yes, (no)...but plan on dropping ~$350-$600 for it.

on ebay or dimequarterly regularly.

 

you will be fine w/an R160 LSD for your daily driver

[bonvo]

if you want a welded diff i have a old r160 i pulled from my 610 with no side gears left if you wanna weld that bad boy up :D

[xyzalvarez]

if you want a welded diff i have a old r160 i pulled from my 610 with no side gears left if you wanna weld that bad boy up :D

 

thanks for your offer man...

 

but looks like a LSD r160 would be best for DD..

 

also checked calmini like banzai510 said

 

$550 for a r180 new LSD !!

http://www.purenissan.com/r180_lsd.htm

 

whatever comes first i guess.. the r160 just plug and play or save some and get the calmini...

[banzai510(hainz)]

Just to remind you if using a 510 stub axles on the R180 you need to cut the dust shields otherwise the R160 bolts are barely engage into the plate where they thread in.

 

PS me and Jeff did a R180 snap in axle(from a 87/87 200sx) conversion vedio.

 

To use the 510 bolt type flange you need to wack the threaded collor out and put in the R180 spider gears since most R180s are snap in type.

 

Or one can grab a R180 4 bolt flange form a ealy 240 Z as those bolt flange dust shields should fit.

 

also Most R180s have the lame gear ratio from the Z cars. Unless its a front of the 4X4 trucks. so Jeff found a 3.9 I believe from the 200sx.

 

if one needs a ved I can make copies to send.

I tried to get Spitaspader to put it on the web but he dissapeared

[xyzalvarez]

.....

also Most R180s have the lame gear ratio from the Z cars. Unless its a front of the 4X4 trucks. so Jeff found a 3.9 I believe from the 200sx.

 

if one needs a ved I can make copies to send.

I tried to get Spitaspader to put it on the web but he dissapeared

 

 

ok thanks for the update..

the r180 came with these "shafts" the guy who gave it to me said it will fit the 510 stock axels..but i need to removed the " dust cover " ( round metal thing right next to the 4 bolts plate ) iim getting this right?

 

 

 

Also my the diff reads : JH 39:10 BB 14.7

that means i have the same that jeff have? 3.90?

[]2eDeYe]

That's a 3.90 ratio.

 

The number designates the qty of teeth on the gears

 

Ring Gear:Pinion Gear

 

Divide the ring by the pinion and you have your ratio

 

39/10=3.90

[nismopu]

if it came from a 280z it should be a r200 not a r180. Only the 240z's had the r180 for the whole series and some 260's. You might wanna measure the ring gear to verify that its an r180. peace.

[datzenmike]

All 240/260 were R-180 rears.

 

Not all 280s had R200s:

 

280Z Manual 75-78 R200 3.545:1

 

280ZX Manual 80-83 R200 3.90:1

280ZX Man. Turbo (B/W T-5) 83 R200 3.545:1

280ZX Auto (non turbo) All R180 3.545:1

280ZX Auto and Turbo All R200 3.364:1

280ZX Turbo W/Auto All R200 3.545:1

280ZX Man. W/4 Speed 79 Coupe R180 3.364:1

280ZX Man. W/5 Speed 79 Coupe R180 3.364:1

280ZX Auto 79 All R180 3.545:1

280ZX Man. W/4 Speed 79 2+2 R200 3.364:1

280ZX Man. W/5 Speed 79 2+2 R200 3.70:1

280ZX GL 79 R200 3.70:1

 

All 300zx had R-200s

 

200sx:

 

200SX Turbo 84 R200 3.90:1

200SX Turbo 85-86 R200 4.11:1

200SX Non Turbo 84-88 R180 4.11:1

200SX V6 All R180 3.90:1

 

Maxima:

 

Sedan Manual All R180 3.70:1

Sedan Auto All R180 3.364:1

 

I just sent a 4.375 R-180 to one of the guys on 'The Realm'. He plans an LSD install.

[xyzalvarez]

ok ok...

now im guessing wich one i have.

 

it reads " P60 " outside the case, on top.

 

wich ones are p60 ? r180 , r200?

[datzenmike]

:

Newer R180s that are available from the 84-88 200SX and have a large K cast into the top of the housing. The newer diffs use a stub shaft that plugs into the diff and is retained by a circlip, and the older diffs used a bolt in stub shaft.

 

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