[madmax240]

Hi all,
I'm looking for feedback from anyone who's used Southern BMW to swap in a quaife differential. Good? bad? expensive? value for money? Professionals?

I've got a MT 240i and I'm looking at a few options and the Quaife is at the top of the list right now.
I'm not building a track car nor a drift car. I might do a skid pan day once a year. I might do a track day once a year. I might go to WSID once a year. So keen to get something better than an open diff.

I read a bit about it and some of the things that surprised me was:

• 4 days to do the work (I read this on the 1addicts forum). I thought it would be a whole component swap.
• I have to send the parts of the existing open diff back to quaife to get my core deposit back.
• About $4000 for the whole job.

Any comments?
thanks

[seedyrom]

Jeeeesus. 4 grand?

Go have a chat with Craft Diffs at Granville.

It’s a pity Harrop don’t make a truetrac for BMW

[madmax240]

Thanks cd.

Craft diffs don't have a website it seems. I'll give them a call. Did you get them to do any work for you?

[seedyrom]

Craft Diffs installed a Harrop Truetrac diff centre for me (it’s a helical gear differential like a quaife).
No website doesn’t surprise me. It’s a little old school. Burnout cars, race cars, speedway sprint cars etc.
The modified cars they work on are usually at a stage beyond plastidip and opticoat.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Craft...11236525557434

I won’t lie, there aren’t service technicians dressed in white to give you warm and fuzzies when you arrive ...but then again, they probably won’t be charging 4 grand and 4 days to do the work.



That said ... I don’t even know if they do this ... but a phone all would resolve it in 60 seconds. I must admit I’d hesitate before taking something as nice as a BMW there.

Other than that, i’ve got no advice. My daily driver is a sleeper. A manual, turbo LS1 (V8 Calais). I found them suitable for my bogan needs. The ghetto mobile doesn’t like attracting unnecessary costs.

[madmax240]

Nice Calais. nice dyno chart too. it's great to have a sleeper. you just blend in and get on with your day.

I'll read up on the TruTrac as well. I know the M240i has one part of the diff that is welded, making it a bit different from most others. But how much time did Craft Diffs take to put in your TruTrac.

[seedyrom]

Yeah ... just happened to be doing some reading on a similar product to the quaife (Wavetrac).

Right now we're looking at just getting Wavetrac LSD and find the shop in Toronto that can do the conversion; separate the ring gear from the stock using CNC equipment, machine it, drill it and thread it to allow bolt mounting of Wavetrac differential.

It's Wavetrac's terminology "KIT" means you ship them your welded OEM differential, they then separate the ring gear from the stock using CNC equipment, machine it, drill it and thread it to allow bolt mounting of Wavetrac differential. Turn around time 2-4 weeks...



The second option I'm trying to get the best price on:

"Core exchange program
Wavetrac LSD is now available installed into the rear differential assembly. Core exchange program, we send you the entire rear differential assembly with the LSD installed ready to install in your car. You remove your old rear differential assembly and install the new one. This saves you the downtime of shipping your rear differential assembly to us and then waiting for us to send you your rear differential assembly with the LSD back to you. The $800 core charge is a deposit. Once we receive your rear differential assembly, the core charge is returned back to you."

__________________

I'm new to this modern BMW Game. Didn't realize it was so complicated compared to Holden/Chev stuff.
That said ... bogan chariots have been built around the concept of simplified modifications ... its so easy to just change over core componentry.

The Harrop TruTrac is done in a couple of hours.

[madmax240]

Update. BTW Thanks for the help so far.

After more googling, I still only see SBM with a website offering the Quaife for the M240i.

$4000 will get me a diff that a workshop in Canberra can swap in/out in about 3 hrs. this includes freight.

that's a good thing. but labour is additional, and a deposit is additional ($1500).

talked to BMW and it will be very similar amounts of $$$ to put in an M sport LSD (probably clutch type if my research is accurate).

Two things for me to think about.
1) SBM get my old differential parts, which then has the crown gear machined off and bolted to another Quaife unit for someone else. so I'm getting the crown gear from someone previously. likely the BMW unit will be completely new.

2) workshop in CBR to do the job.

hmmmm...

[seedyrom]

It's an easy drive to Canberra.

I've done there and back in a day a number of times

[WillOs]

Anyone gone down the road of an LSD for their M240i here downunder?

Anyone tried the MP LSD yet? Results ? Feedback ?

I want to get some form of LSD but jesus every time i make the call its got extra digits in the price... Astronomically priced here in Aus.

Can't find many DECENT performance part websites either....

[Mazza]

Hey Guys,

I went down the path of a quaife unit from Southern BM on my M235i.

Its probably the best mod I've done to the car, these units are bulletproof.

Adding more power to these cars without the LSD is somewhat pointless, as you won't get the drive out of corners. It really does transform the car and bridges that gap between the M235/240 and the M2.

LSDs are unfortunately very expensive items (that goes pretty much for any car). I remember I had to replace a stock HSV diff (clutch type and nowhere near as strong as the quaife) on my car years ago and it cost me a bit over 2K.

I only had my 235 for 2 months before adding the LSD, its now been a year since adding and its totally been worth it in my opinion.

happy to answer an other q's

Cheers
Mazza

[madmax240]

I eventually got a quaife too. Better hook up in corners, better slides (more predictable).

I drive around with all driver aids turned off about 99% of the time now.