how does the LSD affect the car's handling anyways?
most LSD's seem to run about 1200 CDN (or 800 USD) for one, not including install.

Street-prepared is probably where all the modified beasts live. A poor little RA with an LSD vs modified beasts... HAH! we'll see

 

To explain how an LSD works, I should start by explaining what a differential is:

When a car goes around a corner, the outside wheel must travel further than the inside wheel. When wheels are attached to the drivetrain, that can cause a problem, since the gear can only turn the axle at one speed. So, a differential allows the wheel with more resistance (the inside wheel) to spin less while putting its power on the wheel that is spinning faster (the outside wheel).

There are two problems with this in racing applications. For racing with curves, the inside wheel is usually not even touching the ground, so it has the least resistance and therefore in an open differential gets the power to spin while the wheel that is on the ground (the important one) doesn't get any power and can't drive the car. Essentially, you get one wheel spinning in the air while the other is a sitting duck.
For drag racing or any straight line application, the problem is launching. You want both wheels to spin and grab at the same time. With an open differential, the tire that slips first gets most of the power, so your other tire just sits there. A good example of this is when you do a burnout with an open differential, you often get one skid mark.

The solution is in the limited slip differential (LSD). It limits how much power can go to the wheel with less resistance. So the tire that's on the outside of the turn or getting more traction in a launch gets at least a decent amount of the power being used. Putting the power to the ground is the most important factor in racing.

So why don't we have LSD on every car? Well, most cars don't use all of their power or lift one tire off the ground completely, so they don't need LSD. Furthermore, cars with LSD have difficulty with really slow sharp corners and driveways. Since the inside wheel can't slow down as much as it should, the turning radius is increased and you end up dragging the outside tire a little as you go around the corner. In conclusion, LSD helps traction in high speed and fast cornering situations, but not normal daily driving.

 

Street Prepared is stil for street vehicles. It allows suspension upgrades, any size wheel/tire you can fit on the car, external engine mods, I think cams, brakes, seats. No weight reduction or interior removal though. But honestly, a Ralliart might be a good contender in STS depending on where the SCCA board takes it. So if I had a Ralliart, I would hold off on LSD until I decided what class I wanted to be in.

 

thanks for the huge read, urbanknight.
yeah, I think if the LSD is gonna put a cramp on daily driving, I'd probably have to leave it off... until it comes and all out autoX car... hmmm...

I guess a good set of adjustable shocks oughta make this car a good competitor, as well as some really good tires (and wheels).

 

Well, LSD isn't all that bad driving daily. If you were to lock your diff, that's another story. But yeah, it's one of the last mods to do on the Lancer. Once I lowered the car on a decent suspension, it kept both tires on the ground pretty well anyway. Besides, na Lancers don't put a lot of power out to really benefit a whole lot from LSD. Turbos could really use it though.

 

that's what I kinda figured (but wasn't hoping). LSD's do wonders in RC cars
I dunno. sometimes I like to take corners a bit harder, is all. not often, mind you
But other than a larger turning radius, does the LSD make daily driving any harder? (I would guess not).

How about helping out in detrimental weather like rain or snow? I know tires are the ultimate way to go, but what about an LSD (since it gives traction to the tire with the least traction, no?)?

Reason I ask is cuz the Spec V gets an LSD, and it's the one feature that seems to be mentioned A LOT in reviews.

 

Yeah, that's the only issue with LSD, other than that daily driving is fine. My Trans Am had LSD from factory and I didn't really notice any difference between that and my camaro. I would imagine that LSD would help a little in the rain, not sure though.

Hey, I was an accomplice in hijacking my own thread!

 

hehehe... oops?

Is the stock Ralliart competitive, though? I've been talking to Mazda 3 owners (who are in G-stock, for some odd reason). Apparently, it's the new Mini Coopers that seem to dominate H-stock, and G-stock too.

 

Well, for this season only, the Ralliart has an advantage because it is overpowered in H stock and F street prepared, but I predict it will be moved to GS and DSP by next season. For some reason, we don't see a lot of Minis around here, so the HS class is full opf Focuses... Foci? Whatever

 

Holy crap, I can't believe they are letting that thing run in HS. I know if someone ever brought one to an event here I would b**** and moan for them to run GS. GS is where it belongs with the SI, SVT Focus, Cooper S, Integra GSR, etc. Same thing goes for the VW GTI R32, regions have it running either BS or DS.

 

The reason they let the Ralliart run in HS is because the class listings simply put Lancer non turbo for HS. Did the Ralliart hit the market before the beginning of 2004? If so, it's perfectly legal in that class until the Fasttrack says otherwise. The one I showed in this thread ran in HS, but nobody's going to complain when he's not winning.

 

the Ralliart feels like a G-stock runner.
It's comparable to the Mazda 3 (leave details for another thread), which is already in G-stock.

Heh. I'm thinking of adding a body kit, LSD, and suspension mods. That'll push me WAY out of stock class and into ... what was it... SP? Are body kits even allowed?

 

I think body kits are allowed in SP as long as they don't serve any performance purpose (i.e. using the new openings on a front clip for an intake, intercooler, etc.).

 

But a body kit isn't always your best bet because most body kits just add more weight and are less aero dynamical :P 'Cause you know you need perfect aerodynamics, haha

 

Yeah, body kits are added weight, but I think the question was asked out of the common concern with people that have body kits and don't want to run their otherwise meager cars in highly modified classes. Body kits are usually more aerodynamic though, but like you referenced to, it makes almost no difference at these speeds.