What does everyone think about acd longevity?? In talking to a couple of tuners, they seemed to express concern over the durability of acd. While acknowledging that acd would probably improve handling, they seemed to indicate that active diffs in general are probably not as bulletproof as mechanical diffs. Considering Mitsubishi's precarious business position, wouldn't everyone rather purhase a vehicle with mechanical diffs, thus improving the chances of long-term satisfaction? I mean, if Mitsubishi WERE to fold, (and this certainly IS in the realm of possibility), it seems to me that a mechanical diff would be MUCH easier to work on/maintain. What are everyone's thoughts on this???

 

Bump

 

Well, my common sense says that since ACD works via wet clutches, which work via friction with each other regulated by pressure, it would wear out eventually, just as a clutch type LSD wears out over time. A VCD is just a gear differential with a viscous device that limits the speed difference between the two sides of the diff. Since there isn't any disc-on-disc friction, I think that theoretically it could be much more durable. However, the devil is in the details and I am sure you can design an ACD that is much more durable than a stock VCD, albeit with additional cost.