Awesome rear differential explosion in SLOW-MOTION on my Eclipse today at the track!

[twicks69]

Hey guys, I was at the track today for my 1st pass of the year, and had a few problems, including my Eclipse chucking the rear diff, housing and cover, both rear axles, the driveshaft yoke and the subframe all in one kick-ass launch!

I will have the in-car vid up soon also!

Check out the video at:
TMZ Performance Media Page

or directly at:

YouTube - tmz-diff-tmzlogo.mpg

 

[viperlp01]

I know there isn;t much for you to do but your car rocks back and forth alot. Do you think that motion and of course the power levels had something to do with it. Im sure that adds to the stress.

 

[LiquidX]

Ouch! Not the best way to start the season but new stronger parts are always nice.

 

[95eclipser]

That slow motion video is sick! made my Sunday night? sucks you have to replace all those drive train products now

 

[2slow4utsi]

Boomba DSM Rear Differential Cover - DSM Turbo Upgrades - Turbo - DSMparts.com - DSM Performance Parts

Should help a little. Lol.

 

[burkgonzo]

Tim why do you gotta break parts??? Lol did you get any runs in this year?

 

[habitatguy187]

I know there isn;t much for you to do but your car rocks back and forth alot.

Weight transfer. Looks like the rear end is pretty stiff but I'm sure he knows what he's doing as far as setting up the suspension goes.


On the other hand though it kinda seems like if you went as stiff as possible on front and rear the power would be distributed more evenly....but would it yield as much traction as allowing it to shift to the rear tires?

 

[viperlp01]

I was reading on the DSMlink forums about guys chaining there front springs to keep the front down. guys making nasty power were breaking less and going faster. I know they make straps so you dont have to use chains but the weight transfer and the front lift is nasty.

 

[twicks69]

I had the front springs at 680# (no preload) and the rears at 715# (550#/in spring preloaded), front dampers were around mid-way on adjustment, and rear was around 3/4 max adjustment.

The tire pressures were 12.5psi in the fronts and 12psi in the rear.

Yeah, the weight transfer is what puts ALOT of toll on the rear end. When I had the 400# springs in the rear, it would buck HARD and lift the front tires up and rodeo-hop me doing burnouts on the slicks.

I think I need to soften up the dampening on the rear strut, while increasing slightly the rear spring to around 800#. Essentially, I want the car to do a slight squat and leave neutral. I need to have the fronts not unload themselves on the launch, as that is causing the bucking.



As for the rear diff cover, I already have a plate steel one from Andrew Kisner -- I was intending on installing it last night, but ran out of time to get it on the car. It would have likely saved the rear diff for another day of racing.

When I have some time, I will be redoing the entire rear end using an Evo 3 clutch-type rear diff, new axles, a new driveshaft, and aluminum/poly rear diff and subframe bushings. It is a long process, but it is now considerably easier to remove the rear diff bolts to undo the rear subframe!

 

[viperlp01]

Ya the evo 3 diffs are crazy.. They use a non lsd rear axles.. who do u get your axles through? DSS

 

[import2nr4g63]

how extensive is the evo3 diff conversion

 

[donniekak]

From the looks of the slow motion vid, a welded center could possibly help. There have also been people switching over to a 3000gt rear end setup. Good to get the breakage out early in the season.

 

[Turbo Monk3y]

That was awesome and sad at the same time. I have a couple of questions though.

I remember you saying you've been on a 4 spider center for some time now, is this still true during this run?

Also did you have any aluminum bushings in any of the 3 places on the rear diff. when this happened?

 

[MidShipCivic]

The subframe mount is a joke to begin with I wouldn't strengthen any existing part after that has happened.

Magnus produced a good product for this.

 

[907dsm]

Ouchie Tim... no breaking shit man. That slowmotion is sick... do it again .

 

[1996dsm]

WOW that sux, Nice slo mo though.

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

Yeah, I would say a welded center diff would definitely help out. You wouldn't get that back and forth pull of front tires, then back, then front, then back etc. that you are getting with the viscous coupler doing its thing. It may put more initial load on the rear end, but I think it wouldn't be as violent once the car begins its initial movement out of the hole. Amazing video though and an amazing car.

 

[twicks69]

That was awesome and sad at the same time. I have a couple of questions though.

I remember you saying you've been on a 4 spider center for some time now, is this still true during this run?

Also did you have any aluminum bushings in any of the 3 places on the rear diff. when this happened?

I am still running my 4-spider center diff with the OEM viscous coupler.

As well, this was on stock bushings -- I have ordered up a set of the poly/aluminum bushings for installation into the next subframe.

The subframe mount is a joke to begin with I wouldn't strengthen any existing part after that has happened.

Magnus produced a good product for this.

Yes, Magnus' product is extremely nice, but at $2500 for one, it is steep. We'll see. I will be doing some additional reinforcement along with my stronger rear diff cover with additional mounting points and gusseting.

Yeah, I would say a welded center diff would definitely help out. You wouldn't get that back and forth pull of front tires, then back, then front, then back etc. that you are getting with the viscous coupler doing its thing. It may put more initial load on the rear end, but I think it wouldn't be as violent once the car begins its initial movement out of the hole. Amazing video though and an amazing car.

I would rather not use a welded diff, but we'll see. Probably will try my spool's VCE on the 4-spider, or one of my welded diffs or center diff spool.

 

[twicks69]

Also, here is the link to the in-car video footage:

YouTube - Breaking the Rear Diff! IN-Car footage

Inside, you will find a detailed description on how to remove your rear differential in less than 2 seconds!

 

[Slanted J]

Inside, you will find a detailed description on how to remove your rear differential in less than 2 seconds!

Wow, N0 tools necessary

As always, absolutely amazing car! Can't wait to see you at the track again!

 

[FLASH1970]

From AWD to FWD in the blink of an eye. It was good to see you at the track yesterday. I hope you get it fixed and back on the road soon.

 

[slowgsr]

heavy car, lots of power, and weak parts. Sucks it happened on the first pass of the year!

 

[scottr126]

Good vid, Nice work pulling off to the side right away. I wish I would have gotten there a little earlier to see this. All I got to see were a bunch of annoyingly loud 13 -14 second rotarys.

 

[EvoRage]

Ouch that sucks! Oh well you have to pay to play right? I've seen a 3000gt blow up a transfer case at the track, it came sliding out half way down the track haha. I'm glad you are smart enough to pull over, I hate when guys blow something then proceed to drive all the way down the track and ruin the strip for the next 30 minutes as they have to clean it up.

 

[97gst_spyder]

I love the 2nd video... Kept your cool for such an expensive issue.