ScottR400D Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 Good point! Maybe not. Anyway, the forecast is good, restrictions are lifting. I reckon I'll be sending the DVLA some tax this next few days and see if the SPC is as good as I remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7 wonders of the world Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 Mine's just gone in today so I will be taxing from April 1st too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy.Whizz Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Recently a member of the MT asked G. Mac about any problems with the titan diff and his answer was, you have nothing to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Well, of course, he would say that. The country's acknowledged expert on the item, who builds them for CC as well as others, says differently. As do many dissatisfied owners who, to their cost, know the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy.Whizz Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 I know Scott, I'm just saying what I've been told. I'm due my factory built 420R in about one month and I'm already worrying about the titan diff, when spending 45K on a car it shouldn't have problems that are known about. I'm hoping mine will be ok but if not I will have a Tracsport diff fitted asap after warranty has run out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrp Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 I know its not the perfect solution but would it not be possible for people with these diffs to buy a knackered diff from someone who has had one booked in for repair. A few people seem to have bought a new standard diff and sent it away for conversion and then when returned replaced the knackered LSD if they sold it to the next person down the line it could slowly be worked through a few people. Do all the BMW diffs have the same ratios ?Just my thoughts.My 3.5K 420R I haven't been been brave enough check the slip Mrp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Mrp, there's merit in your suggestion but I think most people end up simply replacing the Titan assembly with SPC or something else. I am one of those who bought a whole new open assembly and had the SPC fitted to it and that is in my car now. Unfortunately for me, by the time I did that I'd already had the Titan and the diff casing etc fully rebuilt by Phil at R and R. So, on my shelf I have a completely rebuilt, all new bearings, seals, the lot, diff assembly unused.I doubt I'll fit it again but maybe will find a race team who will buy it off me. I know most of them rebuild the Titans very regularly and some teams are holding spares and rebuilding themselves. There is an issue with different ratios; the 5 and 6 speed boxes use different ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Mrp, there's merit in your suggestion but I think most people end up simply replacing the Titan assembly with SPC or something else. I am one of those who bought a whole new open assembly and had the SPC fitted to it and that is in my car now. Unfortunately for me, by the time I did that I'd already had the Titan and the diff casing etc fully rebuilt by Phil at R and R. So, on my shelf I have a completely rebuilt, all new bearings, seals, the lot, diff assembly unused.I doubt I'll fit it again but maybe will find a race team who will buy it off me. I know most of them rebuild the Titans very regularly and some teams are holding spares and rebuilding themselves. There is an issue with different ratios; the 5 and 6 speed boxes use different ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 #380 Sorry Billy, I see that now! You'll be OK for quite some time with the Titan as long as you don't use the car....... Seriously though, and it's probably too late for you but I'd recommend any new 420 buyer to spec an open diff, run the car carefully for a few months in case of issues under warranty, then fit the SPC LSD or a Quaife if that suits At least you'll be able to have a back to back comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrp Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 #382-383Hi ScottThis kind of what I meant, I'm tempted to buy a new standard diff from Caterham (its a 391 as it has a 5 speed Mazda box) and send it to SPC to be rebuilt using their system and get it fitted to the car, then sell my old diff to someone to do the same. That was my thought anyway.MrpPart number I think is 30A034C for the standard diffThis is my diff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 Yes, that's what I understood. Much cheaper to just have Steve replace the old Titan with his LSD but more time off the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john hooper Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 I am also one of those who bought a whole new open assembly from caterham and had the SPC fitted to it . The car will be put back on the road on Thursday and will give it a good test. Im not sure whether to keep my old diff as a spare or sell it on, I removed the backplate and crownwheel & pinion look to be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisC Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 Has any owner reported a problem with the late 2018 synter plate BMW Titan yet? The only hard evidence pre load numbers published where from mine (i.e. <1000 miles) and Mark's 1 year old car, and both where identical. I haven't seen any reports of failures. Obviously I have seen and observed plenty of carbon plate failures.Just for reference, I currently have a driveshaft warranty claim in progress, I am waiting for parts. I suspect they would have rejected my claim if I had an aftermarket diff fitted.Has anyone had any experience of Drexler LSDs? They are made to order, and offer a 168 BMW unit. Just don't know how tuneable they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team Shortshift Posted March 30, 2021 Leadership Team Share Posted March 30, 2021 Well, I have now got my diff out of the car (2012 R500D; 7000 miles; virtually zero pre-load when I measured it a few days ago) and the first surprise is that the oil is really pretty clear and clean. And my suspicion that my diff must therefore have sintered plates was borne out by the writing that was revealed on the diff carrier: "LSD - steel plates".So I guess that means that my loss of preload is due to Belleville washer failure, but there is no evidence at all of any metal particles in the oil that I have drained. And no extraneous noises when driving. Fingers crossed...Off to SPC tomorrow (hopefully) where all will be revealed. Looks like I'm another owner who is standing inline for a Tracsport/SPC LSD - and a wallet lightened to the tune of £1,800/£2,000.I will update once we (well, Steve) has opened it up and had a poke around.James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 James, please do come back, I'm sure many of us will be interested. Have you had the car from new? I thought cars from 2012 had carbon plates, could yours have been rebuilt? My 2015 (diff was originally built early '14) R400 certainly had carbon plates. Chris, that's a good point; I'm not particularly aware of sintered plate failures but I would think some of the cars which have been reported as failed were fairly recent and may well have them. For me, the biggest issue once my diff was rebuilt with the sintered plates was the awful noises at lower speeds and turns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GulfSeven Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 Should I be concerned about my 2020 310R, or is a post 2018 car with 152bhp likely to be unaffected? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 I know a few people with 310s who haven't had any issues at 15k miles or so but you might be well advised to check the preload and change the oil every now and then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GulfSeven Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 I'm afraid I've not read all 40 pages of this thread...I assume changing the oil is easy but checking the preload somewhat more involved? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7 wonders of the world Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 Preload involves a full rebuild of its fallen off.Checking it is a very straight forward clean hand task though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team Shortshift Posted March 31, 2021 Leadership Team Share Posted March 31, 2021 Back from Steve at SPC who opened up my BMW/Titan diff whilst I peered over his shoulder.As suspected, my diff (2012 factory build R500D, 7000 miles) was fitted with sintered plates. A bit strange in itself as most factory builds from that time were reportedly fitted with carbon plates. Ah well, a bit of good fortune in an otherwise annoying episode.The oil that was still in the casing (I had drained most of it) was really not too bad at all - no signs of debris or metal particles floating around. However, on stripping it became clear that one of the Belleville washers/springs had cracked through and another had broken into two (possible three) parts but, luckily, without disintegrating and affecting other components.So the loss of clamping force from the failed Bellevilles explained the loss of pre-load - to the extent that the sintered plates look virtually as good as new and ready to go again. In fact, I have asked Steve to rebuild the Titan with new Bellevilles, shims and whatever other new components are required so in a couple of weeks I will have a fully-functioning sintered-plate Titan LSD up for sale. It will be three or four weeks before Steve can build a new Tracsport LSD unit for me and reassemble it into my BMW casing. That really leaves only one question: what ramp angles to go for? The Titan unit that I am replacing was 30/90 and the Tracsport can be built to 30/30 or 45/45 configurations. I'd be interested to hear of experience and recommendations, based on the car being used around 30% on road and 70% on trackdays.James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petethediesel Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 For the information file: My late 2018 360 Duratec, fitted with a TIitan Sintered LSD and running with R&R EP90 oil. Was recently serviced by Dave Gemzoe at 5,500 miles and the pre load was at 38.8 ft lbs. All road use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 My car was OK at 5500 miles, Pete....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GulfSeven Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 It sounds like you need a 'max torque' torque wrench to check, and you're looking at 40 ft lbs new vs 20 ft lbs when it needs a rebuild? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 Whilst a dial type wrench makes it easier it's not hard with a regular push through type. Just start low and move up a few ft lbs at a time till the wheel turns. Or start high and move down till the wheel doesn't turn?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GulfSeven Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 Great - I was planning on buying one of these anyway next time Halfords have a sale:https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-tools/spanners-and-wrenches/halfords-advanced-torque-wrench-model-200-488711.htmlYes I know it goes way too high for the Caterham, but Mrs. GulfSeven's Mercedes GLC has higher torque wheel bolts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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