Ok, reading up it seems the 1.6 LSD sucks a nut? I just recently bought another 93 for a good price because it was a full option car with a hardtop w/defrost. It has LSD, but also has 220XXX miles on the chassis. I am turbo'd shooting for 230-250whp, so question is.....its gonna pop when I swap the diffs over aint it?

 

If you drive like my brother, yes. My mom, no. I ran on my 1.6 dif for 10K very hard miles but it only had 27K on it when I started turbo, no problems. But put a 1.8 in this winter just in case. Check the fluid for chunks and bring some oil dry stuff for the dragstrip, they'll appreciate it.

 

you need a 1.8 diff at those power levels. You will be stranded with a broken ring and pinion in the 1.6 diff.

 

:( lol, ok thanks

 

The LSD in the 1.6 was pretty limp, even when new. It is not rebuildable, and not worth the effort to swap over. Do it right the first time and put in a 1.8 with either a Miata Torsen unit or an RX7 clutch type LSD.

 

considering you have a 1.6 and your goal is 230whp on a poser dynojet, your torqueless wonder will probably be ok on the 1.6 rear end for a while...but borrowed time.

 

Ok, well I was looking at rear end swaps, and ford Thunderbird rearends are popular with the v8 swaps....can this be fabbed up for a 1.6? or do they make kits?

 

I've currently got a 1.6 LSD on my car. pre megasquirt I had around 200hp. now I'm running 12-13 psi and I have yet to have problems.
I dont drive like a retard and keep everything smooth though.
I wont be surprised if it blows up, but I'm not going to bother with it until it does.

 

Anything can be fabbed up for anything. And while a Ford rearend might be necessary at the 400 ft/lbs level, I don't see the point in spending the time and money for a 200-250 ft/lbs car, when the 1.8 diffs are cheap, plentiful, and have a proven track record.

 

diff swaps for a 1.6 are not that cheap compared to a 100 dollar rear end out of a tbird....cheapest diff 1.8 swap I have found was 750 bucks..

 

You have to get custom axles to mate the Ford diff to the miata hubs, as well as a custom driveshaft.

 

ok, thanks for the reply! Im trying to keep my options down, but it seens a 1.8lsd swap would be strongest for the buck? I dont do alot of driving as it is....maybe put 2000 miles on my miata a year, I dont drive like a ricer, but do plan on doing some drag racing....How weak REALLY is the 1.6 LSD compared to the 1.8? I mean, I dont plan on dragging the car 1000 passes or anything, it is my DD but like I said, I do plan on taking it to the track every once and a while.

 

just keep swapping in 1.6 rearends when they let go..... they can be had for $250 or less?

 

The 1.6 Diff breaks on STOCK power, at unpredictable mileage.

Adding hp = cutting time.

I'm on my 2nd 1.6 differential. I blew the 1st one at 7psi on a lightly modded greddy kit (160 hp? No dyno numbers) after ~20k miles of turbo'ness.

Im on a 1.6 VLSD right now at 8psi, and I'm just waiting for the "roar/clanks" to appear again, and leave me in the middle of nowhere.

Just go buy a 1.6 diff, and let it hang in the garage untill you break the other one. This way, you'll have a way to get back on the road, and it'll save you some time to purchase a 1.8 Torsen.

700 - 900 for a bullet proof rear end (at least at the power you want) isn't too bad a deal, being that it just drops in (assuming you also bought the misc. ****)

 

i had two miata with the lsd rear end,

one was at 12 psi for 6 months of abuse, well, torture...
i mean bouncing rev and dumping clutch and poping into gears like it was my day job

the second i had turbo but didnt beat on it, seeing as it was my daily, but that one at 6 psi was fine for the past year

so i guess u either get gems like mine that havnt blown up

or u get a lemon

 

Yeah, but what's the point of having a high-powered car if you have to baby it around and are afraid to actually USE the power?

Borrowed time indeed. I'm on a 1.6 rear end, and as soon as time and money present themselves, I plan to swap it out ASAP.

Pretty much. That's why it's a common swap. Don't bother trying to reinvent the wheel. If you do decide to reinvent the wheel, though, be sure to vaguely post about it and build up suspense on as many forums as possible, then reveal something so incredibly stupid that you're laughed off of, well, as many forums as possible. I'd suggest something like retrofitting a rear from a Model T, possibly with a chain drive as well if you want to go this route.

That said, the 1.8 rear and LSD are desirable for different reasons. It's the larger (and stronger) ring and pinion, and differential in general that you're after with the 1.8 parts. The available Torsen LSD is one of the reasons that many adopt the 1.8 rear even if their power levels don't necessitate it. If strapped for cash, or just looking for strength on the cheap, one could get an open 1.8 rear and retrofit a Torsen LSD unit at some later time.

 

Ok, well, I think im just gonna geta 1.6LSD, like I said, I drive maybe 2000 miles a year or so.....and it wont be beating miles, there will be some beating, but none like urgaynknowit sounds like he did with his 1st LSD hahaha

 

well i broke my first 1.6 drifting in a parking garage when my car was bone stock. like completely nothing done to it other then 60psi in the bald rear tires so it would spin.
iv been on my second 1.6 lsd for maybe 5 months now and have been making a lil more power then stock (115 instead of 93) its holding up but i can tell that the limited slip is not very limited lol. i have been wondering what the 1.8 diff will hold up to? can you break one with a stock motor 1.8? between 300 and 350hp.

 

lol static I predict one pass down the track and your Diff will explode esp if you have stick tires or some decent power to wheel hop. It is not a mileage thing its a strenght thing and the 1.6 gears and case are to small and weak to be effective period. Swap in a 1.8 diff and you can track all you want up to probly 300 hp when the torsens breack to fix this go with a RX7 clutch type lsd or aftermarket unit. And then you will be good until the halfshafts blow at 300 + hp.

 

Stop talking about 1.6 rear ends like they have functioning LSDs. They don't. They had a worthless viscous unit that wasn't very effective when new and is almost certainly completely ineffective now. The only "real" LSDs in 1.6 form are aftermarket, and there's no way that I'd **** away money dumping it into a 1.6 rear. That's just idiotic.

If you keep the 1.6 rear, you could buy 2-3 spares really cheap for when they blow up. I got one for $60, just in case mine blows up before I can afford to get a 1.8 rear in it.