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Quaife LSD For 130 10% Discount

77K views 232 replies 69 participants last post by  fmn716 
#1 ·
Birds are kindly offering members of this forum a 10% discount off the internet price of their Quaife LSD for the 130. The LSDs are not currently in stock, although they have been ordered and are due to arrive end of April. This offer is available until the end of April 2007.

Edit by chanlon1:Since the below URL doesn't appear in php code correctly, please cut and paste the whole line into another browser window

Unfortunately this offer will not be available to the US or Canada due to contractual obligations.

Please be aware that I have no affiliation to Birds whatsoever and have no monetary gains to be made from this discount deal. Also, please ensure that you contact Birds directly, should you wish to purchase an LSD.

What I can say is that during my dealings with Birds they have been very helpful and extremely professional. Any questions regarding the LSD I would suggest you contact Birds directly.

Cheers. :D

PS The board moderators have approved this post.
 
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#6 ·
Can anyone do a write up on the Diff and their experience....

Woms / Rephlex................................ please :cool2:
 
#8 ·
Glad it's working well Oreo. If anyone is thinking of getting an LSD for their 130 then rest assured that the Quaife is a fantastic diff and unlike some will not need any servicing, as far as I'm aware. It's the first upgrade, after changing the runflats of course, that I would do.

Oreo, how's the Intrax? Have you fitted it yet?
 
#9 ·
Woms said:
Oreo, how's the Intrax? Have you fitted it yet?
Took me a while to get it fitted as it took Intrax a while to get me new top mounts instead of the ones Simpsons used for the other car. Managed to get them mounted for the last track day & autocross event for this season and I must say that I really like this chassis! The ride is firm on the road (not quite as comfortable as the M-sport), but it solves the problem with the nervous rear end as it is now stable as a rock at almost any speed (even on poor roads). On the track it is far more agile and much faster - turn in is improved and the additional camber & caster really improves grip. All in all a very nice package indeed :twisted:
 
#11 ·
I've held back from posting an early review of the product because I wanted got really get to grips with it rather than just comment that it was great and that everyone should have one. :rollseyes:

It must be a month since the conversion was done on the car. I should add that I also upgraded the ARB's from 10mm to 25mm, fitted 19" diameter wheels with Continental conventional tyres and so on, which also have a bearing on how the car works.

I also haven't helped myself by running the car only for a couple of weeks before it was booked in with Birds. During this time I did long work journeys and didn't have a great deal of opportunity to exploit the shortcomings of the OEM setup.

To give perspective, my previous vehicle was a VW Golf IV 25th Anniversary GTI. The PD150 engine was uprated with among other things a Turbo Dynamics stage 2 turbo, larger FMIC & ali pipes, custom de-catted exhaust, Superchips custom map, KW v3 coilovers, H&R ARB's etc. To cope with 230bhp and 320lb/ft through FWD I also had a Sachs uprated clutch and Peloquin ATB differential of similar design and function to the Quaife, but specific for VAG. I understood how to get the best out of this car, did many trackdays and was comfortable chucking it down a B-road at speeds I wouldn't yet contemplate in the 130i.

However, I wanted to move on and the 130i as a package is in a different league. It provides driving pleasure on many levels and is also just a nice place to be. The modifications I decided on with Birds were first and foremost to address the shortcomings of the car (which are all to do with ride and handling) and I will be leaving the engine well alone. In my view, as has already been said, the key to this is the differential and the tyres.

In OEM form, the ride is harsh and the stiff sidewalls cause the car to bounce and lose grip. This then unsettles the rear and the open diff allows a wheel to spin up. Then the DTC steps in and even during innocuous manoevres the light is flashing away on the dash. I didn't really drive the car hard in damp or wet conditions before having the modifications so will have to take other peoples' word for quite how magnified this gets in slippery conditions.

With the Quaife diff (coupled with the tyres which in themselves also make a massive contribution to improving ride and handling) the DTC can be left fully on and in normal driving it just won't intervene. So the difference is that obvious.

When I make a conscious decision to get the hammer down, I semi-disengage DTC with a single push. Again, I haven't put the car through its paces in a variety of conditions but I have held the car in controlled slides around and out of dry roundabouts. Really you have to want to show off though, it is very hard to unstick; grip levels are so high. My best test was letting a client who is a Subaru dealer and experienced historic racer stuff it down his favourite B-road. He was very impressed indeed and it will be a while (if ever) before I contemplate the speeds he attacked this twisty bit of tarmac at; the car took everything he threw at it.

So, this is my feedback so far. No trackdays yet and certainly no autocross, but I'm very happy with the diff and pleased I decided to get it done so early in my ownership of the car.

If you want to see what one of these will do in the right hands, check out Chris Harris driving Birds' 335i demonstrator with 380bhp and the Quaife;

mms://ms.groovygecko.net/groovyg/cl...r/chrisharris/mar_07/Hartge3series_512kws.wmv
 
#12 ·
Rephlex said:
If you want to see what one of these will do in the right hands, check out Chris Harris driving Birds' 335i demonstrator with 380bhp and the Quaife;

mms://ms.groovygecko.net/groovyg/cl...r/chrisharris/mar_07/Hartge3series_512kws.wmv
Nice clip that shows the advantage of the LSD :D

A short clip showing a drifting 130i LSD can be found here:



The ability to drive the car with controlled oversteer makes an enormous difference in how fast you can drive on the track, but the difference is more obvious during autocrossing. For a powerful car such as the 130i (as well as for a 120d with the massive torque), lots of power get lost in almost every turn on the course due to a spinning innerwheel. With the LSD in place, the level of control as well as the traction is increased to entirely new levels and the ability to use controlled oversteer (instead of trying to limit understeer) in the 180 degree turns makes the whole thing much more fun :twisted: For those that have not tried autocrossing yet, I really recommend it - it is a fun and safe way to get to know your car. It will also in a more obvious way than a few track days or trashes down small country roads show you the limitations of the handling of your car. I can tell you that my car is much more competitive with an LSD and Intrax in place :D
 
#18 ·
bavarianE87 said:
:eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: $5500. y does it cost so much??? is that the quaife one? i was hoping less then half that price.
I reckon the Quaife diff from Birds should be costing you $1950 Aussie dollars before tax/duty/carriage.

They have worldwide distribution for Quaife BMW applications other than USA/Canada. The Quaife is very suitable for fast road applications i.e. is totally discreet and very progressive when it does operate.

All contact details should be in the thread.

Happy Christmas :)
 
#20 ·
Richard W said:
Rephlex said:
.....was comfortable chucking it down a B-road at speeds I wouldn't yet contemplate in the 130i...
And why am I not suprised you've got a silver one :lol2:

Good to see the mods haven't stopped - Can I have a ride in this one too please? :D
LOL small world ont'internet eh? Would be great to meet up whenever you like. Bring your Porsche!
 
#23 ·
Have always liked them and after selling the Golf I was looking for one when I needed another car (of the train after a years commuting).

Ultimately as I work very close to home we didn't need a diesel and the 130s were just a bit out of reach on our budget so a 911 just had to do :D

Seriously though, I am still watching as my contract is up for renewal soon so 130s are creeping into budget :twisted: I just love the 3.0 BMW engine, it's a different howl to the 911, but ultimately the 130 is nearly as fast as my pork!

Back to topic, I notice that M3 diffs are becoming reasonable from breakers, is this a suitable/possible alternative to a Quaife?
 
#25 ·
Nikos120i said:
Can you fit an M3 diff onto the 1er?? And which M3? The E46?
I think the quick and easy answer is no. The Quaife part QDF13N for E87 fits 120i and 130i according to Birds website. All the Quaife applications are listed . IIRC the whole E46 M3 axle is different to all other E46's and the plate-type diff is not the planetary-geared ATB-type design that Quaife use. The E87 and E90/92/93 do share many drivetrain components.
 
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