Quote:
Originally Posted by Law
I guess we'll never know 100%, as it still leaves enough room for uncertainty.
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This is an interesting thread about someone with a very late e46 m3 (his is from 2006), and he has stock the 'z4m type' LSD in his car.
He has the same question as he apparantly bought a 3:91 ratio upgrade that was based on the older style diffs, and he wonders why his stock diff looks different
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So it DOES seem that indeed the later e46 m3's (with the different partnumber for the diff) do come with the different lsd style, similar as was used in the z4m. So that answers that.
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=253453 (use photobucket hotlink addon or such to see pics)
(and that romanian guy also probably knew what he was talking about, which makes sense as people who sell diff cores usually know their stuff, otherwise you just dont come across these things...a layman isnt just going to take a diff/diff core apart. He probably wouldnt know how and have the tools; this is usually the field of experienced mechanics and driveline specialists.)
I think this info is pretty conclusive and confirms what I've been saying...
But what the real life differences are.. who knows.
I suspect that GKN implemented a double sheer actuator instead of a single one; based on the timespan they patented things. But only dissection can confirm this.
And dissection probably means destruction or demolishment in some way as the internals operate on their own oil reservoir.
The main difference that can be seen is that the planetairy gear assembly has been shifted to the side of the crownwheel, and that thus the clutch actuator previously fitted on the crownwheelside now sits on the other side. Thats why its thicker on that side with the newer style diffs. I wonder why GKN changed the design. Was the old one not as good? Is the newer one cheaper to produce?