**Diff Question** Helical or 1.5 way...
 

I have the opportunity to purchase a Nismo GT 1.5 way or S15 Helical LSD...

For a SERIOUS road racer, which diff would you guys choose?

TY!

few factors
price of each?
condition?
installed?

the Nismo one would be my choice on a purely track car
the HLSD for dual track/daily duty

knowing me though, I'd want both

Both prices are around the same...6 bills for the Nismo, 6 for the S15....=/. Have you had experience with both?

is this second hand or is some place selling them for this price??? i'll take either at that price :)

My nismo gt 1.5 needs a rebuild after this last weekend at autox -- it apparently wasn't super friendly with hoosier a6s. I bought it new about 1.5 years ago.

I've had both, and I love the seamlessness of the torsen, but the predictability of the 1.5.. I'm going to shelve my 1.5, maybe have it rebuild this winter, and buy another helical for the time being.

So would you say...you can't really go wrong with either? Is the 1.5 way more predictible, you say? Which one tends to slide out more, and which is definitely more controllable, would you say?

I do not have any intentions on drifting, just road racing & gripping.

Because a torsen never locks, it can be a little bit harder to put the ass of the car where you want. I mostly autocross my 240, so this is a little bit more important when navigating cones.

On track, I thought the clutch type was a little bit too aggressive and would have preferred a helical which doesn't upset the balance of the car near as much. When I have the 1.5 rebuilt, I'm going to have a couple of plates flipped so it doesn't lock up 100%.

I will be able to give you better feedback when I get another torsen in the car. I've changed everything out from when I had one before, so the car might behave better now.

Depends on driving! As said helical = no maintenance, which I like....

Its all TRUE! I had driven, vlsd, nismo 2way, welded, and now I own a helical... Power out of the corner like a bat outta hell no problem, very nice on transitions. Initial turn in is unbelieveable...... S15!

I've owned both on a car that only sees HPDE/open lapping days and the drive to/from the track. You can't go wrong with either one of these as they both feel great on track. I am not going to say anymore that this as I made to many other changes to the car to give a true apples/apples comparison of the two.

As mentioned, the nismo unit lets you know it's there when in the parking lots/pits... I forgot at times that I even had the helical.

Monty, is yours a GT or a mechanical?

The GT is almost too aggressive, I think. I have a couple friends with nismo mechanicals (4 plates, instead of the GT's 20) and I almost prefer them because they're not as obvious.

My comparison is pretty much apples to oranges as well. Hopefully in the next 2 weeks I can make a proper comparison.

Forgot to mention that, it's the mechanical one. It's an R32 rear diff, so I assume it's the factory one from the R32 or one added while in Japan.

I'm happy with the one I have, it feels like it locks a bit more than the helical, but not enough to cause any issues on track. Of course I went from used RA-1's to used hoosiers, so again my comparison is not so much apples-apples.

I'd say go with the helical

i would choose helical also. because i have one, theyre super reliable. oem. they dont really break or go bad. they perform like a champ. and theyre the best ever.

um...i never had a 1.5way but i had a 2way. and i hated it. i got the 2 way cheap and it was my first diff. being a road racer i didnt like the way it reacted, and as a daily it was super load and annoying which i didnt realize until i put in the helical