VW Racing's Quaife Diff....

[RedRobin]

....

For Mk5 VeeDub GTI:

Like most mods, you don't actually need any of them, but........You could apply the same way of thinking and say you only need a Toyota Yaris (Sorry, but driving one of those is enough to destroy your will to live!). At first, my perception of a limited slip diff was that it was pointless unless you did trackdays but talking to one or two people with experience of them and also driving my good friend Jason's Mk5 GTI with a VWR Quaife convinced me otherwise. The fact that VW have now included a LSD, albeit electronic, in the GTI Mk6 acknowledges that traction can be a problem in certain conditions.

It's been a long time coming but worth the wait.

The down side of working with VW Racing is that plans and timeframes keep changing because of their priorities (this was made clear from the start and I have no problem whatsoever with this). The overwhelming up side is their expertise and high standards backed up by their ability through their contacts to solve any problems which may arise - and this was put to the test. They are dedicated VW specialists and I don't believe my GTI could be in better hands.

The first problem encountered was that Quaife delivered the wrong diff in the right packaging and further compounded by Quaife's delay in sending it! They are famous for their products but are a very typical British engineering company that doesn't always respond to customers as efficiently and quickly as they should do. It's a bit like the difference between the UK and USA postal services. The Quaife ATB diff installed is the one exclusively developed by VWR and is designed to respond more quickly to the physical inputs. It's quite a lump and weighs 10 lbs - Good job I saved weight with that carbonfibre bonnet isn't it! (I knew I'd find a reason to justify it).

VW Racing are over 3 hours drive away and so we arranged that I deliver my car on a Monday afternoon and they would start work the next day. Working on the DSG box of tricks requires a high standard of skill and, following an introduction to VWR, I chose them because of their experience and expertise. They choose their mechanics/technicians very carefully. All was going well until I got a phone call in the evening to say that they were changing the bearings - It was okay and good for many more miles but 53,000 miles of wear meant it didn't match as perfectly as they would like with the new cogs of the Quaife. But it's a VW part and not something hanging around on a shelf in stock in the UK. No problem! One was sent overnight from Germany.

At this stage I'm sat here with one eye outside, expecting to see my beloved red GTI arrive any moment as I need her tomorrow and there wasn't time for me to drive up to VWR to collect.

I'll keep you posted.

[shao_khan]

YOu should have said you were coming up here and I'd have pooped over to have a look.

[Tarmac_Terrorist]

Hi Robin,

I called in to see how they're getting on. The Lead Engineer at VWR explained to me that their apprentice had experienced a little difficulty in fitting the new bearings but with a bit of brute-force and ignorance they went in.

Looks like it will be ready soon. No need to worry I'm sure....

[joncowling]

Originally Posted by RedRobin

....

For Mk5 VeeDub GTI:

Like most mods, you don't actually need any of them, but........You could apply the same way of thinking and say you only need a Toyota Yaris (Sorry, but driving one of those is enough to destroy your will to live!). At first, my perception of a limited slip diff was that it was pointless unless you did trackdays but talking to one or two people with experience of them and also driving my good friend Jason's Mk5 GTI with a VWR Quaife convinced me otherwise. The fact that VW have now included a LSD, albeit electronic, in the GTI Mk6 acknowledges that traction can be a problem in certain conditions.

It's been a long time coming but worth the wait.

The down side of working with VW Racing is that plans and timeframes keep changing because of their priorities (this was made clear from the start and I have no problem whatsoever with this). The overwhelming up side is their expertise and high standards backed up by their ability through their contacts to solve any problems which may arise - and this was put to the test. They are dedicated VW specialists and I don't believe my GTI could be in better hands.

The first problem encountered was that Quaife delivered the wrong diff in the right packaging and further compounded by Quaife's delay in sending it! They are famous for their products but are a very typical British engineering company that doesn't always respond to customers as efficiently and quickly as they should do. It's a bit like the difference between the UK and USA postal services. The Quaife ATB diff installed is the one exclusively developed by VWR and is designed to respond more quickly to the physical inputs. It's quite a lump and weighs 10 lbs - Good job I saved weight with that carbonfibre bonnet isn't it! (I knew I'd find a reason to justify it).

VW Racing are over 3 hours drive away and so we arranged that I deliver my car on a Monday afternoon and they would start work the next day. Working on the DSG box of tricks requires a high standard of skill and, following an introduction to VWR, I chose them because of their experience and expertise. They choose their mechanics/technicians very carefully. All was going well until I got a phone call in the evening to say that they were changing the bearings - It was okay and good for many more miles but 53,000 miles of wear meant it didn't match as perfectly as they would like with the new cogs of the Quaife. But it's a VW part and not something hanging around on a shelf in stock in the UK. No problem! One was sent overnight from Germany.

At this stage I'm sat here with one eye outside, expecting to see my beloved red GTI arrive any moment as I need her tomorrow and there wasn't time for me to drive up to VWR to collect.

I'll keep you posted.

Keep us posted, RR. She'll be back soon enough and with more front-end grip than before. Great things too come!

[RedRobin]

Originally Posted by shao_khan

YOu should have said you were coming up here and I'd have pooped over to have a look.

....I didn't know you were around there - We haven't met. I'll PM you next time if you like - It would be good to put a face to a name .

[RedRobin]

Originally Posted by Tarmac_Terrorist

Hi Robin,

I called in to see how they're getting on. The Lead Engineer at VWR explained to me that their apprentice had experienced a little difficulty in fitting the new bearings but with a bit of brute-force and ignorance they went in.

Looks like it will be ready soon. No need to worry I'm sure....

....BASTARD!! - You even named the pic file after me!

^^Very funny though -

Their workshop is cleaner than my kitchen! Great pic you posted - I'll be posting more info soon.

[RedRobin]

....

FRIDAY:

Mark (Head Tech at VWR) drove my GTI about 180 miles to my home tonight after installing the Quaife diff and said the only issue he found was that my front end suspension is a bit bouncy but thought it was the wrong spring loadings rather than the Koni FSD's. Earlier chat I had with Ed at APS suggested that the diff might effect how my suspension felt. I don't fully understand this yet but will be looking into it.

The wear I mentioned on my DSG bearings was 'engineering' signs of wear and not wearing out or wearing in such a way to give concern. I guess it's because of them working on race cars where everything must be 'perfect' that caused them to prefer to replace the bearings. The 'engineering wear' would be exactly the same on a manual transmission of about 50k miles - It wasn't a DSG specific observation.

My DSG oil and filter gave nothing to be concerned about either.

I haven't driven her yet! Can't wait until tomorrow.

SATURDAY:

I did a 180 mile trip to Plymouth Uni today with my daughter but the route is mostly fast dual carriageway not B-road twisties and no roundabouts.

The A38 dual carriageway is potentially very fast - Quite capable of safely taking a constant 120 mph if little traffic, but it's the UK, so no opportunity. There's some sweeping fast bends on it which would have been ideal for some high speed testing. One stretch was good - Dual carriageway with tight but smooth bends with an advised speed of 40 but 70 was absolutely no problem - The diff makes the car feel totally unphased and rock steady. Obviously I built up to it slowly rather than go steaming in.

On another short stretch of dual carriageway nearer to home, the road dips and bends and rises bending right then left and swooping down and with cambers which usually threaten to unsettle the car but today with the diff I could simply blast right through it. It feels almost as if my car is no longer front wheel drive.

Overall, the car feels as if the suspension has changed - It feels more settled and planted - But I'm very aware of the dangers of the placebo effect.

I need some twisty B-roads and roundabouts.

SUNDAY:

Planned the twistiest route I know locally and did 45 miles this fine Sunday morning. I had to keep stopping to let the traffic get clear ahead - A few wretched caravanners around and trains of slow drivers braking for every single bend when they weren't going fast enough to warrant doing so - You all know the sort!

The diff is soooo smooooth! I've only just started to explore it for myself and, as I've said before, need Mark to demonstrate it to me fully. Compared with some of the same bends without the diff, it feels much better planted but it's seamless - You only know it's working because of the better traction/handling. Not a cheap mod at about £1,550 but it transforms the car - It feels like a higher performance car. I had ESP on as I usually do.

I'm very very curious to learn how the Mk6 GTI's electronic diff feels, and indeed how it works.

Big thumbs up so far!!

[RedRobin]

....

Another decent long drive today - 180 miles round trip to have lunch in a Harvester pub (I recommend the Caribbean Curry) with my accountant and close friend - He's just got the latest Saab Estate but never uses the paddles!

Roads were wet after raining last night and so a good test although they quickly dried off. B-roads, A-roads, and M-way. I'm slowly getting more confident and pushing harder to see how well the Quaife performs. She finds the grip/traction very quickly, even being undisturbed by a large wet manhole cover. Sometimes, if going very hard on the throttle for an overtake, she'll imperceptibly snake under acceleration - It really is very subtle and over very quickly and it's probably only a centimetre in side movement - absolutely nothing to worry about and the ESP doesn't cut in. The Quaife feels gentle and not in the slightest bit harsh when it comes in - You have to concentrate to catch its action.

I'm not experiencing that nasty random snatching anymore either - We thought it may have been due to mixing directional with assymetric tyres but VWR also cleaned up the wheelspeed sensors when installing the diff, so who knows.

It's not a cheap mod but really transforms a remapped FWD Mk5 GTI by contributing so much to getting the power down. I have to be careful that it doesn't lull me into being over confident!

Instead of feeling pessimistic about roundabouts in wintry wet conditions, I'm strangely looking forward to it.

[bazza_g]

are you now saying that the fastest Mk5 GTI in the world is now faster - fooooook me

also "nasty random snatching" sounds really bad so good thats been sorted out

[Chrisg]

Interesting write up RR.
I've often wondered what that diff would be like and if it is as good as quattro in most 'ordinary ' conditions ( wet roundabouts, pulling out at junctions etc )