Jeeps, pickups, and mustangs only have 1 wheel that spins. Does my C4 spin both or just one? Ive always wondered why those veichles only spin one wheel. My go cart spun two wheels when I drove it thru the yard....

Doesnt that make those cars 1 wheel drive rather than 2 wheel drive?

Wait, the C4 has a independant suspension right? That means both would spin I think.

Called an open differential. Basically you only get one wheel that locks up. So if you have one wheel in the air you are screwed.

Must have an LSD unit to spin both wheel.

HUH?

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Yep.

Karts have solid axles, no diff, it's impossible not to spin both wheels.

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If the Posi is working correctly ,it should spin both.
If only one wheel spins ,clutches in the Posi( LSD ) are shot

hm... let's make sense of this...

There are three kinds of differentials, really... open, locked, and limited slip (LSD or Posi).

There are several brand names for LSD (not the drug!). Ford calls it Traction-Loc, for example. GM called it Posi-Traction.

I don't remember AMC or Mopar, off hand.

What does a diff do? It allows a car to turn and compensate for the difference in speed. The inside tire doesn't have as much distance to cover as the outside tire.

A locked rear doesn't do this and will feel really odd on a surface with good traction.

An open diff will not lock, period. At all. You can, on ice, trick it with the parking brake, tho...

A limited slip differential will do a little of both. It will allow for the wheels to turn at different rates in a corner, but will also lock up so both are used for traction when accellorating.

Every C4, C5 and C6 made has a LSD. Period.

Many C2 and C3's had them, too, but they were not standard.

For most cars, they have open diffs... they don't have enough power to make it matter. But for handling and traction, it's a must.

Interestingly, many automakers have been faking an LSD with the ABS/ASR systems... not perfect, but effective.

There are a two different types of differentials. Gear and clutch type. It's just different ways of transferring the power.

My son uses a 'welded open diff' in his 240sx for drifting events - it is a cheap way to provoke oversteer in lower-powered cars. As Andy says it feels odd on a good traction surface (for example driving in the parking lot / staging lanes at an event). In effect he is turning his car into a fixed-axle or locked-rear vehicle.

He can change his diff at the track in 10 minutes...

Interestingly I dont think I have ever heard of clutches failing in our corvette differentials, yet our F150 has had them replaced twice under warranty..

A limited slip can still let one wheel spin, depending on how much traction it has compared to the other.

Basically, it's an open differential, but in order for the wheels to travel at different speeds, it has to overcome the friction of the little spring loaded clutch discs inside the diff.

A locker is more like your kart, it forces both wheels to turn the same speed, but also unlocks automatically when it's not under load, or it might have an electronic or pneumatic switch.

A spool is the next step. This is the same as having a 1-pc axle like your kart. The rear wheels turn the same speed no matter what. If you put a spool in a car it kills your turning ability, and will actually cause the inside tire to skid when doing sharp turns. This is something you'd only put up with in a car if it was mainly used for drag racing.