03-08-2020, 01:40 AM | #1 | |
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Wavetrac LSD/ATB + xDrive, WORTH IT!
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Some of you may recall the thread where I tore one of my rear half shaft boots, and BMW in their ultimate wisdom don't have a replacement boot (or even procedure for changing it) for the rear half shaft, thus making complete unit replacement the only official option. It wasn't going to be a fun job, or even one that's really DIYable looking at how they press out and pull in the half-shafts with the rear hub. It was going to be a pricey job. Well I decided to turn that expensive lemon, into an even more expensive lemonade. Since the half-shaft replacement work was a large chunk towards the work required to replace the differential all together, I said, "Why not?" and ordered a complete Wavetrac LSD/ATB unit built up by Diffsonline to be swapped with my OE open diff unit. I had been thinking about seeing what an LSD could do for my car, and the sway bar unfortunate event gave me just the excuse to jump on it. Wavetrac xDrive Impressions There's exceptionally little detailed experiences out there with LSDs on xDrive, so I didn't have a good basis on what to expect. Some comments out there said an LSD would be worthless with xDrive, and that xDrive wouldn't let an LSD shine. What I expected, was that I wouldn't really notice an LSD in daily driving, unless really pushed, and I'd probably notice it at the track. Boy, was I in for a very pleasant surprise! Over the past week I've been daily driving with the Wavetrac and I'm very pleased to report that the improvement is quite noticeable across a wide range of daily driving scenarios! Anytime the car is taking off where you'd normally run into issues with wheel slip, such as taking off from a stop with the steering wheel set up for a turn, is vastly improved. Normally there's always a bit a hesitation, stuttering, and uncertainty as the car is struggling for traction, but no more! It just grabs and launches. One of the most interesting things I found about adding an LSD was that it makes the xDrive vehicle feel more RWD. My hypothesis for this is that since the rear wheels are better locked together, the xDrive system/transfer case ECU doesn't detect enough wheel spin difference to shift more power to the front axle and instead maintains the default 40% front/60% rear power delivery. The effect is the same sensation you get from a RWD vehicle where you have a push and rotation from behind in a corner. The benefit of that is the car can hold a tighter inside line and feels like it has more corner grip. Additionally I found the car has greater stability and less "vagueness" when entering corners at higher speeds. This increases driver confidence and has allowed me to increase my entry speed into corners. I'm very much looking forward to getting the car onto the track next and seeing if this holds true there and I can achieve greater corner speeds than before. And of course, can I "hoon" the car out more? YES. Being an AWD car, it's been pretty difficult to get the rear end out under power alone with the open diff, but the LSD has made that much easier, and in a controllable manner. So I'm a happy camper, and even though this was an expensive mod, it feels like it was well worth it to me!
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03-12-2020, 11:06 AM | #3 |
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Well done FaRKle! , great writeup and watching the video now.
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03-12-2020, 12:35 PM | #5 |
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Diffsonline charges $2800 (including shipping) for the Wavetrac work and new bearings and seals. If you want them to acquire a diff for you and build it in that so you don't have any downtime there's a $400 core deposit, which you can get back after installing the new diff/pumpkin from them and shipping them back your original diff/pumpkin. They have cheaper options like their own branded helical diff (which is like $400 cheaper), and clutched options as well.
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03-12-2020, 02:01 PM | #6 | |
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Enjoy.
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03-12-2020, 03:10 PM | #7 | |
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In my case that would've been shipping a diff cross-country, which is expensive, so not really having to worry about shipping a core back was worth it for me to just buy a donor and have it shipped direct to them.
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03-13-2020, 03:25 AM | #8 | ||
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03-13-2020, 11:10 AM | #9 | |
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The M240/340i RWD use a 215mm ring gear diff, the xDrive M240/340i use a 188mm ring gear diff, same as my 328d. The axle shaft seals are different sizes. I couldn't find one example of the M-Perf LSD actually being installed on an M240/340i xDrive vehicle, but there is a post on these forums of an xDrive 340i owner who tried to have the M-Perf LSD installed and the dealership found out it wasn't compatible. So it was an easy choice to go with Diffsonline and a Wavetrac, which I KNEW would work, versus buying the M-Perf LSD from a dealer, and finding out in the middle of the install that it won't work...
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03-13-2020, 01:24 PM | #10 | ||
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03-13-2020, 03:11 PM | #11 | ||
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Is that something different? If you put in your vehicle, it confirms it fits the M240i XDrive. I went the extra step and called up my dealership and they confirmed that it fits (I am sure that could go either way though, as they are looking at the same web page as I linked above hah) What am I missing? Sorry for being so new at this but I want to put in an LSD as well, and I am trying to learn as much as I can before pulling the trigger. |
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03-13-2020, 04:22 PM | #12 | |||||
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Additionally, on RealOEM it shows that PN under the RWD M240/340i but not xDrive versions. Here are some posts by someone on the forums that tried to have it installed on his 340i. Quote:
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03-13-2020, 09:18 PM | #13 |
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Awesome Review! Can you confirm what OEM Part # you are using?
I'm looking to do this for my 330I Sport Wagon and I'm showing 33107616972 I'm not seeing any $200 Used Diff's on Ebay tho?
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03-14-2020, 12:39 AM | #14 | |
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The way BMW structured the diffs for gas models is that the xDrive models get one size ring gear diff smaller than RWD models. So the 330i shares the same 188mm ring gear diff as me, but the 330ix has a 168mm ring gear diff. Likewise the 340i has a 215mm ring gear diff, but the 340ix has a 188mm ring gear diff. Your 330ix has a 168mm ring gear diff, so you'd need to search ebay for one of those to use as a donor.
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03-14-2020, 07:56 AM | #15 |
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It's pretty disappointing that you can't just buy an LSD anymore and install it yourself. Nowadays everything is welded in so it requires machine work to bolt in the aftermarket diff.
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04-18-2020, 09:44 AM | #16 | |
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I have been looking into this for awhile and wasnt sure how it would work with the xdrive. now i know. |
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04-18-2020, 08:10 PM | #17 | ||||||
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https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...i/33108659989/ |
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04-18-2020, 09:31 PM | #18 | |
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04-18-2020, 11:36 PM | #19 |
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I believe that's an error. The stock diff for the M140ix is the 188LW just like the 2/3/440ix vehicles. Additionally, the rear half-shafts listed for the vehicle are the same as the 340ix (not the same as the 40i vehicles), which aren't 215 diff type, and the M-Perf diff isn't listed under the "retrofitting/conversion/accessories" section.
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04-19-2020, 12:11 AM | #20 | |
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04-19-2020, 08:50 AM | #21 |
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Agree with the OP. I had the M-Performance LSD installed on my 435i xDrive, after getting one from the fire sale. Similar experiences had with daily driving and spirited driving. Love not being a one-tire-fire, too. Best $900 spent on parts and labor yet.
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04-19-2020, 09:04 AM | #22 | |
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