What's the big deal about Torsen?

[quk@sievers.com (Phil Payne)]

In message <961211094531_167834679@emout07.mail.aol.com> PDQSHIP@aol.com writes:

> Both the one's I drove were at the low end of proper specs (.5 neg), where
> they got the best handling...  Torsen gives undesteer all the time, and gets
> progressively worse as you add the gas....   If it locked at a setting, one
> might be able to address it's shortcomings...  Great, just like abs, for the
> wife (three years, she has yet to touch the AWD switch panel), but not the
> best handling by far....  It gets worse as you increase the hp....  The
> gen-I, OTOH gets mucho better...  BTDT

Well, _I_ have yet to touch the AWD switch panel in my urq.  Not that it 
would do any good above 25mph anyway ...

And none of the non-TORSEN cars owned by club members around me can hope to 
keep up around traffic islands.  Nigel and Steve on the list both have TORSEN 
cars (a 20V and an MB like mine respectively) and we regularly show the ancient 
technology where it's really at.  I'm not saying it's ideal for track racing or 
rallying, but for sudden serious situations on normal roads it's close to 
perfect.  Dave Coughtrie in Wellingborough can make me pay attention when he 
drives his Ford Modeo turbo diesel, but his (non-TORSEN) urq is not much better 
than the Ford.  The MB's understeer is easily corrected by a large toolkit in 
the boot - my car is precisely neutral running driver-only and just gently 
slides sideways.

--
 Phil Payne
 phil@sievers.com
 Committee Member, UK Audi [ur-]quattro Owners Club