Torsens in racing

[QSHIPQ <QSHIPQ@aol.com>]

Eliot's comments regarding Torsens in racing make me smile some.  It seems to
me that both quotations in his posts are from audis input, not from a car
driven, which is where my quotes differ.  Secondly, I don't find that a 60/40
torsen to be anything but a 60/40 LSCD.  I suppose you could say it's torsen,
and I stand corrected, sure isn't the torsen spider we all know lurks in our
q's nest.  Sure would like to see a test where it was used.  Regardless, we
can certainly see from those very articles that any reference to a torsen was
with a 60/40 fixed bias, not the 75/25/75 of the street cars.  

Looking at the choices given the drivers, one needs to wonder how many really
raced with the available torsen?  Certainly as my quotes might conclude
regarding the 1984 intro into the SQ, few if any, accepted the tosen diff for
racing the S1.  Looking at the rules of most racing and certainly homog.
rules, I wouldn't think audi would admit to being anything but the real McCoy.
I find just the listing you put forth, eliot, means that a whole bunch of
setups could be used for racing, NONE of them the street cars got.
Interesting.  Having been very involved in Showroom Stock racing, I can really
smile at what the marketing boys might lead the buying public to believe
existed.  Look right at 1984.  The torsen center was used in the early S1
cars, a plethora in the later ones, yet the homog. (exact street car versions)
all came with Gen I lockers.  Marketing?  Triumph or flop?

So I, take little stock in the quotes of what audi might have used, we have
that speculation right here on this list.  Phil climbed under a car, didn't
see one in the BTCC car he examined, yet audi claimed.  Several articles
quoted in my post indicate that the testers gave readers what was on the car
that was tested, not audi-eez.  I put more stock in that than "factory specs".
Even Audis own racing literature for all years, shows only "Permanent four
wheel drive" under transmission, so we certainly have a plethora of
speculation choices with quotes like that.

My reference to Torsens in racing really were in relation to what you have on
your street car.  A 60/40 torsen, VC, Clutch, magnetos, silicone plates,  IMO,
are not torsens at all, they are one of many FIXED f/r split LSD differentials
available, and so noted.    In fact, I would venture that if audi offered a
60/40 r/f torsen center, the spider bites I referenced would not be found.
The reality of that statement just doesn't exist in any of our marketed street
cars since 1989.  

Given how a torsen works, how does one get a 60/40 center LSD torsen (r/f OR
f/r)?  That might prove to be an enlightening discussion.  Hey Phil, any data
on tire sizes for those BTCC cars?

Scott Justusson
QSHIPQ@aol.com