My evidence for the fact that Quattro torsen sucks can be aquired by reading
any performance test figure for handling in any magazine for one. But
Chocholek, the creator supposedly, put it best
"In fact, he said, there was a factory driver -- he couldn't remember who --
that absolutely refused to have a Torsen in his car because he found it made
the car too difficult to drive. There was also another driver who didn't
particularly like it but agreed
to race with it on occasion, depending upon the event. [Could the fact that
one driver didn't use a Torsen be the reason why there is so much
conflicting evidence about whether Audi ever raced with one or not?]"
I believe this driver to be Hans Jochen Stuck, but I have no real evidence
other than Stuck's outspoken nature and some reports of problems when Audi
first raced the 90 IMSA in GTO.
And the cream on the cake- Audi didn't even design it.
Stick with open diff Quattro 1 (essentially 4wd because it only works well
with the center locked), it's your only virtue.
And there is no "theory" envolved in the torsen incorrect torque split debate,
if more than three wheels slide.........good bye four rings. The bigger
sedans are guilty of this because they slide so much easier (i.e. big ass
sliding sedan syndrome).
No bad to Audi, they made awd avalible to the average consumer for the first
time- affordable and decent for family driving. But NOT performance.
If you want performance, cruise by open diffs and torque hunters and even
viscous (which is still better at the limit than either two), and get into
electro-hydralic clutch active split systems. Porsche first invented AWD in
1946 with the type 360 (also known as it's buyers name the Cistalia). And
Ferdinand Sr. idea sparked Piech (nephew) and Jorg Bernsinger (ex-Porsche
engineer and inventor of open diff) to pioneer AWD in the late 70's. But
Porsche took it to it's greatest level with the 953 and 959 gruppe B electro
hydralic clutch system- the system I understand the most. Fully active with
multiple settings all computer controled with infinte active split. And later
used on the 964 C-4. Sadly, cost and marketing gave way to the far less
advanced (dum) viscous system. But still, that system is better for high
performance.
I have lots of tech info on the Porsche ECS system, if anybody wants to know
about REAL kick-ass AWD.