Be careful. The first half of the 1987 Turbo model year did NOT have an LSD. You'll need to make sure the manufacture date is AFTER 4/87 and then you'll still need to verify it has the LSD.

 

are the stub axles on the diff side or the wheel side?

 

Is there any way to tell the manufacture date by looking at the VIN? And is there any external difference of the diff casing to tell if it's an LSD equipped model? I think the axles were already gone off the car I'm checking out, so I don't think I can do the "see what direction the opposite wheel spins"-test.

 

yeah, how would I verify that I actually had a LSD unit?

Heat Rave R, what were you talking about when you said the "turn one wheel and see which direction the other wheel spins" test?

oh, and LWW, thanks for all of the answers!

 

If you jack the wheels up in the air and spin one wheel, if it spins the opposite direction, it's an open diff. If both wheels spin the same direction, it's an LSD. That's what I've been told anyways.

 

oh, okay. My wheels spin opposite of each other...I was hoping I'd get lucky and have a LSD already in my Z from a previous owner.

 

If When You Do A Burn-out Or Spin The Tires And There Is Two Long Black Lines Behind You, Do You Have A Limited-slip Or Open Differential?

 

If you have an open differential you only leave one line, a limited slip eliminates the one wheel spinning-one wheel doing nothing problem you have with an open diff. The limited slip distributes torque to both wheels so you get two stripes instead of just one. In a straight line though it's possible to lay down two lines without a limited slip. I can't vouch for the Z though, mines had a bad clutch since day one, it just slips until I let off the gas a little. The term limited slip gets abused, there are a few different forms of this device too. They don't all do the same thing either. Like in drag racing you want a locking differential to distribute full torque to both wheels, whereas in track racing, you'd rather have an LSD, because you don't want both inside and outside wheels spinning at the same exact speed around a turn, but you don't want one wheel completely dormant either.

 

Alright, Mine Leaves Two Black Lines That Are Exactly The Same On The Pavement. Same In Length, Width, And Everything Start To Finish. Is It Locked Diff., Open Diff., Or Lsd?

 

Peel out around a turn and let me know how many stripes you lay down then(if any). Thats the true test. Oh and try the test posted above by Heat Rave R that's the easiest way to tell. Most locking diffs, don't lock until you put some torque to them, and I don't know of one made for the Z anyways. They're most common on solid axle cars.

 

Depending on conditions, it could be any of the three.

Best way to tell is to jack up the back end and spin one tire. If the other tire spins in the same direction, it's LSD or Locked. If they spin in opposite directions, it's open.

Don't spin the tires around a corner. If you don't know how to control a slide, you'll just spin out and every tire leaves a mark when it's going sideways.

 

The next easiest way is to drain the fluid, pull the cover, take a picture and post it.

Put the cover back on and replace the diff fluid with new.

In my opinion, everyone should change the oil in their diff. After 22 years, I would bet most have never had their diff oil changed...

 

That part of my post was meant as a joke. I recommended to spin the wheels as described by Heat Rave R. And if he doesn't know how to control a slide he should sure as hell learn. In a safe environment of courses(like a busy intersection ). If you can control your car in an out of control condition, you're that much better of a driver, and can better avoid the mistakes of those not so adept behind the wheel.

This is in no way meant as a flame lww.

 

Hey no sweat dude. I thought you were joking, but I could sense people on this board thinking... Hey, yeah! That's a good idea! DOH!

I strongly recommend everyone take a performance driving school and then a drifting school.

If you can control the car sideways, you can control it in virtually any situation.

Cheers!

 

I couldn't agree more. I haven't taken a driving school, but my brother is an avid autocrosser, and used to race Karts, so I've learned alot from him. I learned some things the hard way, and lost a very nice 65 mustang due to this, and I don't reccomend it at all. The 280zx cars oversteer very easily and have no stability controls built in what so ever, not a good vehicle to try something stupid in. But once you know how to drive these cars(a powerslide doesn't count), they can do a lot of damage to ego's at the track.

 

Totally! And actually, you bring up a very good point. If you can't afford a driving school, and god knows they ARE expensive, autocrossing is the next best thing.

There are a lot of helpful people there and if you look really hard you can find a couple that REALLY know what they're talking about. As in any social/technical activity, most don't have a freakin' clue.

Find the guys that are winners in regional events and compete in national events and those that participate in HPDE's at real tracks and you'll be amazed at how willing most are to help you out with free instruction/advice.

Beware of the guy that knows everything, makes the most noise and doesn't win or compete in anything other than local events but blames it on the equipment.

These are the people that will mis-lead you because they don't have a clue.

 

Yeah, when I first started going to the track with my brother I was eager to get on the track, but he told me to go around and ask for ride arounds. I started by asking the guys with the "cool" cars like the Porsche's and vettes. I didn't get a ride in a single vette, and I got a raincheck that never came through on one a Porsche. My bro told me I was asking the wrong people(he only had one seat by the way in his car, RX-7), he told me exactly what you just said, see who's winning, who's checking there tire temps after races, who's making weight balance adjustments between races. I ended up riding in a couple Miatas and a Prelude. They would explain everything they were doing and why, and one guy even took me for a walk around the track to show me the art of choosing your line. I've learned alot of invaluable information from autocrosses, even before I ever drove at one. I learned how to drive in the dirt from my bro too. Now that's good fun.

 

omfg you guys are the best! i currently drive a white 87 n/a while im working on my 88 TURBO put the car on the jack today and guess what i have lsd! just gotta swp it into my 87 thanks for all the info guys i know this has nothing to do with 280's but if it means anything my dream car is a 280 a 79 280zx.thanks agian lol