as a 2003 tl -s owner, i was shocked and frustrated to hear that the cl s got a new 6 spd manual tranny. But i have a question regarding the limited slip differential that comes with the 6 spd cl.
ok... isn't limited slip like VSA? they both shut down power to the wheel that does havent grip and is producing wheelspin right? like if the passenger rear wheel is slipping, the VSA starts braking that wheel at like 60 % and the others at a different % right? so how is that different from limited slip? if there is a difference what is it? which is better? and WHY DOESNT MY 03 TL-S HAVE IT?

thanks in advance

 

the difference is one is electrical and one is mechanical..basically vsa can only take away power while LSD distributes power to the griped wheels....jOn lerd

 

The other problem w/ Limited slip is with winter driving conditions.. if one wheel is in a rut (in the snow or on ice) .. the mechanical limited slip system on the Cl-S won't delegate power to the wheel w/ traction, rather, both wheels will continue to receive power... sliding you into the angle of lateral decline on the road... making for a not so comfortable situation.

However, w/ the ABS controlled VSA on the TL-S and the TCS on the TL-P .. the power is sent to the one wheel w/ traction at low throttle.

I may be wrong on this, so please correct me if someone has read or heard differently.

Pete

 

in a way..every car has limited slip differential... what it does is it spins left and right wheel at different rate so when u corner left...left wheel won't spin as fast as right one...vice versa...

now i don't know the techical difference between the stock ones and the performance aftermaket LSDs... supposedly it helps you corner better and come out of corner faster...

 

That's what a DIFFERENTIAL does, not limited slip.
Limited slip is essentially a friction-coupling (not unlike a partially engaged clutch) of the two drive wheels, such that one wheel cannot spin freely on its own. This is quite handy in a performance application.

So, the CL-S doesn't have VSA? I find that odd.

Todd

 

the torsen diff reacts much faster than the VSA computer, and in this case, making the tires bite harder entering a corner, reducing understeer
it is quite interesting why they omitted the VSA when they added the torsen unit, maybe to cut down cost?

 

dont mean to be harsh but you are wrong on that lsd gives power mechanically to the wheel that does have grip....that is why it so good for launching cus the wheel that spins gets power taken away and applied to the other wheel...

 

im 99 percent sure that vsa is still in the cl-s....from what i heard it actually works better !!!

 

The 6-speed does not have VSA. VSA is only on the automatic. If you go to acura's web site and check out the gallery for the CL, they show the dash for the 6 speed, zoom in and you'll see there's a blank where the button to disable VSA would be. I also remember hearing it on Motor Trend TV.

My question is - where's the button to turn on cruise control (the blank covers both halves)?

Also - remember, VSA and limited slip aren't very similar concepts. Limited slip is more similar to traction control (i.e. TL-P). VSA (TL-S) also helps you get out of over/understeer situations via the brakes.

 

very true, but i don't think the acura VSA is very effctive at all, unfortunately:p

limit slip works a lot better than TCS, which in my opinion is very ineffctive

 

nope no vsa here

 

sad to say you guys are little more than off...goto quaifeusa .com and you'll find all you want to know on the helical gear limited slip differential and how it differs dramtically from an OPEN differential

 

wassup guys,

I'll be the first to admit i don't know everything there is to know about cars. BUT I do know some. The main difference between traction control (or other variations of it like the VSA or TCS) and a limited slip is how they do what they do. A traction control system basically reduces power from a wheel that is slipping BUT does not transfer more power to the other wheel. It just reduces power to the slipping wheel. Where as a LSD will transfer more power to the gripping wheel instead of the slipping one (kinda like that old suburu commercial used to explain it). Also, LSDs are mechanical and traction control systems are computer controlled. And as someone that works at a car dealership, I know that many companies will put in a traction control system to an ABS eqipped car b/c the wiring is already there and it's so much easier and cheaper to add the traction control instead of a LSD (which can be costly, esp. good ones). So, in commercials and stuff they can boast ABS and Traction control. But in all fairness, to enthusiastic drivers, a good LSD is better than the best traction control system anyday.