I have to say that after a long test of W9 the other night the diff preload has transformed the handling of the cars off power. The cars feel much more solid on the road and far less prone to the rear end stepping out unless provoked.

The question is will this be the trigger that marks the downfall of the locked diff?

Depending on the type of racing you're doing, locked diff will always be there. Most drifters will still use locked, and most racers will go with preload system

I hope so, it always looked weird having a locked diff in my setup

Quote from Woz :

The question is will this be the trigger that marks the downfall of the locked diff?

how about asking this in 2 weeks time when biggie and co have set a few new wrs with or without the locked diff ?

I hope so. I hated the way the RWDs handled with a locked diff, which is why I was mostly driving the LXs for the last two years because they seemed to be able to deal with the clutch pack diff better than most.

But after reading threads a couple of weeks ago about tyre simulation contributed by people much smarter than me, it seems the diff might not be the root of the problem. I suppose we'll have to wait and see. But yeah, I hope so.

At least the XRT is drivable with preload. I just hated the way locked diffs made that car handle. With properly set up clutch pack the car handles quite nicely Haven't tested the LRFs yet... and not sure if the cars are actually faster with preloaded clutchpacks...

I actually love the RAC with the new preload setting

Quote from Hyperactive :

Haven't tested the LRFs yet... and not sure if the cars are actually faster with preloaded clutchpacks...

I haven't had a chance to run W9 yet (work...) but I would hope it might bring new life to the FZ5 and RA. The LX6 was always easy enough to fling around with the old clutch pack diff, but the competitors with the engines further back seemed to suffer a lot.

I still have my doubts that this preloaded diff is making locked diffs obsolete...

Clutch pack is, afterall, a bit less responsive with the throttle. Locked diff makes use of really ridgid setups with hardly any play in suspension or roll, and if you are having a slight bit of wheelspin, it still is in control and pushing forward nicely. Clutch pack, with or without preload will always make the car feel like it has a slight bit of mechanical traction control, aiding the car in and out of the corners. One thing is certain, that the preload setting makes the cars a lot more enjoyable and believable with their performance, and feels like it should feel. Locked diff is just all wrong, and the only reason it should stick around as an option is to see if the tire physics have critical issues to be fixed. And they would have to be fixed if locked diff continues to be faster.

I hope a lot of people (especially hotlappers) make use of the preload setting and see if they can develop a setup to run faster than their locked diff times. It REALLY needs some extensive testing.

The FZ50 is/was already quite nice to throw around if you understood the weight. But RA has always had that lift oversteer which I hope gets cured by preload, at least to some degree. The FO8 had some mid corner instability too...

Although I must admit that the XRT is now quite easy to drive, maybe a bit too easy as it is quite hard to totally lose it...

As said in some other thread, the biggest problem with the tires might be the load sensitivity. To me it just feels that the cars in LFS regain grip a bit too slowly. No idea if it is the load sensitivity at all but what I've tested with XRT it doesn't really need a lot preload to handle nicely...

the only thing ive really tested so far was the fo8 on ky nat with mouse (too lazy to set the wheel up) and compared to my earlier tries at that combo it felt like a completly different car and i had the confidence to throw it round corners which just wasnt there with any other diff

Quote from Hyperactive :

The FZ50 is/was already quite nice to throw around if you understood the weight. But RA has always had that lift oversteer which I hope gets cured by preload, at least to some degree. The FO8 had some mid corner instability too...

Although I must admit that the XRT is now quite easy to drive, maybe a bit too easy as it is quite hard to totally lose it...

As said in some other thread, the biggest problem with the tires might be the load sensitivity. To me it just feels that the cars in LFS regain grip a bit too slowly. No idea if it is the load sensitivity at all but what I've tested with XRT it doesn't really need a lot preload to handle nicely...

I spent some time with the RAC last night using the default setup. This is actually a nice set to drive now. On the throttle it only wants to kill you some of the time now, not most of the time like before.

The RAC is definitely better on throttle lift. Much less oversteering problems there. It does still exist, as it should for a rear/mid-engined car.
I think a locked diff has a purpose and could be used for certain situations. Drag racing immediately pops to mind, but I am sure there are other situations.

I would like to see the recent discussions on the tire physics that was mentioned above. Does anybody have a link? Tire (tyre) physics threads are usually hard to search for because the words are too common.

)) damn i thought there is something wrong when i was driving FXO with closed diff and i had some problems in corners...i will try preload diff tomorrow, and i am wondering for difference

Quote from Hallen :

I would like to see the recent discussions on the tire physics that was mentioned above. Does anybody have a link? Tire (tyre) physics threads are usually hard to search for because the words are too common.

http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?p=376570#post376570
http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?p=383158#post383158

I haven't experienced it thus far in the game myself, but it sounds like the locked diff thing is a good bit unrealistic... it shouldn't be good for handling on a paved surface, at all.

Quote from Mykl :

I haven't experienced it thus far in the game myself, but it sounds like the locked diff thing is a good bit unrealistic... it shouldn't be good for handling on a paved surface, at all.

Locked diff is not unrealistic, it's the other things that make it abuseable.

Quote from geeman1 :

Locked diff is not unrealistic, it's the other things that make it abuseable.

What are those things?

To make a car with direct drive change directions one of the tires must lose traction and slide. Does this happen in the game?

Quote from Mykl :

What are those things?

To make a car with direct drive change directions one of the tires must lose traction and slide. Does this happen in the game?

Yes.
Here are more in depth explanations on the subject:
http://www.lfsforum.net/showth ... amp;highlight=locked+diff

That's precisely the concept that the FWD mini-GTR cars use to yank the front end around tight corners.

Thanks!