Torque Biasing Differential

[Wohlfie]

Hi all -

I am new to this forum and am looking at buying an xB in the next month or so.

Can anyone explain the 'torque biasing differential' option?
What does it do and is it worth the $$$?

Thanks.

[2dot4]

It fits inside the transmission and limits the free movement between the two drive wheels.

In a standard transmission, power is sent to the wheel providing the least resistance, so in a tight corner if a wheel leaves the pavement - all power is transferred to that wheel, which hurts overall performance.

the LSD (limited slip differential) or torque biasing differential creates a "bond" between the two drive wheels, so when torque or power starts biasing towards one wheel, the LSD kicks in and locks the two wheels, so power is evenly distributed to both wheels.

For $1350, it's not something you should buy unless you're putting down over 250whp.

[Wohlfie]

Thanks for the reply, And forgive the newbie.....

But what is 250whp?

[miketf1]

250 Wheel HorsePower

whp is the amount of power that is put down through the wheels. this is usually less than what the engine truly puts out because there are mechanical losses through the transmission, the various pumps etc etc.

[2dot4]

What do you drive, wohlfie?

[Wohlfie]

Right now I drive a 1998 Saab 9-3.....looking at an xB in the next month or two and trying to figure out the worthwhile options to start with.

I am thinking of:
the sway bar
the strut brace, and
the clutch upgrade.

[trrbo_tc]

wohlfie,

A clutch upgrade is not and will not be necessary unless you are going to turbo charge or 3rd party supercharge your vehicle.

I drive a turbo charged scion tc, and i haven't upgrade my clutch yet or the LSD either and i put down some good power, i recommend suspension mods only if your going to stay stock.

and if you decide to go with a clutch upgrade, don't go with trd upgrade, get a competition clutch or ACT clutch instead, there very inexpensive and there proven to increase tq clamp 40 percent over stock clutch.

trd upgrade is like 1500 bucks when a ACT clutch is only about 300 - 400 bucks .. and if you have a hookup or do your shopping right, even cheaper :)

for an N/A XP i think you should go with the following

Stereo upgrades, navigation and a system / amp if that's your kinda thing and then the following :

Strut bar, Sway Bar, Rear Sway Bar, Exhaust, & HEADERS !

throw some DC Sports headers on your ride and you have some good acceleration and a noticeable power increase.

i also recommend lower the car on TEIN H Tech Springs.

this all is of course if your not planning on going Forced induction with the XB.

[08falcon_tC]

H-Techs FTW!!!

My GF has an 08 xb. Id do the I/H/E, maybe some cool stereo equipment. Cough* AVIC D-3. Definately the suspension upgrade (sways, tower bar, springs or if your feeling froggy coilovers :icon_yes: ). It really depends what your going for. Show or Go? N/A or FI? Paper or plastic? Thats the beauty of the scion platform you can do what you want and make it YOUR car. High fives to you for going with scion.



Note: not paid by any scion dealer, although I have referred 2 people to buy a scion

[miketf1]

for me, if i were to start over again, i would go for lowering springs first. the body roll on the xB2 is quite crazy that cant really be cured with the bars. even a small drop with the TRD springs would help quite a bit. i have the tanabe DF210 and its quite low and it scrapes a bit on high angle driveways

as for buying the bars, it more depends on how you drive. normal driving you wont feel it. if you drive quite aggressively like i do you will feel it through tight turns. it takes away most of the crazy understeer that is caused by the box's weight and poor stock tires...

power-wise right now you have quite few options. intake, header and axleback is what we have so far. if youre good with modifying or know a good mechanic, turbotoyotas has a few kits depending on your power wants. the turbo would require the clutch and LSD kit.. TRD is still playing with our heads for the supercharger kit though...

list of parts out right now
cold air intake: TRD, AEM, fujita, injen, weapon-r (short ram and cold air)
header: strup, weapon-r
lowering springs: TRD, eibach sportline & pro, hotchkis, tanabe DF210 & NF210
bars: TRD front strut & rear sway, hotchkis front and rear sway
coilovers: ksport
exhaust (axleback): TRD, tanabe medallion, strup, borla dual

dc sports is in the middle of being restructured after being sold so they dont have a header out for the xB2 yet. and the weapon-r header is being released in a month
tein is also in R&D for their S-Tech and H-Tech springs

[Wohlfie]

Wow - system overload!!!! I just joined yesterday - when will I get the decoder ring in the mail? :)

I/H/E (intake/header/exhaust ?????)
N/A or FI (not even a guess)
AVIC D-3?

I guess i should have explained my thinking a bit more...

I am not sure what I want to do with the xB long-term. I am thinking xB because its relatively cheap, hauls quite a bit, gets good mileage, is on the funky side, and can (at some point) be made 'mine'.

I'd like to get it and drive it a bit to figure out what 'mine' means. I have a total of a 5 minute test drive under my belt right now. But just from that, it seems obvious there are suspension issues and the clutch feels like mush to me.

So the simplified question is what of the 'dealer' performance options should I get right off, and what should I wait and do after-market?

Of course, anything I get from the dealer can be rolled into the financing, so thats a plus, but if the TRD stuff is crap I could go after-market.

Thanks for all your help and opinions - I am just dipping a toe in the kiddie pool here.....

[miketf1]

Intake/Header/Exhaust
Naturally Aspirated: no turbo or supercharger
Forced Induction: with turbo or supercharger
AVIC-D3 is a pioneer car receiver. its kinda accepted as the most kick-ass receiver ever cause of all of the functions (navigation, dvd, video, etc etc)

the clutch mush cant really be solved with the TRD clutch unfortunately. from what i gather from reading its just the poor design... ive got the auto so im not too sure about how to solve it

if you can go without a navigation system you can choose between the standard and premium receiver. the premium is ready for an aftermarket audio system cause it has outputs in the back that make it easier to setup
if you NEED a navi system the AVIC-D3 seems like the popular way to go.

as for the suspension issue thats something you need to decide.. i have the tanabe DF210s and are the lowest drop of the bunch. i have to say that once i was driving around with a full car of guys 200lb each and the tires were rubbing the top of the wheel well when i cornered..

as for the front strut and rear sway bar, i also have both from TRD. i drive very aggressively sometimes cause i live on the top of a very twisty hill. before i got the springs and bars i would understeer a lot and plow straight into the next lane. after i through the bars and springs in, the car completely changed. the front end would stick and be tight through the corners. in one instance i even got it to 4 wheel drift a bit. on normal driving i cant really feel it. it doesnt help with the body roll, it just keeps the suspension tight when i need it.

as for what you should get from TRD, the springs may be good idea. they lower the car but its still at a very streetable height. if you want more power, the TRD intake is the only intake for the xB2 that is CARB legal but the legality of the other intakes depend on your local smog regulations. also, i dont know what its like in minneapolis but here we have insane fog that mostly comes out of nowhere and fog lights may be something you might want to think about..

[2dot4]

Don't put a header on your xB unless you want the worst sounding car in the neighborhood. If the power is that important, go for it - but your car will sound like shit - guaranteed. Case in point....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QTP6Soi8T5w
different car, same motor - therefore, same sound.

Please just say no to a header

[08falcon_tC]

Most people upgrade the suspension b/c the stock kinda sucks. I noticed a 200x difference with my sways and tower bar, of course I drive aggressivly. Do a yahoo search for "NST shifter cable bushings" and you'll find a website that has stainless steel bushings for the tc. Give that company a call and find out if you can use them for an xb. Probably not or else it would be listed but its worth a shot. That would clear up the nasty shifter feeling. And at only 22.00 its the biggest "feels better" upgrade you can get for a low price.

[2dot4]

those are great "foundation" mods. Shifter mods, suspension mods, tires, brakes, etc - they're all essential to anyone wanting more power IMO. I bought em all before I went turbo, and it's a damn good thing I did.

When modding, you want to make sure the car is able to handle mods - 98% of people just want "immediate power" so they buy an intake and exhaust, and get the car moving, but it's still got factory springs and stock shifter. Even just buying a fuel management is a good foundation mod - you can tweak factory settings and get decent power from a stock motor.

In my experience, it's best to buy the most expensive mods up front. If you save the money for a $700 clutch/flywheel setup and buy that first, you have all the clamp load you'll need for any mods, and if you could save the $700 to buy that, then the $200 mods will be a snap and start coming one after the other. And they won't be as hard to justify lol