Some of you may have noticed a brief mention by SEL69L that he's had a 450 differential fitted to his car. This step was recommended by a friend of his that's quite heavily into American muscle cars, and he sort of specializes in making cars go 'harder'. That of course was the motive of fitting the 450 diff to David's car, but it was also suggested that the whole drivetrain would run more efficiently. Less torque converter slippage, more definite top gear engagement, it should run more economically and obviously accelerate a bit harder.
Possibly the conversion has achieved the last named improvement, but my 'seat of the pants' experience tells me that there are one or two facets that I find dissatisfactory, especially when comparing with the driving characteristics of Gleaming Beauty and also my 420 SEL.I am primarily referring to top gear driving. In fact, that's what I look for in a car - its ability to waft along without much prompting and maintain a good, steady gait. With the 3.08 diff fitted to David's car, it becomes somewhat mandatory to keep your foot on the accelerator to maintain speed. The moment one eases off, the car slows down noticeably. Others may perhaps prefer a car with those characteristics, but I tend to lean the other way - that is the reason why I have a 2.46 (?) diff in readiness to be installed in Gleaming Beauty. Regards Styria
Possibly the conversion has achieved the last named improvement, but my 'seat of the pants' experience tells me that there are one or two facets that I find dissatisfactory, especially when comparing with the driving characteristics of Gleaming Beauty and also my 420 SEL.I am primarily referring to top gear driving. In fact, that's what I look for in a car - its ability to waft along without much prompting and maintain a good, steady gait. With the 3.08 diff fitted to David's car, it becomes somewhat mandatory to keep your foot on the accelerator to maintain speed. The moment one eases off, the car slows down noticeably. Others may perhaps prefer a car with those characteristics, but I tend to lean the other way - that is the reason why I have a 2.46 (?) diff in readiness to be installed in Gleaming Beauty. Regards Styria
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