3.3TT Anyone swapped LSD into RWD?

[MRStinger]

My 2018 GT without LSD tends to get a little tail-waggy under 80-100% acceleration. I assume this is due to traction control feathering the brakes to prevent wheel slip. It's not a sensation I enjoy. I guess Kia made the LSD standard equipment in 2019 to address this. Has anyone swapped in the limited slip gears, and if so has it addressed the tail-waggle?

I'm having trouble finding a shop to do this work. Even the Kia dealer doesn't want to do it. They say they're only familiar with swapping the whole pumpkin, not with opening it up to do anything inside. Other shops only handle domestic diffs. Any recommendations on whether a pretty handy DIYer can tackle the job?

 

[sting88]

I haven't done this on the stinger, got a 2019 rwd specifically for the real LSD, but I have on other cars. If you take the pumpkin to a machine shop they can set the diff up properly and then you or a shop can reinstall the pumpkin.

 

[MRStinger]

I haven't done this on the stinger, got a 2019 rwd specifically for the real LSD (Limited Slip Differential), but I have on other cars. If you take the pumpkin to a machine shop they can set the diff up properly and then you or a shop can reinstall the pumpkin.

Thanks for response. Did the LSD solve the tail-wagginess?

 

[sting88]

It'll improve traction, if lack of traction is the cause of your "tail wagginess" than it may help with that. It'll make it so two tires are powering the car instead of one. I haven't tracked or autoX'd my stinger yet, nor do I drive super aggressive without traction control on the street so I haven't experienced any lack of traction or weird handling. I did make it through a wet and snowy winter with just all season tires with no issues or drama.

 

[Luc343]

I have a factory lsd in my 2020 stinger and I can say under heavy acceleration the back end still feels like its wobbles and feels loose. Even with the sport 4s tires on the car, it still happens.

 

[MRStinger]

I test drove a 2020 GT yesterday and while the backend did squirm a little bit, it was significantly better than my 2018. I think I'll be going ahead with the swap.

 

[oddball]

Have you done a gear setup before? It can be tough. I tried with a GM 10 bolt (which are really really common) and gave up. So doing it on a very unique and new rear, which will be difficult to get all the right parts (shims, especially), is an extra challenge.
There's a very slight chance it'll All Just Work if the carrier just so happens to have been machined identically to your current carrier. But that's not likely.
Hence the full unit swap, with the factory doing the gear setup, is the easiest way to go.

You can youtube Ford 9" gear setup. The process will be somewhat similar.

 

[Callum]

I am interested in doing this on my AWD. I don't have the wiggliness (normal in sporty RWD vehicles) but I do get the one tire fire coming out of turns lol

 

[MRStinger]

Have you done a gear setup before? It can be tough. I tried with a GM 10 bolt (which are really really common) and gave up. So doing it on a very unique and new rear, which will be difficult to get all the right parts (shims, especially), is an extra challenge.
There's a very slight chance it'll All Just Work if the carrier just so happens to have been machined identically to your current carrier. But that's not likely.
Hence the full unit swap, with the factory doing the gear setup, is the easiest way to go.

You can youtube Ford 9" gear setup. The process will be somewhat similar.

No, I haven't done a diff gear setup before, but I have the Kia service manual which describes the marking process to determine whether the gears are meshing properly and what to adjust for different paint patterns. You are right though, the carriers may all be machined slightly differently. I should probably obtain some extra shims before tackling this. I know a full unit swap is the easiest way to go, but looks like a new pumpkin is $2600 and a used one $1800. That's more than I want to spend.

 

[oddball]

Watch as many gear setup videos as you care to stand, and take your time. I lost patience after ~10 setups and never got quite the movement expected. Hopefully the pinion position works well, as moving the pinion starts a whole new round of work.
Listen carefully for gear noise when accelerating and decelerating after it's installed.

 

[SoonerStingerGT]

I chose my base GT over the Q50 because mine came with LSD. 29K out the door didn't hurt either lol.

 

[Sanjay R]

I just got a 3.3 lsd entire pumpkin for $425 on ebay shipped....please don't pay those rediculous prices for a used diff and drive the prices up for everyone.....I should be swapping the whole diff around July when I'm back in my garage....I'll give an update when I do!

 

[MRStinger]

I just got a 3.3 LSD (Limited Slip Differential) entire pumpkin for $425 on ebay shipped....please don't pay those rediculous prices for a used diff and drive the prices up for everyone.....I should be swapping the whole diff around July when I'm back in my garage....I'll give an update when I do!

Wow. You got a great deal. I actually had LSD gears swapped in last week. It does seem to have solved the tail wagging problem. But hasn't improved 0-60 time like I hoped. Both wheels just slip now instead of one.

 

[Sanjay R]

That's ok man at least you can do proper power slides now....the main benefit for an LSD is in the corners....good to know you haven't seen any issues with tcs since swapping over.

 

[Rynil2000]

I have a factory LSD (Limited Slip Differential) in my 2020 stinger and I can say under heavy acceleration the back end still feels like its wobbles and feels loose. Even with the sport 4s tires on the car, it still happens.

Sway bars will fix this tail happy feeling. The connection to the road is night and day with upgrades sway bars. Especially when going around corners and hard acceleration.