I've ordered a 13' GT with the "Track Package" which includes 3.73 gears and a Torsen differential. As of late I've been reading here and there that this type of differential that comes with the car is less than Ideal for Drag racing because of its characteristics in comparison to the Ford trac-lok type, or even the Detroit true-trac that I had in my last car( which worked amazing). I've also read one comment about guys blowing these diff's up.

Can anyone shine some light on this?

 

Hmmm no responses . . . I'm curious about this too. I don't so much care about racing at the track, my goal is less inside wheel spin during turns.

"Blowing them up" isn't a happy sounding outcome! My suspicion is that is under supreme duress, something I'll not be putting mine through just day-to-day driving, conquering the countless soccer mom SUV's and wannabees from stoplight to stoplight

 

This is a reply I got on another forum.

(Whiskey11)
The Torsen operates EXACTLY like the TruTrac the differnece is that the Torsen, by virtue of design or materials choice does not tolerate shock loads nearly as well as the TruTrac does. The shock loads literally turn the side gears into a powdered slurry or rupture the diff case. Sudden shock loads are bad news for ANY gear type differential (including the TruTrac). Some tolerate it more by shear luck and over engineering of the diff, but the end result is exactly the same. A lot of stress on the worm gears which can lead to wear and eventually failure.

If drag racing is your drug of choice, the Track Pack is wasted money. All of the coolers add weight and are not necessary for drag racing, add in the Torsen's lack of tolerance for shock loads and the result is a car that wont tolerate drag racing and has a lot of added weight that doesn't do anything for your intended goal.

No worries, Traction Lok diffs are cheap and effective and I'm sure someone will buy the Torsen from you. Or you could expand your horizons and chase some twisties instead of straight lines! Autocross is cheap and accessible and not hard on anything until the mod bug kicks in

 

I don't know about "Not hard on anything" because the brake pads will wear rather quickly because the twisties are much more addictive than the Drag track. Might just be me though.

 

No worries for me, I baby my GT (with the occasional spirited drive to keep her happy)

 

I think it's shock loads from serious drag racing that the Torsen doesn't handle well. Like running slicks and pulling sub-1.5 60' times. If you're only drag racing now and then with stock tires or drag radials I don't think it's a problem.

I did see a thread on stvp where a guy blew one up in a GT500, but that's a whole different animal: heavier car, ~700rwhp and slicks. Also, another guy in the same thread says a 9 second 5.0 has one and does jsut fine.

If you plan to use this car for serious drag racing, a brembo or track pack car probably wasn't the best choice to begin with. If this is to be mainly a street car with an occasional quarter mile for fun, I think the Torsen is the perfect choice.

 

Not all torsen Differential are made the same. I put a Ford racing torsen T-2R differential in my car . It has a 4:1 TBR bias ratio great for road racing not so good for drag racing(ford says on there web site Not for Drag Racing ). Now the one that comes in the GT track Pack only has a TBR bias ratio of 2.7:1 you can use this one for track or drag racing . Here a link to how they work http://www.torsen.com/general/general_faq.htm

 

300AGT....good info. Thanks for sharing. I would think that the guys at Ford would be smart enough to put the dif in there that could be used at BOTH types of tracks.