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Watching Endurance, a documentary by Porsche, around the 1:06:36 mark they have the car pull into the pits after a rear right puncture. The tire is completely gone and the team is faced with the issue of a "completely destroyed differential".

How exactly could the (quite extreme case) of a puncture destroy the differential?

Now, I understand a puncture causes a massive loss of grip on the wheel. In an open diff this would basically make the car impossible to drive (all power would go the the freely-spinning rim) but in GT3 it's definitely some sort of LSD. How would driving 20km with an LSD that is constantly "locked" (at the maximum of how much slip it will allow) affect it so much that it could be "destroyed"?

Any input appreciated!

maligree
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1 Answers1

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Why are you assuming it was "locked"?

If it was controlling the slip between sides then the diameteral difference would cause the lsd to work at max for much longer than it was probably designed to do. Probably only designed for so many seconds at max in a period of a minute or some such.

4X4 that are designed for off-road have locking diffs that lock for a reason as the slip required causes rapid failure, so they put in locking diffs.

Solar Mike
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