Kraton Center Diff Housing

[oneleven]

So I’m in the process of upgrading my Kraton 6s V6. First order of business has been strengthening the seemingly problematic diffs.

I’ve changed the shimming and such following the recommendations of many experts here and elsewhere on the internet. I’ve also swapped all three of the diff cases from plastic to aluminum, and also swapped the front and rear diff housing to aluminum.

What I haven’t seen/heard people doing as often is swapping the center diff housing to aluminum. Obviously it’s a different type of housing and setup there, but is there still value in making that change? Or is the composite center diff housing just as effective?

 

[Chapinb]

Center housing is the same as front/rear, in this case the 29mm exb case. Its not normally a weak point since it sees more rpm, less torque. Can replace it if you want that shiny red aluminum, no harm in that.

 

[332_RC]

Aluminum center diff cases in all my 6s rigs. Worthwhile upgrade. Center gets incredibly hot while bashing. The plastic front bearing holder in the center, never makes a run in my rigs. Swapped to aluminum as well. It gets hot from the diff & can fail.

 

[Chapinb]

Aluminum center diff cases in all my 6s rigs. Worthwhile upgrade. Center gets incredibly hot while bashing. The plastic front bearing holder in the center, never makes a run in my rigs. Swapped to aluminum as well. It gets hot from the diff & can fail.

haven't had a fail there. Good to know. Guess thats one bonus to running thicker center diff fluid!

 

[Tex Koder]

Aluminum center diff cases in all my 6s rigs. Worthwhile upgrade. Center gets incredibly hot while bashing. The plastic front bearing holder in the center, never makes a run in my rigs. Swapped to aluminum as well. It gets hot from the diff & can fail.

Which aluminum center diff Support Frame are you using??
May I ask..

 

[Jluther@becoinc]

Aluminum center diff cases in all my 6s rigs. Worthwhile upgrade. Center gets incredibly hot while bashing. The plastic front bearing holder in the center, never makes a run in my rigs. Swapped to aluminum as well. It gets hot from the diff & can fail.

If you’re getting that much heat in the front of the center diff you definitely need thicker fluid in that diff. You’re losing most all torque to the front

 

[332_RC]

Which aluminum center diff Support Frame are you using??
May I ask..

ARA311189

 

[332_RC]

If you’re getting that much heat in the front of the center diff you definitely need thicker fluid in that diff. You’re losing most all torque to the front

Ok. I'll look into it. I guess 500k is thin

 

[Jluther@becoinc]

Aluminum parts in the drive train are always better. Zero flex with gears

 

[oneleven]

Aluminum center diff cases in all my 6s rigs. Worthwhile upgrade. Center gets incredibly hot while bashing. The plastic front bearing holder in the center, never makes a run in my rigs. Swapped to aluminum as well. It gets hot from the diff & can fail.

OK, so I think I might be using the wrong language for the parts. I swapped all of the diff cases (front, center, rear) to aluminum, using these from ADU Racing:

I also replaced the front and rear housing(?)—maybe "gearbox case" is the right name—for the whole diff assembly using these:

My question is whether it's worth replacing this on the center diff, which I guess is the closest thing the center diff has to a gearbox case:

 

[332_RC]

OK, so I think I might be using the wrong language for the parts. I swapped all of the diff cases (front, center, rear) to aluminum, using these from ADU Racing:

View attachment 429960

I also replaced the front and rear housing(?)—maybe "gearbox case" is the right name—for the whole diff assembly using these:
View attachment 429961

My question is whether it's worth replacing this on the center diff, which I guess is the closest thing the center diff has to a gearbox case:

View attachment 429962

ARA311189 is this part. Center diff front bearing support/mount

 

[oneleven]

Thank you! So the diff mount is the U-shaped bracket that holds the bearing in place, and the other piece shown above is just a cover that doesn't really provide any structural support?

 

[332_RC]

Thank you! So the diff mount is the U-shaped bracket that holds the bearing in place, and the other piece shown above is just a cover that doesn't really provide any structural support?

Yes. The cover or cap, is a lot of structural support. It mounts the center tower braces & clamps the diff down.

 

[Chapinb]

Diff case
Bulkhead, although arrma calls these gearboxs.
And center diff mount. Not to be confused with the rear center diff mount, thats part of the motor mount.

I do not plan on replacing them with aluminum, but 1/2 my rigs have ended up with aluminum. If you were going big block motor, id say its warranted to keep the mesh accurate. Or if your center diff fluid is thin apparently too! I Run 1.5-2m center usually, will need to pay attention to temps after and see if it gets warm there.
Cover adds support to keep the mounts from flexing in and out. Plastic is fine for this unless you want aluminum.

 

[oneleven]

So for the center diff cover, is there any advantage to upgrading to aluminum? Or is that going to just be a cosmetic upgrade?

 

[Tex Koder]

Thank you! So the diff mount is the U-shaped bracket that holds the bearing in place, and the other piece shown above is just a cover that doesn't really provide any structural support?

Well..
I wouldn't say that..
The "top cover" IS needed to tie the front U-support frame together with the motor mount to secure the center diff down/in place.

 

[oneleven]

Haha, fair, yes, I'm not planning to throw it out or anything. More wondering whether that's a part that benefits from an aluminum upgrade, or if composite and aluminum will perform identically given its specific purpose.

 

[Jluther@becoinc]

Aluminum is better. Surrounding your diffs internally and externally with aluminum parts will provide longer gear life. The weight difference is minimal and is irrelevant in the drive train.

 

[oneleven]

Is there a go-to best option for the center diff top cover? Looks like M2C has pretty beefy looking solution (of course) but it’s meant to be an add-on to their motor mount system, so that would be a pretty hefty investment. Maybe worthwhile, though?

 

[hobo]

Haha, fair, yes, I'm not planning to throw it out or anything. More wondering whether that's a part that benefits from an aluminum upgrade, or if composite and aluminum will perform identically given its specific purpose.

I've not had any trouble with them parts in plastic at all. I have changed the bearing holder on a few of my cars to aluminium though but not because the plastic one failed or anything