Ladaboard

The difference between the 1.5 and 2 way diff?
On entering a corner the 1.5 will initially allow the inner wheel to turn and the differential to
operate till you put the power on making the diff clamp or “lock” itself together. The 2 way
“diff” however already has the plates under load, effectively locking the diff almost
completely as you turn into a corner. Because both wheels are still locked and the inner is
scrubbing into the corner, this induces understeer that means the car will not want to turn
into a corner and try to go straight on. However, once you have got the car into a corner
and try to exit, he weight is transferred and “snap” oversteer is induced, promoting a tail
slide, because the diff is already locked up.
Both of these effects make a car slower overall around a corner on the road or race track,
but it is why the Drift guys love 2 way diffs because they screw up the handling and make
the back “step out” as soon as you go near the throttle. A 1.5 way diff will operate in the
same way as a normal diff and will not screw up the handling of the car providing that
preload on the plates (described earlier) is not too great.