i just found out to my disappointment today that my car isn't equipped with a limited slip differential. I know it's not neccesary but it would help with the possibility of winter driving... also how does the LSD affect performance? is it going to hurt my performance at all not having one?

 

Nothing that you will ever notice unless you're a very spirited driver... Really its meant for taking corners...

It is absolutely wonderful to have in snowy conditions though.

Edited**

 

..... while exiting and giving it throttle (continuing on the first sentence Shortstack wrote)

 

yup helps in the snow, you wont 1 wheel wonder when slipping

That was one of the features I had to have when buying. G85 ftw.

 

you could probably get one and put it in.

 

U can get one put in at 3x the cost of the $495 option if you were to get it from the factory. Not worth it IMO.

 

well i don't think i'm gonna spend the money now... as long as i get some decent snow tires and let the traction control do most of the talking i shouldbe fine if i take it easy... was just hoping this wouldn't make my car noticeably slower in straight line performance. Was never big on cornering or track racing although it does handle nice already.

 

No it wont be noticeable in straights... unless one tire loses traction...

Both the front tires will still spin... As long as one tire doesnt lose grip you wont notice any difference.

 

LSD had nothing to do with straight line performance. The fastest stock cobalt turbo ran 13.5 w/o LSD.

 

The only time it does is if 1 tire loses traction.. but that doesnt happen on a track that is well prepped.

 

Ahh it's refreshing to see an LSD thread where there isn't any bickering about straight line performance . Are we getting smarter as a community or is it because people are still at work Hmmm?

 

Definitely go with good snow tires, but turn off the TCS in the snow. Whenever it senses minor wheel slip it just cuts power and bogs the car, causing you to get stuck. Just modulate the throttle to control traction manually. My dad's Altima (3.5L 250bhp V6) has an open diff and we've never had issues with it even in brutal snowfall. The LSD is obviously a huge bonus, but it's not going to cause THAT much trouble without it provided you're cautious.

 

that sucks man...noticed a big difference between my non g85 sc and my g85 equipped tc....Cornering is so fun now lol

 

i notice when i exit corners without the g85 i get a lot of tire squealing when i'm really pushing it and am floored. i will put in a LSD whenever i do the clutch i think.

 

Maybe both, moreso bc people are at work

 

I found a SAE paper that discussed the use of a LSD in a FWD car. John Heinricy was the test driver at the GM track and they found via lab testing as well as track testing that the LSD really helped in the corners on the track, but it wasn't that useful on slippery roads for take-off traction. This is of course only for FWD cars.

From experience, you want a LSD on a RWD car when driving during the winter.

 

40rty on here is selling his LSD right now.

Brand new and never used: https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/parts-66/ron-burgandy-part-out-take-look-183484/

 

It's wont be competitive in any motorsport that involves turning....
Smoking the inside front wheel trying to exit the corner isnt fun at all....

IMO, LSD should have been a standard equipment...would have make my life much easier
when I was looking to buy..

 

These cars should go really good in the snow. Thats one of the reasons we bought ours, for year round driving. I've never had it in the snow yet, so I could be wrong. I know the cavalier they replaced was a tank in the snow. Every front wheel drive we had was good except the 2002 eclipse gt. We didnt buy rims to put snow tires on so had to drive it with the performance tires. I live in WV so we get a lot of snow.

 

The car is horrible in the snow. Summer tires below 40 degrees equal rocks basically.

 

i agree .... i have been in soo many arguments with people on this forum pertaining to lsd vs. non-lsd cars. thankfully everyone is stating correct information in this thread

 

That's why you buy a set of snow tires, at which point the car becomes near unstoppable.

 

Yeah, I will have wheels with snow tires and I know it will go good. It wont have no choice but to. Depends a lot on the driver too.

 

agree the traction control in my 06 Pontiac G6 GT annoys the **** out of me in the snow .. the car is much better without it on. I do plan on buying snow tires for my cobalt but i am having a hard time finding cheap rims to go with the snow tires... and i refuse to use my stock 18" alloy rims as the salt and sand used on the roads here in Canada would eat them. Also thanks for the Info about LSD's and straight line performance... i'm not big on cornering so i'm happy to know that my straight line performance shouldn't be affected!

 

I haven't seen snow in 20 years.