Diff grease type?

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mhansen644

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Hi what recomendations does everyone have on diff grease?
I put some new grease in mine and now it seems the car want to spin out in the turns?
 
As an engineer, anything silicone based is good as it doesn't absorb moisture. next priority is preventing it from decomposing from engine heat. after that, go for whatever consitency seems to give you the handling that you want.

Personaly I stuck in the gooiest stuff I could get my hands on so it would feel like a limited slip diff, but I only bash. you'd probably care a bit more if you raced, and want to try out a few types.
 
you also get different results with how full you make it. the same consistency oil or grease will react different if 1/4 full compared to 3/4 full
 
spining out

HI I changed the grease and now the baja want to spin out very very easy in turn? Ideas as what to try to fix this ?
 
change the grease to something lighter, or take a little grease out.

also, don't underestimate the effects of temperature. in the cold the grease will be less mobile, and could even give you a locked diff depending on the grease you used.

failing that, change the exponential on the throttle to get a slower response in the low and mid range, and practice powerslides :)
 
Because the very high contact pressure and high contact velocity on the gear teeth in the diffs of a largescale car it is likely to break down the teflon particles over time. You'll probably get good lubrication for about 6 months and then you'll need to clean and re-pack it to prevent wear. Probably not a problem for most RC users. (n.b. Teflon is the DuPont name for PTFE, so cheaper grease with PTFE will do the same). Teflon grease should be perfect for dogbones and CVDs though.

If you want the best type of grease for a long life standard diff, something mineral oil based suspended in a lithium / Molybdenum (moly) soap would be most suitable. This would proably be packaged as lithium grease for bearings, and comes in a spray can or pots/tubes. Should be able to find it in DIY/auto-stores. Just try a few and get a consistency that works for you, just look for stuff for bearings, not garage doors! (light to medium automotive grease would be OK too, but automotive CVD grease is not OK)


N.B. the above does not apply to limited slip diffs, which by definition rotate slower, in which case solid particles like Teflon or graphite become a good thing.
For the lower contact pressures of smaller scale RC gears, teflon grease will be OK and last ages. The best in this case would be Lithium PTFE grease for small high-speed bearings.
 
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