Recently I purchased a OBX helical and had it installed into my open diff pumpkin. I payed to have it gear lashed as I don't feel confident shimming, and gear lashing it myself.
So far it has been over a month and the diff is great, it has alot more power to both wheels than what a vlsd would have. Acceleration is faster than a my old open diff, it doesn't make any noise and it uses the stock gears for the same stock gear ratio.
So far my KA makes about 205 HP to the crank and I have had no problems with the diff.
I still have a lot of brake control to the rear.
When I barely accelerate I can feel the grip of both wheels on the chassis.
Overall for maneuverable control for the street or track, I would rate this diff 4 out of 5 stars total....

 

Cool man, how much did it cost you to have it shimmed?

 

$380 with new axle bearings(some people call them carrier bearings) installed, and all new seals. Total for Helical $420, price for install $380, and I spent the $60 for the carrier bearings. $860 total wasn't bad since the Hitachi helical alone cost $825.

 

good stuff man

 

Vince, is that high temp paint you using? I noticed you use that on the Q45 calipers.

 

Yes high temp ceramic paint.

 

a while back i did some looking around on obx products and found that allegedly the bolts and washers used on this diff are not very good. many recommended that you replace the bolts and washes with quality bolts and washers and torquing them properly. just out of curiosity vinnie did you have this done as well?

 

Bolts and washers that are internally in the helical? Or are you talking about the exterior bolts to the ring gear? If so the exterior bolts and shims are all OEM.

 

i couldn't find the original link but i found this one with pics.
http://rbryant.freeshell.org/obx_washers

 

My friend Teddy at Bayarea240sx.com pointed that issue out to me prior to me purchasing the helical.
This was my thought.
Im pretty sure that some of those diffs may infact have defective issues with the washers, and placement of the washers. In speaking with some of my friends that own those diffs for there front wheel drive honda's claim that the issue was resolved after the first gen OBX helicals which did infact fall apart and would also work as the infamous peg leg open diff.
Now the second gen of FWD and including the rear wheel drive helicals are built much better, although in some cases the rear wheel drive washers are not built to the exact same spec every time where some washers could be crowned as an inner or an outer. In refrence to the washer placement some just need to simply be corrected.
Heres my judgement.....
I spent $420 on this OBX differential and right now everything is smooth, both wheels lock at 70LB feet, so do I have a defective diff??? Probably not, you know the instant you drive your diff if something is not regular either through noise it can make or the fact that it wont grip right on the street.
This diff cost $420, not $820 such as the hitachi helical, I'm not going to worry about a defect that would cost me more money to open it up and figure out if placement of the washers are correct. Once I start to open up a whole other can of worms so to speak it will start to cost more money, and at the price it cost to worry about little silly things like that I would be better off purchasing the hitachi helical....
As far as my review goes my diff is kick *** with no problems

 

I will be interested in seeing how well the diff holds up in the months to come. I definitely am not trying to sound condescending (I realize it could probably sound that way), but the test of time is the best judge. If all is well, I may infact purchase this diff on my next 240. I had the Kaaz 2-way before. Very noisy, but GREAT diff.

 

I'll let you know in the next month or 2 if this diff will need a rebuild. So far so good. My friend Teddy is going to buy one next month and add to this review we will see how it goes.

 

I had to go budget diff and get a J30... well, at least I have a viable source for a detailed review of this product!

 

Beat the living crap out of the diff at Thunder drift yesterday. Still no funny sounds and it performed unbelievably.

 

Dammit, if it wasnt for my uncle, I woulda been out there. We would have a vid loaded up on youtube... Im so pissed at myself.

Vince, I need to call you up, I have this wicked idea to tell you about for the video project.