Another OSGiken Superlock 1.5 way LSD Review...
 

Parts Gathering:

First of all I’d like to thank Alex Goodwin @ MotionLabs. I apologize that your accolades are coming so late after you’ve helped me out on this; I wanted to keep everything on one thread. Alex hooked me up with an awesome price on the OS Giken 1.5 LSD and fluid – hundreds of dollars lower than anything else I found locally or online. Now I hate when people say vendors went above and beyond to help them when really they just do what they’re suppose to but Alex really did more than was expected of him, IMO. He was in touch all the time even when I’m contacting him hours after his shop closes (I’m located in SoCal, he’s in North Carolina; roughly 2 hour time difference). Furthermore, he was always available to do some research for me to help me find the right part for my needs even if it’s something he didn’t have available. All facts, no sales pitch, final decision was my own. If he didn’t know, he told me so. And even when he did, he sent me more sources and reviews on the parts he was selling me. This guy must have been great at book reports. :tup:

Even after the initial LSD sale, Alex was available for more questions. After about 10 more back and forth emails I bought a set of Whiteline differential bushings kit from him as well. 10 emails (many of which he responded to well past 8pm his local time) over 3 days for an $80 dollar sale; I am not the best customer to have.

Get your **** at MotionLabs!

Installation:

I have to give a shout out to GarageLife in El Monte, CA for helping me install this part. Some of you may recall the drama last Friday where I was scouring the forums and facebook for parts. The story is that I had that part on order from Nissan and no one thought twice about it when we received it. When the shop took the car apart and went to install the half shaft they found it didn’t fit; thus all the searching. Eventually I found a stock 350z open differential half shaft from Jackson (for the locals, he’s the one who hosts 626 drift events). The install started around 10AM and finally completed at 9PM, all while Daniel (owner at GarageLife), was still in the middle of installing a cage in another customer’s car. He turned my car over in a day because I had an event with a bunch of friends the next day.

About 3 week of gathering parts and 1 day to install.

Bottom line, anyone looking to have performance parts installed on their car should go to GarageLife to do so. Daniel Kuo is a ProDrift driver and does all his own work on his competition car. He knows his way around performance parts and getting a car ready for the track! His shop specializes in rebuilding motors, Full cage fabrication, as well as many other custom fabrication parts.

His shop is located:
11128 Rush St., South El Monte, CA
(626) 455-0415
https://www.facebook.com/itsgaragelife

Daily Driving:

I can’t comment on other LSDs because I have no experience with them. From what I hear there’s often a lot of chatter. I will tell you that under normal driving conditions you almost NEVER hear anything from this LSD. When I’m driving around it feels just like the VLSD. After driving around in it for a day and listening for it I heard a clunk from the LSD locking twice during normal driving. Note that it's very subtle, you don't feel anything, and you'll probably miss it if you're not paying attention. This is the ONLY reason I say that you "almost" never hear anything. It's like saying water-resistant vs. water proof - I just don't want to get sued when someone else tries it and complains that it chatters more than their wife after they spent $1600 on an LSD. The only other difference to note is that you will have some rear inner wheel hop while you are making a tight turn such as a U-turn. Again, what did you expect? You bought a locking differential. Other than those two “issues” there is no discernible difference between this LSD and the VLSD during NORMAL driving (the term "normal" varies from person to person, but I am referring to what normal people would consider "normal"). It is super non-invasive and smooth as butter. Oh an no issues with ABS or any other light coming on.

Performance:

**** YEAH! This is the best part. Went to El Mirage with some college friends of mine and I gotta say drifting has NEVER been easier. The rear locks up immediately when any throttle is applied. Launches have a lot more grip. Like many others have said, and what I’m echoing, is that this car should have come this way. There is a significant increase in response time and driver feedback from the road with the new bushings installed and no tangible increase in ride harshness. This car is way beyond my driving abilities now when, before I felt as though I was limited by it. Next mod is definitely the driver mod.

I remember answering a drifting question by another member regarding maintaining a drift and following through the line. No jerking here. You can easily initiate, control your entire drift through throttle inputs, and terminate a drift smoothly. With this diff installed it’s all about driver ability instead of drivability.

Parts List:

This is for anyone considering getting the OS Giken, or potentially any other LSD. There were several threads that I looked through and even started one of my own with mixed information. Here is a list of the EXACT parts that were ordered for my car.

For 6MT w/ stock vLSD:
OS Giken NS111-HA – OS Giken Superlock 1.5 way LSD (auto uses a different model number)
OS Giken OS011-KA – OS Giken Diff fluid
Whiteline KDT911 – Rear diff bushings
38440-0C000 – Nissan carrier bearings
38220-Z33003 – 350z left flange. This was what I could find and it works, as far as I know the differentials are the same. The 370z part number is ACTUALLY 38220-JK01B (the old one is 38220-1NC1B)
38351-350DK – Nismo finned diff cover

This is everything that Garage Life needed to install the differential.
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If anyone has any questions I will be happy to answer them if I can. If anything else comes to mind I will update the above.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks dP3NGU1N! I appreciate you taking the time to write all that up on our behalf. It was a pleasure to work with you getting your OS Giken diff delivered and the information needed to get it installed correctly. LSD really does transform the car, glad you are loving your new diff so far!

Thanks,
Alex Goodwin
AlexG@motionlabtuning.com

It's the best. Love mine. Great review. But please only use OSG fluid. Not sure why some don't. It makes a difference.

It might be because of the cost? I don't know. I'm a firm believer in spending money on high quality things once rather than having to repair a POS over and over again. I will definitely be using ONLY OSgiken fluid for this diff.

what was the total cost of everything, with, and without labor? i ask because im considering this mod. just not sure if i should take it to a shop or do it my self

Does this one need to be "rebuilt" periodically?

I didn't trust myself to take apart my diff :ughdance:

I don't know what the rules are on the forum but it seems that vendors don't usually post their final prices out in public so I'll allow them to give you individual parts while I give you my rough all in cost.

With all the parts listed above I paid about $2500 all in. This includes the shipping of parts, tax, as well as installation.

AFAIK OSG has never had to rebuild one of their differentials. Periodic oil changes at 15000mi intervals are the only service requirements. Which reminds me I need to make a note of my install mileage before I forget...

Thanks for that great review. It is difficult to find all the extra little pieces that go along with an install when searching 30 different threads with conflicting information so thanks for putting that list together. It will vary a little even with my car being an auto but it is a solid foundation.

And I also agree that Alex @ MotionLab certainly goes above and beyond; from my inquiry email to my relatively small first purchase. After this review I will certainly be taking the OSG off his hands. As a matter of fact because he live somewhat close I'll probably just drive down and let his shop do the install. :)

Hopefully my contract remains solvent and I still have a job in two months. Lol

Hey if you can make a list of the parts that you needed to do the install on your car I would really like to add it to the first post so that other people will have a reference. I found it quite difficult to piece together what I needed through all the different threads and if we can get them all in one place that would be great.

Might I ask if you have the sport package or base packge auto?

Thanks!

Nice review. Sounds like you're much happier w/the Z now.:) The difference between the OEM VLSD and a "real" LSD is BIG!

Thanks man :tup:. I try to separate us from those guys out there just slinging parts.

Just give me a shout if I can help with any more info regarding the different OS Giken diffs, clutches, and gears.

Thanks,
Alex Goodwin
AlexG@motionlabtuning.com

Just wanted to add while we were here, Alex also did a hell of a job helping me out with my Quaife LSD and pricing. You thought your time difference was bad? I'm in Hawaii....... 6 HOUR DIFFFERENCE! Yet Alex kept back and forth with me the whole way. Not only was his pricing amazing but even after I stated I was going to go with another company due to other purchases and saving on shipping, he still contacted me with an upcoming sale that swayed my decision to purchase from them and ended up saving me MORE money as I found others selling the parts I was about to purchase. As in this case, Alex saved me a couple hundred dollars just on LSD pricing and AT LEAST another couple hundred dollars by catching me right before I ordered the package I was going to get! Thumbs up for Motion Labs and Alex all the way! :tup:

Just noticed this one.... Awesome dude! Thanks a lot for taking time out of your day to post up positive feedback. You're building up a sick Z over there on the island!:tiphat:

Thanks,
Alex Goodwin
AlexG@motionlabtuning.com

Bump for an old thread, what lock did you set the giken at?