Autotech
Wavetrac Differential Group Buys for the Taurus SHO MTX and Taurus ATX
(SHO NUT Performance home
page)
Last update 9/8/09 – Shipping of
the MTX units began in August! We are taking
full payments for immediate delivery, and deposits for delayed delivery.
As you recall, we co-ordinated the last Quaife Automatic
Torque Biasing Differential (ATBD) Group Buy.
We've been working with Autotech (Quaife America) over the
last several months about doing another group buy for the SHO 5-speed MTX, and
have selected their Wavetrac ATBD for our next group buy – we really like the
differential, and we are the company they would like to sell this unit for
them, exclusively. There are two reasons
we like it – features and price.
Features:
We have done our own research and we are very excited about
the Wavetrac. The Wavetrac is US designed AND US made by Autotech.
This diff is primarily gear-based torque biasing, but also
has two additional features that set it apart from other gear-based torque
biasing differentials (including the Quaife). The first and foremost is the
Wave Design Center Pack. This feature gives the car traction even when one
wheel has no traction at all. In a normal gear-based torque biasing
differential, if one wheel has zero traction (on glare ice or one tire in the
air), the diff behaves like an open differential, because it needs SOME
traction at both wheels to bias the torque. The Wavetrac, on the other hand,
has the Wave Design Center Pack that provides the bias when one tire is
unloaded/has no traction. The second is that the Wavetrac has Interchangeable
Friction Plates to provide a way of controlling the behaviour and making a
slight change in bias ratio. This means that you can adjust the feel and
response of the to suit your needs (the diff needs to be removed and
disassembled to change the Friction Plates, of course). The bias for the standard plates is
approximately 2.6:1 and the more aggressive plates raise this to 2.7:1. The standard plates are shipped with all
units, and should be tried out before considering the more aggressive
plates. The standard plates are
expected to last the life of the diff, while the more aggressive plates would
wear out earlier.
Autotech's web page on the differential is here, and
includes a video and a link to a data sheet, as well as detailed technical
information and explanations that are worth the read:
http://www.autotechdriveline.com/a_wavdiff.shtml
Autotech is very excited with the positive feedback they
have already received from Wavetracs already out in the field for other
applications, including a 740+ WHP drag car. Our testing has shown that the
Wavetrac works as well as (or better than) a Quaife, and feels slightly more
aggressive. The Wave Design Center Pack
really does work, and provides traction to the wheel with grip, even if the
other wheel is in the air. The Wavetrac
is much quieter than a Quaife in situations where the Quaife is noisy, such as
hard turns from a stop under power, and we expect the same results with winter
driving. As with the Quaife, the
warranty is lifetime, even when raced, and also transferable.
In fact, we are so excited and confident about the new
features that we are replacing the Quaifes in all of our cars with the Wavetrac
units, since they should perform better in winter driving when one-wheel-on-ice
is very common, and it's a (noisy) nuisance when the Quaife goes 'open' in that
situation. We have one used
Quaife available as of 7/1/09 (still needs to be removed from the car). Please contact us if you are interested in
the used unit, inspected and approved as 'good' by Quaife America, for US$1,000
delivered.
The Wavetrac for the MTX SHO application will use the same
metric fasteners as the Quaife. As with
the Quaife, it is compatible with Dextron III and Dextron IV transmission
fluids, such as Redline D4.
Price:
Though the Quaife and the Wavetrac have the same list price
of US$1,495, we are able to offer better pricing for the Wavetrac of US$1395,
even at the same batch sizes. Since it
is US-made, there is no duty to import one into Canada (another new benefit),
though taxes do apply in Canada. The
price includes delivery to the US 48 states and Canada (again, taxes are extra
for Canadians, depending on the province of delivery, but there is no duty,
unlike the Quaife).
We also offer deposit of 10% at any time until they are sold
is also available to hold a unit.
Deposits will hold the diff for 6 months from the time the deposit was
made, or until the end of February 2010, whichever is later, so you can ‘hold’
a diff to give you more time to pay the balance. Deposits are non-refundable,
but they are transferable. This means if you sell your car or something else
happens that you no longer need or can’t take the diff, you can transfer your
deposit to another party (they pay you for your deposit) and then they pay the
balance and take delivery. If you need a diff more than a year later, please
e-mail us. Links to place deposits are
at the end of this web page.
Once there are ~10 units left from the run, we will update
the group buy thread and this page with the units remaining, so if you want a
unit and HAVEN’T yet placed a deposit, you can do so before the batch is sold
out.
As of: 9/8/09 – More than 10 MTX units remaining from the
current MTX batch.
We have also completed the groundwork for a Wavetrac for the
Taurus ATX. This applies to the
following Taurus transmissions: AXOD, AXODE, AX4S, AX4N and 4F50N. As far as we know, this covers every
Automatic Taurus ever built (and a few other Ford models). Pricing and features are the same for the
ATX units as they are for the MTX units.
The stock sun, planetary and ring gears are re-used. Since we know that it will take quite a
while to gather enough serious interest (30+ paying customers), we are offering
a much lower deposit for the ATX unit of $50, and we plan to start that group
buy officially (i.e. accept the larger
deposits and place the order) once we receive 30 deposits. If we fail to get 30 deposits by mid-2010,
then we will look at cancelling the ATX group buy, after consulting those who
have placed deposits. If the ATX group
buy is cancelled, then these ATX deposits are refundable. Otherwise, if the ATX group buy goes ahead,
they are non-refundable (but are transferable), as with the MTX units.
If you have any questions, or intend to place a deposit,
even if not right away, as we need to track who our buyers will be, or need
our mailing address to mail a cheque (including credit card cheque) or money
order, please contact us (PRIOR to making the cheque out) at:
if your e-mail bounces, or if you don't get a response in a
couple days, please use:
Thanks to everyone for your patience and support - we are
excited to get these units on the road!
Taurus SHO MTX Wavetrac US$1395
Taurus SHO MTX Wavetrac 10% Deposit US$139.50 on US$1395
total
Taurus SHO MTX Wavetrac 90% Balance Payment ONLY US$1,255.50 on US$1395
total
Taurus ATX Wavetrac $50 Deposit