Basic Principle of Operation
Automotive limited-slip differentials all contain a few basic elements. First, all have a gear train that, like an open differential, allows the outputs to spin at different speeds while holding the average speed of the two outputs to be equal to the input speed.
Second, all have some sort of mechanism that applies a torque internal to the differential that resists the relative motion of the output shafts. In simple terms this means they have some mechanism which resists a speed difference between the outputs by creating a resisting torque between either the two outputs or the outputs and the differential housing. There are many mechanisms used to create this resisting torque. The type of limited-slip differential typically gets its name from the design of this resisting mechanism. Examples include viscous and clutch-based LSDs. The amount of limiting torque provided by these mechanisms varies by design and is discussed later in the article.
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