VE Diff

[_R_J_K_]

On the Harrop website, I only see eaton (Truetrac) diffs and nothing to indicate Harrop make the centres, gears or anything else (under license). If they did, you‘d think it would be plastered everywhere on their website.

So they just seem to be resellers.

If you have any links that clarify my view, I’m happy to be corrected

Harrop are the only ones that make the M78 centre AFAIK. It also possibly depends on the diff housing and car, as they support/sell for a lot more than Falcodores now but might have only made stuff for the Australian market where the Eaton's fell short or didn't exist.

I think @immortality (?) might have had both. I think they use a different (possibly billet) casing with a noticeable change in quality, and everywhere they've used their own version of the diff they say "Harrop/Eaton Truetrac". I'd believe they would be able to make some kind of major change if they wanted to looking at their factory floor.

 

[_R_J_K_]

There's gotta be some kind of difference - they do seem to only specifically mention the case in their articles. I think them throwing a diff into a CNC machine just to put their name onto it would be a massive waste to them:

Also, not a Truetrac but has some shots of their "Harrop/Eaton" elocker diffs in their factory and their testing:

 

[Skylarking]

Have a look at their website - https://www.harrop.com.au/shop/prod...-harrop-truetrac/truetrac-holden-zf-32-spline

My understanding is that the Harrop version has 8 pinions whereas the Eaton version has 6.

I did read up on them a few years ago and Harrop made it very clear that their TrueTrac was a heavier version of the Eaton. It certainly used gears from Eaton. It might be something that was clearer on an earlier version of their website, or perhaps the Eaton version is now also 8 pinion too?

May be the case that the Eaton unit they sell is different from the standard Eaton unit but nowhere does Harrop actually state they manufacture the diff centre.…

Within the download section, the Harrop Truetrac PDF does state “Proven Harrop developed design withstands over 500rwkws” but that’s it… So many companies design stuff and have them built in China where QC/QA can be a challenge…

Not saying Harrop centres are made in China, just that if they were made in Melbourne, you’d expect that to be publicised on their website. But nada,… doesn’t state that they cast or machine anything...

So it may just be a specific centre that they‘ve designed and is actually built for them by Detroit or some other machine shop (in China?). Who knows unless they are asked and tell us..

 

[Skylarking]

There's gotta be some kind of difference - they do seem to only specifically mention the case in their articles. I think them throwing a diff into a CNC machine just to put their name onto it would be a massive waste to them…

I just don’t understand why any company would build something down under and not advertise it… when many people want to buy home grown and willing to pay a premium…

Maybe their marketing guy needs to be sacked if Harrop build the diff centre and their website doesn’t reflect the fact

Regardless, it must be better than the standard diff in my MSE which was a whining experience from day dot. It also clunked so bad on a couple of occasions I thought something broke… All fixed under warranty using a replacement factory diff.

 

[chrisp]

I wonder if something has changed, or if it was just marketing spin, but I do recall pictures like (still) on this website that showed the 6-pinion vs the 8-pinion designs. https://www.justcars.com.au/news-and-reviews/harrop-truetrac-diff/12796



The current Harrop website doesn’t seem to be stressing this difference anymore, so, it has me wondering if there ever was a 6-pinion version available for the ZF or whether the 6-pinion was just a typical Truetrac configuration used for a ‘comparison’ (but wasn’t actually available for the ZF)?

 

[Skylarking]

I wonder if something has changed, or if it was just marketing spin, but I do recall pictures like (still) on this website that showed the 6-pinion vs the 8-pinion designs. https://www.justcars.com.au/news-and-reviews/harrop-truetrac-diff/12796

View attachment 239247

The current Harrop website doesn’t seem to be stressing this difference anymore, so, it has me wondering if there ever was a 6-pinion version available for the ZF or whether the 6-pinion was just a typical Truetrac configuration used for a ‘comparison’ (but wasn’t actually available for the ZF)?

The link doesn’t work for me

 

[_R_J_K_]

I just don’t understand why any company would build something down under and not advertise it… when many people want to buy home grown and willing to pay a premium…

Maybe their marketing guy needs to be sacked if Harrop build the diff centre and their website doesn’t reflect the fact

Regardless, it must be better than the standard diff in my MSE which was a whining experience from day dot. It also clunked so bad on a couple of occasions I thought something broke… All fixed under warranty using a replacement factory diff.

Aussies are tight arses, I remember a few years back I think an M80 Eaton Truetrac was something like $600 or $700, and the Harrop one was like $1200, so you can guess which one they went for.

Also for a licensing agreement to produce a patented product or design, there might be specific clauses that limit what Harrop can say about their diff or how they can advertise and sell it. Could also be how the licensing is structured, as in Harrop might not make as much as they would have liked to do large production runs because of the amount of money they would have had to pay to Eaton, so they make them to demand or something.

TBH I'm surprised a company as big as Eaton would say yes to licensing out a design to Harrop that is by comparison tiny.

 

[chrisp]

I found this video…

It mentions something about the 6-pinion being ‘superseded’ by the 8-pinion version. So, it does seem that a 6-pinion version was previously available, but it implies it was still a ‘Harrop’ version?

 

[lmoengnr]

Eaton make a ZF Truetrac with 6 pinions, rated to 500HP.
Harrop make their own version, with a billet case and 8 pinions, rated to 500Kw.

 

[MrBags]

This is the one that went in mine.