No, the OEM Honda LSD is not made by Quaife; Honda manufacturing in general is outsourced to various factories (us being one of them), depending on which branch of Honda.
Just a little information on differentials: A "Helical LSD" is not really an "LSD" i.e Limited Slip Differential. In general, the only differentials classed as Limited Slip are Plate/Clutch Type LSD's i.e MFactory Metal Plate, Kaaz/Spoon, ATS, OS Giken, Cusco
A "Helical LSD" is actually based upon the original "Torsen" design, so infact, instead of LSD, it should be called a TSD; Torque Sensing Differential. The term Helical LSD is only used for marketing purposes when referring to a TSD, although a lot of companies that offer/sell Helical LSD's don't even know the difference.
Quaife, being Quaife, decided to reverse-engineer the Torsen design (nothing wrong with that, we done it as well, as did Honda and lots of other companies), called theirs the ATB (Auto Torque Biasing) Differential, then decided to get a completely worthless European Patent for it to "look" original (they didn't tell people it was worthless though), market it as their super duper original lsd and would sue anyone in Europe who would release a similar design (even though it wouldn't stand up in court as their patent was worthless).
Because of this, in Europe, mention the word LSD, and the first thing that comes to mind is Quaife. Never would they have thought that Quaife is actually a copy of someone else. Is it a good quality product? Of course it is. Is it worth the money? Depends on the buyer. A Patek Philippe connoisseur would think a Rolex is cheap, just like how a Rolex connoisseur would think a Grand Seiko is cheap. In other words, you are paying for the Brand Name. There are 5 major brands of TSD's for a Honda: Honda, Quaife, MFactory, Wavetrac, OBX
Which brand TSD is actually better though? They are all good quality (except the OBX. No other words can describe just how bad the quality is), so it's really up to the buyer to decide:
Strength/Durability:
OEM - Cast. Is weaker than the metal it was cut from
Quaife - Machine Cut (Billet). As strong as the metal it was cut from
Wavetrac - Machine Cut (Billet). As strong as the metal it was cut from
MFactory - Forged. Upto 30% tougher than the metal it was cut from
OBX - Cast. Is weaker than the metal it was cut from
Quality (Machining/Tolerance):
OEM - Within oem specs
Quaife - Within oem specs
Wavetrac - Within oem specs (after they fixed their axle issues)
MFactory - Within oem specs
OBX - Toss of a coin. Some are ok (but still quite bad), some are ridiculously bad
Performance:
OEM - Fine for most grocery getters. Might find your diff exploding though after a few aggressive seasons. Cannot handle too high of a torque level
Quaife - No difference in aggressiveness from OEM as same bias ratio and tooth angle. Can handle higher torque. 2010+ models lighter weight (after copying us. Ironic, as pro-Quaife consumers think we are just a cheap copy of them)
Wavetrac - No difference in aggressiveness from OEM as same bias ratio and tooth angle. Patent-pending design that allows it to function under extreme traction loss (i.e one wheel in the air). Effectiveness rather controversial though. Can handle higher torque.
MFactory - Same bias ratio as OEM, but more aggressive tooth angle (i.e more power is transferred to the ground). Can handle higher torque. Is lightweight (due to being Forged + our weight reducing features)
OBX - Is a cheap copy of the Quaife. Toss of a coin. Get a good one, and you may be ok for a while. Otherwise, expensive tranny rebuild.
Value for Money:
OEM - No warranty (unless it is original equipment). Very expensive brand new, relatively affordable 2nd Hand
Quaife - Lifetime warranty (dependant on Distributor policy. Officially, Quaife only offer the warranty to their own customers). As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Is the most expensive.
Wavetrac - Lifetime warranty. Again, you get what you pay for. Is slightly cheaper than the Quaife
MFactory - Lifetime warranty. Goes against the saying; You actually get more than what you pay for
. Is the cheapest "Quality" differential, but is certainly not "cheap" (it is "lower cost" because of our manufacturing process i.e Forging, not because of its Quality).
OBX - Lifetime warranty (which is never honored). You get what you pay for, and is a very expensive paperweight if you buy a dud. By far the cheapest.
Brand Recognition:
OEM - Who's never heard of Honda?
Quaife - The most recognisable
Wavetrac - Owned by Autotech, the previous North American distributor for Quaife. Ditched Quaife (and left a lot of warranty claims in the gutter) to pursue their own product line
MFactory - We released our Helical LSD 2 years ago. Since the late 90's, Quaife had 70% share of the North American Honda aftermarket. Now, in 2011, we have 70% share of the North American Honda aftermarket. The rest is shared between Quaife/Wavetrac/OBX
OBX - An eBay Company
Hope this information will be of use to you
