[ChillyWilly3]

Maybe somebody already answered this for you, but just to answer your first question:

Yes, an open differential does apply the same torque to both wheels, but how much is applied given special circumstances is what HowStuffWroks.com is saying is the issue.

Open differentials apply only enough torque to keep a wheel from spinning. If you have a situation where one wheel is in the air while the other is still on the ground, the open differential will attempt to apply just the right amount of torque to the wheel that is in the air until it stops spinning. Unfortunately, the wheel will keep spinning because there's no friction (no opposing force to determine the proportional amount of torque to apply). Since it doesn't take much to spin a wheel in the air, the differential will apply little or virtually no torque to that wheel.

By definition, this same small amount of torque is applied to the wheel that is still on the ground. This applied torque is so small that it has little or no effect on the turning of that wheel (Hence, little or no movement on the wheel with good contact on the ground).

This applied torque will not change until the wheel in the air makes contact again on the ground. By then, the torque applied to both will be adjusted so that they both get the same amount of torque needed to overcome the ground (without slipping) and move your mighty 240SX proper once again.

I think this is right...Oh well...hope this helps.