deciding between frnt/rear locker

[Mitchen]

cps! lol

is the cps common in renix jeeps? i have the peugot transmission not the ax-15

 

[Rod Knee]

I have also been pondering adding traction devices to my XJ. Let me say that I think that the amount you can do running open/open with some driving skills is underrated. I've never thought I really needed lockers especially since my interest is primarily backcounrty touring rather than hard core crawling. I enjoy the look on the faces of drivers of heavily built TJ's when I easily handle portions of trails that they think I have no business being on.

Last Fall I did Poison Spider and Elephant Hill near Moab o/o with no problems. When we were up on top of Poison Spider Mesa we encountered a pretty good downpour of rain. I casually mentioned to someone (I think it might have been stockerwithalocker) that it looked like we might need for it to stop raining and dry out before going down. He said that the rigs with lockers would be fine on the wet rocks but that I might need to be strapped to get down a few segments. Well, it stopped raining and dried out, and I made it down as easily as I had made it up the Mesa.

I had forgotten about our conversation until I read the ARB article linked to above. It stated that Jeeps with rear lockers have greater stability on steep descents than those without rear lockers. So I am also going to have a stocker with a locker. I'll be ordering a Ptrax no-slip for my c8.25 this weekend.

Just thought I'd offer up a bit of a different perspective.

 

[nochance9]

Let me say that I think that the amount you can do running open/open with some driving skills is underrated.

I agree, I've done some of the hardest rated trails in Moab without a locker. Moab rim, potato salad hill, poison spider mesa-golden spike- gold bar rim, ect... all with open front and rear. A lot of it in 2lo too ( t-case started slipping on the first trail of the trip).

That being said, we just bought our 01 with ARB front and rear and the difference is incredible. Especially in snow and slippery stuff.

 

[Rod Knee]

I agree, I've done some of the hardest rated trails in Moab without a locker. Moab rim, potato salad hill, poison spider mesa-golden spike- gold bar rim, ect... all with open front and rear. A lot of it in 2lo too ( t-case started slipping on the first trail of the trip).

That being said, we just bought our 01 with ARB front and rear and the difference is incredible. Especially in snow and slippery stuff.

I ordered my locker last night and a lube locker this morning. Installation scheduled for next weekend. Eventualy I'll probablly go with a truetrac LSD in front since I have the 242 tcase, if and when I regear, but I'm in no hurry to regear. Maybe I'll eventually have a revelation concerning gears similar to the one I described above regarding traction devices.

 

[zachandandy]

I went straight from open open to Spartans front and rear, but if I had to choose 1 I'd say front. When climbing, the front tends to lift antire far more often. Also, the front won't affect driving in 2wd, so you won't have to worry about slippery roads. Of course at $230 each shipped, why not just buy to Spartan lockers and call it good? Install is a piece of cake, they are completely reversible, and if you deceide you don't like the way either end behaves, pull it out and save for a selectable.

 

[rm89xj73xl]

Front first been runnin it like for years>

 

[Kilroy08]

I did front and rear on mine, and it's my daily driver. I haven't had any problems except for when I got too happy with the gas pedal pulling out onto the highway. It wasn't anything too severe, the rear just broke traction.

As long as you don't drive like an idiot, there's nothing wrong with them. I have the NP 231, so the front isn't noticeable on pavement.

The awesomeness kicked in when I didn't even bother with firing up the tractor to clear my driveway this winter. I just let the Jeep warm up while I made coffee, then hopped in, put it in 4 high, and away I went.

Does it not care about mud? Within reason, but I wouldn't go mud bogging with it. How about sand? Shouldn't be an issue, but I haven't renewed my surf fishing tag just yet, so I can't say for sure.

 

[sunburned]

Personally, I wheeled once with my Jeep open-open and it was on private land through some muddy trails and up a few steep hills. It was boring to say the least. I wouldn't even want to try to go on a decent rocky trail like that. What's the point? Yes, it may be a challenge, but I'd rather throw lockers in it and challenge myself on much bigger and tougher trails. Before I went on my first actual wheeling trip at a real park, I had 4.56's and a rear no-slip installed.

Also, for those of you who say get front first because it doesn't affect you in 2WD. One of the main reasons I got a rear locker first is because I like the fact that I'm using it all the time. When its slippery and wet out, I know I'll always have traction to both tires in the rear. Not sure why you guys think its so hard to drive a RWD vehicle with a traction device in the rear. Learn how it behaves and it'll be fun instead of scary.

 

[rocknxj]

I've had tremendous success with my front Spartan locker (but go with selectable if you can) and rear limited slip. The answer to your question depends on the type of terrain and driving you do. Selectable lockers will always be the best option, price notwithstanding.