lockers in the midwest

[boost_fr3@k]

I have come up with some money, and I'd like to get a locker before WF. My question is, front or back? I've heard that if you do the back with a non selectable locker you have some serious issues on ice or snow, and seeing as this is my first winter in Illinois, I;ve never had to deal with driving on ice or snow before (grew up in so cal).

Thoughts?

 

[Rev Den]

ARB

Front and rear.




You did ask.

Rev

 

[seanR]

Don't listen to him.
Put a Detroit in the front.
You wont know it is there when in 2WD, in 4WD, it will pull you through.

complete off road
That is where I got mine from, best price anywhere.

 

[Comanchedude]

I started with just a front locker and the school of thought is its more effective to pull your rig over objects than push..I found the front locker to be amazingly effective and would start there . the selectable lockers are ideal if thats what your budget allows.

 

[IllianaXJ]

On the cheap - Aussie front.

Got some decent cash - ARB front.

 

[nick86]

I started with just a front locker and the school of thought is its more effective to pull your rig over objects than push..I found the front locker to be amazingly effective and would start there . the selectable lockers are ideal if thats what your budget allows.

Right on bro. have ran the Lockrite in the front for awhile. It is so cool. The Aussie for the rear is soon to be.

 

[XJ Stryker]

Wow that is good to know I was planning on doing the rear first. :wierd:

 

[HaleYes]

I did the front first. No regrets here.
LockRight in the D30 and an Aussie in the 8.8.

 

[XJ&CHZ4ME]

Powertrax in the back at first and then locked up the front with a Powertrax as well. No regrets other then what you pay for a Powertrax..with a little more boot money I could have had selectables. Live and learn, but still no complaints with the Powertrax units.

 

[chopperdog]

I run a lockright in the front and a powertrax in the rear, seems to work pretty well all around

 

[WB9YZU]

I run a lockright in the front and a powertrax in the rear, seems to work pretty well all around

Which do you like better, the lockright or the powertrax ?

 

[BRIANHO13]

If you have enough for a arb....Don't. Go with a lockright/aussie in the front and powertrax in the rear. I ran this combo on the street with no issues.

 

[SavageXJ]

I have Detroits front and rear. No complaints whatsoever. Plows through snow like nobody's business. Although it would be nice to have a selectable rear, it's not necessary. As far as which to do first, I'd have to agree that the front seems most logical.

 

[What Rd]

Pick another state and keep trying until you hit one worth staying in.
But if you're going to stay . . . find a large empty parking lot and practice.
I ran a Powertrax locker in the rear with an open front for about two years using my rig as a DD to run all over the state. The synchros in the Powertrax make it nice and smooth. When the road gets slick you drop it into 4 wheel drive and the over-hyped tail-happiness of a rear locker goes away.
'Course now I have ARBs front and rear and except for the fact that I'm STILL living in Illinois, I'm So happy!

 

[boost_fr3@k]

I have Detroits front and rear. No complaints whatsoever. Plows through snow like nobody's business. Although it would be nice to have a selectable rear, it's not necessary. As far as which to do first, I'd have to agree that the front seems most logical.

hmmm....i was definitely thinking I'd do front first. So no ones had any problems with lockers in the snow? Someone from the SoCal chapter said that lockers + snow = disaster for him.

I think I'm gonna go with the aussie in front.

 

[WrenchMonkey]

Someone from the SoCal chapter + snow = disaster...

Fixed it.

I ran my lockright in the back for years before I locked the front. As long as you're gentle in the turns, snow isn't a problem. Get on it hard and the rear will step out, but it's predictable, and controllable.

My thought on front vs rear is that when you're climbing and need the traction most, the rig's weight shifts off the front wheels, and onto the rear.

That said... On road (in 2wd), a front locker should be pretty much invisible. A rear locker will always be working.

$.02

Robert

 

[jonzer12]

I live in Snow country in Canada. A rear locker in the winter is controlled easily enough around town but on the highway can be a handful. My truck had a locked rear but the wheelbase made it much more manageable.
I personally had a lunchbox in the front of my old XJ and would swap it back to open in the winter because of steering issues around town in 4wd. If your rig is DD then a locked front in winter is not worth it.
Overall if winter driving is your main concern, and you don't spend lots of time wheeling in rocks I would go with trutracs instead of lockers.

 

[markread]

Currently I'm running open front and rear. In the spring I was planning on putting an Aussie in the front and leaving the rear open. I've driven through Wisconsin winters all my life so I'm used to the snow, but I have read lots of differing opinions about how a locked front handles in the snow. This is my daily driver so I don't want to ruin the drivability.
I like the fact that in 2wd it would be invisible, but when it snows I engage the 4 wheel drive alot because it brakes better.

Any comments on Aussie Lockers used in the front only on a Wisconsin daily driver?

 

[kunaji]

Personally I have an aussie in the rear and tru-trac in the front of mine. I've had no issues with the aussie making the handling unpredictable. If there's snow on the road, drop it in 4wd and that takes care of the rear even thinking of sliding out. The cherokee actually gets around in the snow better than my truck with it's selectable locker in the rear. Just remember you aren't driving a sportscar designed to go fast and get used to how the lockers will react.

I locked the rear and did the tru-trac at the same time. BIG improvement in traction.

 

[WB9YZU]

All sorts of combinations. My present equipment is reverse of yours ( Luch box front, LSD in rear), and most of the time I leave the machine in 2WD.

Driving with a "Automatic" locker is not something you take lightly IMO.

One needs to remember that when you let up off the gas, the locker un-locks and will re-lock after you apply power, but not before power is applied only to one wheel. This applies to manual, and automatic transmission equipped vehicles, but because of the on/off nature of manual shifting, the effect is much more pronounced on a manual. If you add to that the fact that in the Winter, the traction usually leaves something to be desired, you may have problems if you don't smooth out your driving habits.

I have a friend who has a TJ with a manual, who also lives in the mountains. His style of shifting is, well... let's say its rough. The vehicle is his DD and he lifted it and installed lunch-box automatic lockers front and rear. Well, it just about killed him. Not because the Jeep wouldn't go in the snow, it would, but because when the snow became more like ice on the twisty mountain roads, the torque effects of having one wheel engaged, then the other wheel engaged shortly after the up shift, made it a wild ride.

I added this to clarify the locker names that are being thrown around here:

Open a simple differental, when one wheel spins, the other is not delivered power.

Limited Slip or LSD a differental which always sends some power to both wheels regardless of the traction conditions.

Locker a differential which sends power equally to each wheel regardless of the traction conditions.

Lock-Right is lunch box locker made by Richmond Gear, and is sold under the brand name PowerTrax. When in coast mode, it releases the faster wheel. When you apply power, the differentail locks and sends power to both wheels.

PowerTrax also makes a No-Slip locker that is also a lunch box style locker that supposedly eliminated the ratchet/lock/unlock issues of the Lock-Right.

Aussie lockers are a lunch box locker made by Torq Masters, but are internally much like a Lock-Right.

Detroit is a locking differential made by Eaton. Eaton also makes Limited Slip differentials.

Truetrac is one of the Limited Slip differentals made by Eaton.

ELocker is a electrically selectable locker made by Eaton. When it is not locked, it acts like an open differental.

Trac-Lok is the OEM Dana Limited Slip differential.

ARB is a pneumatically selectable locker made by ARB. A compressor is required to engage the locker. Acts like an ELocker.