Diff Locks

[04HUG]

G'day
Front, Rear, both or none. Why/Why not?
Why get them, I have "Traction Control"?
Air, Electric, CIG. What type and why/why not?
Who has them?
Who thinks they are a waste of money?


(I probably know the answers to the first 2 questions, just want to get it all out in the open.)

 

[happy john]

Front for for harder off road, remember most of the weight is at the front and that is the weak point when you start lifting wheels. E locker would be my choice, anyone needing to lock front and rear needs a patrol IMO.

 

[ourd40]

I put a lokka in the front to save the piss weak front diff and i prefer to crawl up stuff rather than hit it fast and break shit.

 

[ourd40]

If i had more coin i would go for an elocker still up front.

 

[happy john]

I put a lokka in the front to save the piss weak front diff and i prefer to crawl up stuff rather than hit it fast and break shit.

Never a better word said!

 

[Old.Tony]

I'd put an e-locker up front first. You can always hold your handbrake on to reduce rear wheel spin and encourage the other wheel to turn the right way. Can't do that with the front axle, and the teeny weeny diff they put there won't take a lot of strain.

 

[siringo]

Lockers can help greatly when going down slippery stuff, they can help greatly when going up stuff.

When driving, you will always have at least 2 wheels on the ground, if you have a locker up front and rear you will most likely be able to move, regardless of the vehicle you're driving Patrol, Cruiser or Navara. A single locked Navara will go further than many other so called heavy duty unlocked 4WDs.

If I could only afford one locker it would be in the rear, lockers in the front are a last resort when you're using lockers, they also make steering very heavy.

The only good thing about CIG lockers is the price, driving a permanently locked vehicle is a major PITA.

If you already have traction control, why are you thinking of lockers? Doesn't it work very well?

 

[04HUG]

G'day

"If you already have traction control, why are you thinking of lockers? Doesn't it work very well? "

Traction control will apply breaks to the wheel that wants to spin too fast. This steels power from the drive line, adds heat into the breaks and reduces break life.

 

[OneMofo]

Talk to Nath, his Ranger is locked and has traction control so he will have a bit ok knowledge.
I have to disagree with the priority in locking the rear first. I believe locking the front first is more beneficial.

 

[sparra04]

Both
And I would e lock, don't like the idea of air lokkas, too complicated and too much stuff that can fail
auto lokkas have there place and are friendly on the budget, but I prefer to be able to turn it off when needed
and IMO traction control is only good on road and maybe on wet grass or mud, lift a wheel and t/c is pretty useless, i know some will disagree (d40 and ranger drivers)

 

[04HUG]

Talk to Nath, his Ranger is locked and has traction control so he will have a bit ok knowledge.
I have to disagree with the priority in locking the rear first. I believe locking the front first is more beneficial.

G'day

Can you elaborate on why to lock the front first?

My thinking has always been to lock the rear first, then both, but never the front only.
I would have set up one switch (3 position) that would be, Rear-OFF-Both.

 

[OneMofo]

G'day



Can you elaborate on why to lock the front first?



My thinking has always been to lock the rear first, then both, but never the front only.

I would have set up one switch (3 position) that would be, Rear-OFF-Both.

The switch would be a good idea. In the Nav you have a LSD in the rear, plus having IFS once you lift a wheel up front or are crossed (front right an rear left or vidsa versa) you stop. Being locked up front just seems to have most benefit.

 

[04HUG]

Both
And I would e lock, don't like the idea of air lokkas, too complicated and too much stuff that can fail
auto lokkas have there place and are friendly on the budget, but I prefer to be able to turn it off when needed
and IMO traction control is only good on road and maybe on wet grass or mud, lift a wheel and t/c is pretty useless, i know some will disagree (d40 and ranger drivers)

G'day

If a D40 owner is going to rely on Traction control, then all the money they spend on power mods means nothing every time it activates. The 'VDC OFF' switch will disable the traction control so you get full power to the wheels.
If you want power on the ground you can't use traction control without dif locks.

 

[siringo]

Once you've gone down a very steep shaley or slippery track and you've experienced how a rear locker can greatly help keep your vehicle under control, it doesn't take you very long to work out that rear lockers are great for going up and down hills. I sure as sh!t wouldn't want to use my front locker to try and keep my vehicle under control going down hill.

Front lockers make your steering very heavy and much less precise than normal.

 

[ourd40]

We drive Navara's so we dont go doing extremely hardcore or technical stuff so up front first works perfectly for me and i have never been stuck

 

[Nevyn]

I have a front lokka (auto) and I can give solid feedback on performance re: up and downhill. With 70% of the utes weight on the front wheels downhill breaking is superb. I have noticed the increase in control far outweighs any perceived cons. As for uphill, with the already tight LSD in the rear and the auto lokka in the front you will be left with a big smile at the top. Steering always comes up as a negative, being heavy etc. it will only be hard to steer under torque! Back off the right foot a little and steering is easy as!!
I've had my front auto lokka in for nearly two years now and given some of the places I've been on club trips I haven't found a negative yet.......

Cheers Brad

 

[happy john]

Good advice Brad, all the group lokka guy's should read this.

 

[gazza414]

Only prob is that my LSD is already useless--still under Nissan warranty but they say its "within" spec...spins a single wheel on wet grass

going elocker in the rear

 

[camo.b]

I have a front lokka (auto) and I can give solid feedback on performance re: up and downhill. With 70% of the utes weight on the front wheels downhill breaking is superb. I have noticed the increase in control far outweighs any perceived cons. As for uphill, with the already tight LSD in the rear and the auto lokka in the front you will be left with a big smile at the top. Steering always comes up as a negative, being heavy etc. it will only be hard to steer under torque! Back off the right foot a little and steering is easy as!!
I've had my front auto lokka in for nearly two years now and given some of the places I've been on club trips I haven't found a negative yet.......

Cheers Brad

How did you get a good lsd? Mine spins one wheel reversing up a grassy hill

 

[sparra04]

We drive Navara's so we dont go doing extremely hardcore or technical stuff so up front first works perfectly for me and i have never been stuck

you obviously have not been on one of our trips
there are plenty of nav owners on here who do push there rigs to the limit...and beyond