Rear axle traction options
ok im planning on useing a ford 8.8 with 4.88 gears. im gonna be running 35's and ending at 37's. My main question is for still DD for now what would my best option be LSD or something like a spartan locker. im swapping in a 231 tcase and i already have a second car but do to insurance issues i can only drive the jeep tight now. i will wanna drive the jeep on road alot in the future but also be capable offroad.
Re: rear axle traction options
There is no reason you cannot drive a locker on the highway. I am locked at both ends and don't notice much difference until I shift the front axle in. In my mind the only real issue between the two is whether or not you drive in snow and ice. If you do, the LSD is a better choice
Re: rear axle traction options
i dont actually know how much snow or ice ill be driveing in. my other car is FWD but i will probobly drive the jeep during the winters.
Re: rear axle traction options
If that is the case, you are probably better off with the LSD. Lockers really shine in the rocks, but an LSD does just fine in mud and stuff like that
Re: rear axle traction options
ok cause im in PA so alot of trails and mud and snow
Re: rear axle traction options
In PA, I would use a selectable locker or LSD
Re: rear axle traction options
i was thinkin of an ox in the 8.8 but that is just so much money. so im thinking lsd and a spartan in the front
Re: rear axle traction options
unless you are going to use 2WD in snow, that front diff should remain open. But those lunch box lockers are not that hard to take in and out. You can save your spider gears and change them in for the winter
Re: rear axle traction options
wait so dont bother locking the front? i thought the front was what ppl lock first? chances are i will be in 2wd in the snow unless i get stuck or its really bad. i never really used the full time on my 242 ever
Re: rear axle traction options
Now ya did it, opened up that debate again LOL
Some of that debate, front or rear first comes from people that live in the snow country. They lock the front and don't use 4WD in snow. Personally, I always used 4WD in snow and ice, and would travel sometimes hundreds of miles at a shot that way through Eastern OR. I guess that just reflects a difference in thinking.
Re: rear axle traction options
see i only use 2wd unless i get stuck and that comes from my dad living in TX and wheeling in the rockies
Re: rear axle traction options
OK, throw that locker in then
Re: rear axle traction options
so the thing to keep in mind is dont use the locker in 4wd on the road? whats the difference between that and off road. available wheel slip?
Re: rear axle traction options
and would that still apply to an auto locker?
Re: rear axle traction options
No, you don't want to use that locker on the pavement. You shift out before you get there. The reason is that there are small differences in tire size etc that put tremendous force on the drive train when all tires get full traction. This gets exacerbated when you go around a corner and the tires can't slip a little. It gets even worse with a locker. If you don't break something, you will cause premature wear to occur.