Air Lockers - When to use ??
Submitted: Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 10:49
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Beast of Bodmin
Hi all.
With airlocking diffs fitted to both front and rear axles, how / when should they be used??
Take an example on a greasy clay / mud
hill in Victoria during winter. Good mud tyres are air'd down and progress is being made albeit with some degree of wheel spin.
Should first attempt be made without lockers - if car gets stuck, it will be less stuck than with lockers engaged?
As the car climbs over washaways with lockers engaged, will the axle step sideways as there is no differential action?
What about downhill, should the rear be engaged to get better traction (as 3wd) and retain steering in case accel is needed?
Or engage both front & rear.
My gut feel is to not engage front as it may cause the car to side step / slide if traction is lost (a bit like why Commodores are able to do circle work with an lsd).
On grippy rocky ledge type tracks, my gut feel is to have rear engaged all the time and both engaged when it gets really tough.
On sand, l would suggest to have nothing engaged to avoid being bogged more than necessary when the vehicle stops. owever l've not driven on beaches at all.
So what's the basic opinion of all the experienced users?
My main concern is those slippy hills, so would appreciate more info in those conditions.
For info, my car is an 80 Auto with ProLockers F&R.
Cheers
BoB
Reply By:- Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 14:00
Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 14:00
You do not need any diff at low speed on poor traction surface at all. Thus lock them up and unlock front only if you need to steer. On sand in particular (tested
mine recently on Melmed Rock Track) locking both make car unstoppable. Unlocked (a year ago) I have not managed “to do” 4 hills from first go and have not managed two of them “straight” and have to do small detour over undisturbed sand. With only rear locked it just going without any hesitation whenever you steer it; with both locked it became unstoppable as
tank (thought virtually unsteerable).
Go out and try them ;-)
Cheers.
AnswerID:
263163
Reply By: Philip A - Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 15:35
Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 15:35
IMHO the only definite no-no is when driving on a slippery mud road that has quite a bit of camber. In this case a locked axle will move down the
hill. I once drove from Wanarring to
Bourke after 3ins rain ( the
sign said road open!!!). Most of my driving was via the drivers window in my Range Rover with Detroit.
The lockers will allow you to approach obstacles much more slowly (especially on rocky tracks) and therefore are much safer. So I would use them , but check whether there is a large camber on the obstacle.
In sand they are great as both
wheels on both axles drive through the "diagonals" left by people who do not air down.
Downhill I usually lock my rear, as this reduces the chance of one wheel locking, then the other, but I think it depends on the circumstances. On a large camber no.
Regards Philip A
AnswerID:
263177
Reply By: Member - Doug T (Qld) - Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 19:38
Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 19:38
Thats why I like the Auto lockers, No thinking needed , they are there working 100% of the time, Don't matter if your on a main highway, in the middle of
Perth or going over a dune
AnswerID:
263212
Reply By: Philip A - Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 19:58
Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 19:58
I had a Detroit(Mk1 softlocker) in my 77RRC, but decided on a Maxi in my 92, as i felt it more matched the smoothness of the car.
The Detroit would occasionally give a "BANG", when taking off.
Clunkety clunk in carparks
Tightening line when changing gear on a curve
Would not unlock on turn when under load on slippery ground, making the turn much wider. Embarrassing on a tight haipin with a bank.
On slippery roads with camber , I would prefer to slowly weave without a locker than drive sideways for hundreds of meters with rear locked.
Regards Philip A
AnswerID:
263217
Reply By: Crackles - Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 20:19
Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 20:19
If the track is loose or slippery & there is a chance of getting stuck then it's better to engage the locker before hand on the first go. No point making unnecessary attempts when you have an accessory that can make it easy on both the car & the track. Rather than leave the lockers in for the entire
hill it's often better to put them in & take them out as required to assist in steering & minimising diff wind-up, particularly the front one.
I don't find the lockers make the car "side step" at all rather it just under steers. If it is sliding maybe the power needs to be backed off a little to regain traction ;-)
In sand lockers are pretty much unnecessary particularly at any speed, in fact while turning in sand they can be a disadvantage increasing the chance of the tyre digging in. At very slow speeds particularly over uneven scalloped dunes they can minimise wheel spin. Also restarting after being bogged the extra drive to all
wheels may just help you get going.
Downhill I may engage the rear if there is a chance of lifting a back wheel to avoid skidding.
Cheers Craig..............
HZJ105 Vic, 2 x ARB lockers.
AnswerID:
263223
Follow Up By: Pezza (Bris) - Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 21:23
Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 21:23
I was about to write a reply untill I read Craig's here, IMO spot on and the only thing I would add is that experience counts for everything, get out there and use them and you will soon figure it all out for yourself.
Cheers
Pezza
FollowupID:
524810
Reply By: Member - Duncs - Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 21:58
Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 21:58
I would pretty much agree with Craig and Pezza, especially about going and playing with them.
Try it on a track you know and see what difference they make.
There was a spot in the lower Blue Mountains which is now off limits where I used the diff locks to steer around an obstacle.
I would put both the front and rear in to climb a step, once the front was over the step I would take it out, pull on full lock then hit the diff lock again. As it straitened up it would kick the still locked rear end around and line me up on the track. I discovered this little trick by accident, but it was very effective and a good mate copied it after arguing that it would not work as I had said it did.
Go out and play, you'll learn heaps and its fun.
Duncs
AnswerID:
263243