Isuzu D-Max
Submitted: Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 18:36
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allein m
I had a friend pop into today to show me his brand new Isuzu D-Max and when talking I asked about diff locks
He said the sales man said no need for them with the traction control system built into them
I am no expert so is this true or what ?
Thanks people I am interested because I am thinking of trading into one later this year
Reply By: Ross M - Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 19:29
Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 19:29
Most traction controls work ok and do allow you to get deeper into trouble or out of it, all depends on the situation.
A diff lock is definite traction and not a system which applies one or the other wheel brakes to get the other to keep driving.
It all depends on the use you intend giving it/asking of it as to if a Diff lock would be required.
If anything a quality auto locker may be suitable should the need arise.
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Reply By: mikehzz - Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 19:43
Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 19:43
One of our club members had a brand new Dmax on a trip with us a few months ago. It was a bit muddy and he held us up for around 30 minutes because he couldn't get up a steep rough patch. He had to winch it with his brand new winch. :-) My Jeep went up 3 cars later after the mud was churned up even more with the diffs still open. The traction control on the Dmax didn't impress me but it was a nice unit. If it were
mine there would be lockers installed as a priority.
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Follow Up By: Iza B - Monday, May 12, 2014 at 10:57
Monday, May 12, 2014 at 10:57
What position did he have the switches in? I did the Simpson in a showroom standard Max and it was every bit as good as the lifted locked cruisers I was with, after I worked out w hich bottons to push. I did belly it out a couple of times and needed two goes. Straight up Big Red first go to watch one of the cruisers have three goes.
Iza
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Follow Up By: mikehzz - Monday, May 12, 2014 at 13:26
Monday, May 12, 2014 at 13:26
Not sure mate, and you are right that it takes time to get to know what works with a particular traction system. He got hung up on his side steps as
well on another difficult section. :-) Personally, I like lockers. They are either on or off and there is no wheel spin while the car figures out if it's stuck. Having said that, I do think the Dmax is a good value and capable ute.
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Reply By: gbc - Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 19:53
Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 19:53
There's a few vids on utube showing how dmax traction control works. You need to keep the welly into it for a while for it to work, a bit counter intuitive I think, but apparently pretty impressive once you've got your head around it? You'd do a lot worse than a dmax for the coin.
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Reply By: Isuzumu - Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 20:03
Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 20:03
The reason the D.Max won 4WD UOTY was because of it's off road ability and having owned one for 18 months and done 60Ks including the GRR, Bungle Bungles and the Gulf, I can not see why I would put a diff lock in it. I do have another Isuzu at
home with a front diff lock and rear LSD and the only reason it would go further off road cause it is 21 years old and it's does not owe me a lot of dough now hahahahaha
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Follow Up By: Member - Redbakk (WA) - Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 20:57
Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 20:57
Hello Bruce, what weight is your van and how does it tow?
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Follow Up By: Isuzumu - Monday, May 12, 2014 at 07:40
Monday, May 12, 2014 at 07:40
Around 2.5 ton loaded, on good roads we set on 95 kph and achieve 15LP100. I also do not use WDH as I I have the Sax 3SDS
suspension.
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Follow Up By: bigcol - Monday, May 12, 2014 at 09:06
Monday, May 12, 2014 at 09:06
Absolutely nothing to do with them giving 4wd Action a Dmax to play with either
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Follow Up By: Isuzumu - Monday, May 12, 2014 at 15:59
Monday, May 12, 2014 at 15:59
bigcol what are yo going on about? they get to drive all vehicles equally.
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Follow Up By: bigcol - Monday, May 12, 2014 at 20:41
Monday, May 12, 2014 at 20:41
Not talking about the testing of them.
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Follow Up By: Member - Redbakk (WA) - Monday, May 12, 2014 at 20:43
Monday, May 12, 2014 at 20:43
Thanks Bruce, and thanks for the extra info regarding Sax 3SDS, got 6 mates all have the new dmax's and love them, and they are trying to get me to buy one, good value for the $ you pay I reckon.
they are a good mix....a pumper. a shot firer, a chiropractor, a garage attendant, a miner(
rock ape), and a lubricator. LOL.
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Reply By: D-Max Dave - Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 21:55
Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 21:55
Hi
In June we are taking or 2013 DMax to the cape, towing our Off Road CT.
We do not have dif locks, but have upgraded the
suspension,
Snorkel, Steel winch bar and winch, new AT duelers.
We may or may not tackle the OTT, depends on conditions, I'l let you know how it goes.
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Reply By: Member - Rosco from way back - Monday, May 12, 2014 at 08:56
Monday, May 12, 2014 at 08:56
Our previous vehicle was a Defender with traction control. I had this for about 10 years so got a good feel for TC and its limitations. Got the same BS from a salesman when I was considering getting a newer one, but didn't go down that road.
Our current rig has factory diff locks and I can say with a good deal of confidence that TC and locks are like chalk and cheese. There is absolutely no comparison in my opinion. For starters with TC you have to put the boot in, whereas with locks you can negotiate at crawl speed.
The Zu may be different; can't say as I've never driven one.
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Reply By: bigcol - Monday, May 12, 2014 at 09:05
Monday, May 12, 2014 at 09:05
2 totally different systems.
TC will take you a lot further off road than standard open diff centres but it won't take you as far as having locked diffs.
It's also harder on your CV's and drive train because you have to keep some revs in it rather than letting it crawl
TC also some short comings in really soft sand. Just doesn't react fast enough and robs power when you want it.
Really no comparison. If you were wanting to do some proper off roading diff lockers is the way to go
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Reply By: allein m - Monday, May 12, 2014 at 12:38
Monday, May 12, 2014 at 12:38
Thank you for your opinions
I should have also said i will be doing a lot of trip out of
Broken Hill on my own single vehicle so if I do get stuck i am the only one who will get me out
Saying that I feel it may be safer to go the way of a rear locker and max trax and a winch
that way I have a reasonable chance of getting out of trouble
now comes the hard part talking the other half into going down this way
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Follow Up By: Nutta - Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at 22:34
Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at 22:34
Personally i would put an auto locker in the front, cheap and effective, your dmax should have a pretty good limo in the rear anyway. Cheers.
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Reply By: D-Jack - Monday, May 12, 2014 at 21:22
Monday, May 12, 2014 at 21:22
for traction control to work (I have a Triton with it) it needs to detect wheel spin to engage. Then it applies braking to the wheel that is spinning to divert power to the wheel with traction. This equals loss of momentum, which can stop you in your tracks in certain conditions. I have a rear locker in the Triton, it is a much more relaxed ride when engaged when traversing steep rocky terrain, going through mud bog holes etc. However I find TC great in sand because the locker tends to bog things down easier due to the dif being locked and not allowing differential when turning, Get a locker!
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