Lockers in snow/ice

[Boggin]

I was wondering how locking the diffs work in snow/ice as my truck will be seeing alot of it, espically on slippery roads when theyre snow covered, and even in deep snow off roading. im asking about the front and rear diff, REAL 4 wheel drive

 

[mn_smokeater]

from what i have read your gunna be very familiar with the ditch if your not careful

 

[Hahnsb2]

I've run in a lot of snow, deep powder, wet and icy, hard packed, ect, locked front and rear and never had a problem, not sure what all the fuss is about.

 

[Sunk]

It takes a little getting used to, but it's definitely manageable. Plus, it'll be predictable unlike an L/S.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

My experiance with a rear locker is that it would rather push the front wheels straight than turn. And also more likely to kick the rear out too.

 

[colby450xc]

My experiance with a rear locker is that it would rather push the front wheels straight than turn. And also more likely to kick the rear out too.

Yeah, a light foot on the gas does the trick. I found it does work better than the one wheel wonder. You can do a alot of steering with the rear end with a locker, but it is very easy to lose it and spin out. I thought the locker in my 2wd was the best modification I installed.........Besides the Autofab bent beams and extended radius arms.

 

[ben_2_go]

I've run in a lot of snow, deep powder, wet and icy, hard packed, ect, locked front and rear and never had a problem, not sure what all the fuss is about.

I have also,but there is a little technique that some of us just don't think about,because we're used to it.Lite throttle,lite steering input,and extremely light on the brake pedal.

Yeah, a light foot on the gas does the trick. I found it does work better than the one wheel wonder. You can do a alot of steering with the rear end with a locker, but it is very easy to lose it and spin out. I thought the locker in my 2wd was the best modification I installed.........Besides the Autofab bent beams and extended radius arms.

I agree.


There's also chains.I'm not gonna get into the 4x4 needs chains front and rear argument.I'll just say that when I run chains on the rear,I usually don't need them on the front with a locker.These are the chains I am buying for next winter.
The chains http://www.tirechain.com/REINFORCED-DIAMOND-CHAIN.htm
Install Vid http://www.tirechain.com/car_chaininstallationinstruction.htm

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Locking the diffs can be a good or bad thing. You deff have to keep your head out of your @$$ when driving with them. Yes, it's a predictable thing, but you have to keep it in mind. Things that I could safely do with my 2wd Ranger with an open rear cannot be performed with a locked rear and an expectation to stay out of the ditch or keep from facing the wrong way all of a sudden.

My F-150 sports an open front diff and a locked rear. I locked the back axle when I swapped axles and changed gear ratios and the truck definately handles different now. It goes a lot better in bad weather since both back tires will dig but I wasn't thinking the one morning (only had half a cup of coffee poured in my eyes) and going around one bend there was just enough ice on the road that the locker locked up hard (turning left and up a hill so I was on the go juice in second) and the back started to kick out on me. Fortunate for me I was able to control it despite it being unexpected because my mind wasn't on the task at hand.

My choptop is locked front and rear and it has some interesting handling characteristics in bad weather. I found that locking both front hubs in and driving in 4x4 causes me to dogtrack pretty bad and screws with my turning ability on the road, but when driving it off road or on terrible dirt roads in 4lo it tracks just fine and turns just fine. And 99% of the time it proves easy to control. I also found that if I just lock one front hub in and drive in 4x4 on the road, it tracks straight and is easy to control. The 1% that it proves not easy to control? Yea... thats when I was driving in the summer and saw a patch of wet road ahead of me... not expecting problems I kept going only to find myself fishtailing badly and then lost control, spun about 470* and launched up an embankment in a heartbeat. Good thing I was in my choptop which was big enough to go up the embankment rather than into it.

 

[Boggin]

thanks guys, i also wondered about the locking 1 hub

 

[Sunk]

thanks guys, i also wondered about the locking 1 hub

I've done that too and it works okay, but if the driven tire hits something slick and loses traction, there goes your momentum. I got stuck in a friend's barely sloped driveway.

 

[-Nathan-]

lockers are great as long as you can drive them and have some common sense about it.


you just have to be a little more cautious.


but having lockers in both ends makes a world of difference in the capability of a rig.