Are all lockers "bad" in snow and ice?

 

If you learn how to drive on snow and ice they are fine. It doesn't take that long to learn, of course you have to think about what you are doing. Some people just have a harder time with the thinking part.

 

Driver input decides how well the lockers handle the ice and snow

 

Exactly.

No set up is inherently bad on any surface.

Most drivers, however, are inherently bad regardless of surface.

 

I think many peeps think there bad. If you have auto lockers they can lock up at times that will catch you off guard. but if you know this, and it happens then you'll know whats going on. I'm wanting to get an aussie....soon

 

IMHO, any automatic traction enhanced diff offers twice the traction of an open diff (snow/ice/dry pavement). What's bad in snow/ice is drivers with SFB syndrome, not auto locking diffs or a lsd.

I could see a selectable spool (ARB, etc.) when engaged being a little tricky....DD, patchy snow/ice on pavement.

 

First time I ever heard anyone question the value of having 2 wheels turning vs. 1. My Cherokee Sport is the only rear wheel drive vehicle we have without a positraction rear end.

If/when the back end takes off sideways just let up on the gas pedal and steer into it.

I wouldn't go off road without it (the Cherokee Sport was bought for my wife for highway usage, not off road).

Mine are Chevys and have the type that won't spin one tire without spinning the other. Some of the older Dana rear ends would start to spin one tire and at some point the other side would kick in and start spinning - but the one wheel was already building up rpm and the engine was building torque so the back end would jump sideways (sometimes) when that second wheel kicked in.

 

The only thing bad about auto lockers while driving on snow and ice is that snow and ice is a slippery surface therefore your lockers will most likely stay locked all the time...even while in a turn. Because that is how auto lockers work. If you don't have wheels moving at different speeds while on a dry surface, (like in a turn situation) your auto lockers will not unlock. If you have a front locker this can cause the vehicle to push (continue to go straight with front wheels turned) if you have become too overconfident and are driving too fast for the snowy and icey road conditions. The biggest problem is that lockers will allow an inexperienced person the traction to take off faster in snow and ice. What these inexperienced people usually don't realize until it's too late is that your cool new lockers will not allow your rig to corner or stop any better than any other vehicle in snow and ice when driving too fast for the snowy and icey road conditions. In short there is no locker that is bad for snow and ice. What is bad is the people who think locking differentials in their cool new Mall Crawler SUV give them the ability to drive at normal road or highway speeds in snow and ice.

 

I love my Aussie in the snow and ice duz great

 

In snow and ice the problem with lockers come from (like posted above) when they do not disengage if can track you really wide on turns.

Once you learn how to drive with them on snow and ice its not terrible. just a different driving style

 

haha. common sense: catch the fever... but seriously, i could see the lockers making it a different approach to driving, but worse isnt what comes to mind. understanding the principals of the locked axle is important. its like with anything new/different, you just gotta get used to it. maybe a big, emptyish lot to get used to how your locker will respond to diff. throtle input as well as different radius corners. i once suggested to an ex that she bring her suby to a parking lot and just see what it feels like when your car starts to slide and practice how to counter steer. the reason being that if you are in a controlled environment and you are intentionally trying to get you car to slide/loose control/whatever, you will be prepared for that instant when you feel it break loose. now you know what it feels like, and how to correct it... well, lets just say that she didnt think it was a good idea... i wonder if that has anything to do with the "ex" part...

oh yea, i want an aussie locker... screw that expensive air or electronicly controlled stuff. i dont think i need a selectable locker, i trust my driving enough. and if anything, i love to drift, so wont a locker make that an easier task?

 

It will make it ez to drift but u have to be careful not to bake an axel shaft I dono what size tires ur running but big tires a stock axel with a locker and dry pavement don't go good when trying to drift

 

Lol

 

well put. i usually reserve my drifting for the snow and other surfaces that put less strain on the drive train... i got the stock 8.25 and just 235/75r15's so its low stress there...

 

I have Aussie Lockers front and rear in my XJ. I love them and never have problems with them on the road...including snow and ice conditions. I always keep it at a proper speed for the given conditions and just pull the dummies out of the ditch as I find them along the road...