Diff Lockers

[BillG Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close BillG]

Newbie to the forum here. First post. G'day

I am trying to decide if I need/want diff lockers for my Prado.

I am fairly new to 4WD. I have a 2012 VX bought late last year. Large chunks of it are now in the shed as they have been replaced! New bits include TJM Bar with Premier winch and spot lights, second battery, new suspension with a 4cm lift, roof rack, Hannibal tent and awning, UHF radio, BW drawers, Kaymar dual spare bar, 6 x 17in steel wheels and Cooper AT3s (to replace the 18in alloys and GrandTreks).

The various traction control doohickeys seem pretty good and so far have let me get through a desert worth of sand, a day of mud/rain/water (where quite a few others got stuck), and a few steepish rocky tracks.

I know there is an advantage to rear lockers in some cases, but I am not sure of the value here, given what the electronics can do. TJM tell me they don't make lockers for my car. ARB is happy to install theirs. I haven't spoken to anyone else.

If I do install them should I get the front ones as well? I have also heard anecdotes of aftermarket lockers and 150 traction control causing problems with each other.

I would appreciate any thoughts, experiences and advice.

Thanks

Bill

[ondaboat Coopers Pale Ale Find all posts View Profile Close ondaboat]

Gday Bill welcome to Pradopoint

Please find below a few threads covering Diff Lockers perhaps you may find an answer in there.
http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...RB-Air-lockers
http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...-Fitted-Prices
http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...ARB-Air-Locker
http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...action-control
http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...ol-experiences

If you want you can also post a hello here
http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...-Introductions

Start a rig build here and put up some pics
http://www.pradopoint.com/forumdispl...y-Rig-Build-Up

It's usually a good idea to do an advanced google search and have a read before starting a new tread on the same topics.
Since your in Adelaide you should be coming to the GTG but I think registrations may have closed.
Hope you can get out to one of our day PP trips some time

Regards Adam

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Gday Bill, Adam is correct, always best to have a search and a read as many of your questions will have already been answered. If you have more questions adding to an existing thread is always a good option otherwise people will be answering the same questions over and over again.

However given that you and Trish are best buddies after your weekend at Bendleby I'll cut you comw slack today

So a quick story, I watched 3 prados scale a hill last year, much tougher than anything you saw at Bendleby on the weekend. They all got up.

The open diff 120 made it with massive wheel spin, huge wheel lifting and he really had to cane the Prado to make it.
a 150 with traction contol went up without any real issue but it was a bit jerky, thats all.
The twin locked 150 looked like he was going for a sunday drive and wouldn't have spilled his full cup of coffee.

So the moral of the story, If your new to 4wdriving your not likely to be tackling the extreme A grade tracks at every 4wd park in the country, so traction control will get you through pretty much everything you are likely to see. Having said that, if money isn't an issue then the lockers are a step above and in a few instances they might be of a bit of benifit to you, whether they are value for money on the 150 is a question for each individual.

Having run twin lockers on my 120 I am not sure I would say that the front locker has been of that much value, a front locker has a huge effect on the steering of the vehicle, hence I don't feel inclined to use it, and a few time I have I am not sure it helped anyway.

I can't see why a locker would interfere with the traction control, but not having had TC I can't be sure.

Cheers Andrew

[iantz Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close iantz]

AJ - can u comment on lockers when sand driving? Are they useful for this?

[ondaboat Coopers Pale Ale Find all posts View Profile Close ondaboat]

AJ - can u comment on lockers when sand driving? Are they useful for this?

You can hear him "honey AJ says I need a diff locker for the sand.......can I get one"

[BillG Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close BillG]

Dear Adam, Andrew and all,
Thanks very much for the replys and the pointers. Apologies if I got this wrong. I will learn :-)
I did try to search the forums before I posted but obviously not well enough! I did find some of those threads but will now have a read of the others as well. I will see if I can find someone who has put lockers on a 150 with the traction control.
I will post an intro and maybe a rig build as well.
I have been reading about the GTG for a while and would love to come but unfortunately the dates clash with a pre-existing commitment that I can't really avoid
I will look forward joining a day trip at some stage or perhaps the Goolwa trip in the lead up to Christmas?
Thanks again for your help and understanding
cheers
Bill

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

AJ - can u comment on lockers when sand driving? Are they useful for this?

Lockers in sand I would say mostly N0!, but there are always exceptions, if you get bogged and want full traction during the recovery they might be useful, climbing large dunes that have been badly cut up, especially when towing (such as the border track) a rear locker might be of some use, otherwise I don't think they help much.

Like any situation, if you are pushing the limits of your vehicle and yourself every little bit helps. The guy in the Pajero on our Madigans trip used his locker a few times when he had difficulties and it seemed to help, having said that I drove up places without lockers engaged over his cut up tracks after he couldn't make it!

If you don't have traction control a rear locker certainly makes a huge difference when things get a bit gnarly, being able to flick a switch and gently climb over an obstacle rather than use momentum and the invariable wheel spin and bouncing that results all goes to keeping stresses on the vehicle and the passenger to a minimum.

Cheers Andrew

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

I will see if I can find someone who has put lockers on a 150 with the traction control.

I know REV has twin lockers in his 150 with traction control, he was the one sipping his coffee I mentioned in my first post.

you will find REV here http://www.pradopoint.com/member.php?17919-REV

Probably a few others as well but he is the only one that comes to mind.

Cheers Andrew

[leachy_9 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close leachy_9]

I've got lockers front and rear and the only time I have found them to be of any real use in the sand is to get maximum traction during a Maxtrax recovery. Using the rear locker when driving across a sandy slope will cause the rear end to want to drift sideways. The real benefit of lockers is when your lifting wheels. I would say that I only use the front locker 1/10th as much as the rear locker but there have been situations where I would not have got through with both lockers.

Leachy.

[BillG Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close BillG]

I know REV has twin lockers in his 150 with traction control, he was the one sipping his coffee I mentioned in my first post.

you will find REV here http://www.pradopoint.com/member.php?17919-REV

Probably a few others as well but he is the only one that comes to mind.

Cheers Andrew

Thanks Andrew. Much appreciated

cheers

Bill

[REV Find all posts View Profile Close REV]

The 2011 GTG at LCMP was a good example of prados without traction control or lockers, then prados with traction control, then with rear locker only & lastly with front & rear lockers.(As Andrew has said)
It was very obvious that as the traction aids increased so did the ease at which the vehicles went through this one particular gully which ran across the track on the side of this hill.

I was the 2nd last vehicle to go through and someone asked how mine would go through with both lockers in. So I engaged both lockers and it was just as Andrew described, just like a Sunday afternoon drive. I could have literately been sipping on a coffee. I don't think that I even raised a wheel. Unlike a few of the earlier prados to go through.

However, I have yet to be saved by lockers in sand. I have used the rear locker when going through very chopped up sand on the exits from the beach. More study and experiments required at the 2012 GTG!!

One thing I can tell you is you can have a lot of fun with out the lockers in, or when you've had enough you can engage them and relax.
You can rest assured that I am very pleased to have them.

The main thing to remember is, that if you are not carefull, lockers can get you a lot further into trouble, than you would have been without the lockers.:shock:

[ondaboat Coopers Pale Ale Find all posts View Profile Close ondaboat]

Well I've decided, purely because of AJ's words (I will be telling wife AJ made me do it) and book the Prado in for a Rear Locker.
Hmm now how to get said car to ARB without wife knowing whilst at work...........

[BillG Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close BillG]

The 2011 GTG at LCMP was a good example of prados without traction control or lockers, then prados with traction control, then with rear locker only & lastly with front & rear lockers.(As Andrew has said)
It was very obvious that as the traction aids increased so did the ease at which the vehicles went through this one particular gully which ran across the track on the side of this hill.

I was the 2nd last vehicle to go through and someone asked how mine would go through with both lockers in. So I engaged both lockers and it was just as Andrew described, just like a Sunday afternoon drive. I could have literately been sipping on a coffee. I don't think that I even raised a wheel. Unlike a few of the earlier prados to go through.

However, I have yet to be saved by lockers in sand. I have used the rear locker when going through very chopped up sand on the exits from the beach. More study and experiments required at the 2012 GTG!!

One thing I can tell you is you can have a lot of fun with out the lockers in, or when you've had enough you can engage them and relax.
You can rest assured that I am very pleased to have them.

The main thing to remember is, that if you are not carefull, lockers can get you a lot further into trouble, than you would have been without the lockers.

Thanks very much for that Rev. It sounds like a rear locker makes a difference on hard surfaces. From what Andrew said you have the traction control stuff too and it obviously doesn't interfere.

From what I have read sand is a different matter. My limited experience when I did a desert trip recently where one of the other cars was an LC100 with front and rear lockers, was that I could do anything he could, although to be fair I woudn't mind trying a few of the dunes again with a locker!

The same trip later involved a clay/mud road in pouring rain -120kms in 6 1/2 hrs for our five cars. For sections the whole road was awash with running water. Two cars needed Maxtrax, a tow, or a snatch. Not the LC100 with his lockers in the whole time (and a much more experienced driver) or our Prado, although my wife did ask a number of times why I was driving sideways! To be fair the LC100 was dancing a bit too although perhaps less than us - I presume the less was a mix of lockers and pilot skill (vs my lack of both)..

So in summary re lockers, rocks useful, mud probably, sand maybe, rears more useful than fronts. Prado traction control systems and lockers mix ok. Lockers can get you in trouble esp if you need to steer. And of course on the plus side as well you get more cool buttons to play with!

So I will start saving :-)

Thanks again all

Bill

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Well I've decided, purely because of AJ's words (I will be telling wife AJ made me do it) and book the Prado in for a Rear Locker.
Hmm now how to get said car to ARB without wife knowing whilst at work...........

I got broad shoulders, I can take the blame

A couple of pics from the discussed hill at LCMP, first no traction aid, second 150 with traction control. The still pictures don't show the improvement that the lockers gave over TC, probably because the advantage was realtivly a lot less than TC over open diffs.

Quicky followed by Dobbo doing it easy.



Cheers Andrew

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

This is the only time I am sure that the front locker was completly nescessary to make it up!



Worth every cent just for those 10 seconds lol.

Cheers Andrew