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rear locker in the snow?

F

Fidget360

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Chester Springs, PA
I just got a chryco 8.25 to replace my D35, and I'm debating wether or not to put a locker in the rear or to put it in the front. I'm a snowboarder and I need to have good handling in the snow. I have a lockright ez-locker in my D35 now, and it's a blast, so I was thinking about doing the same with the 8.25. I'm on a really tight budget or else I would go with a manual locker. Anyone have experience with an Ez-locker in the rear in the snow and care to endow some wisdom upon me?

or perhaps I should put a locker in the front and not worry about the rear for now?
 
It would handle the same way it does now with a locker in the rear.

Maybe I'm missing something.
 
Goatman said:
It would handle the same way it does now with a locker in the rear.

Maybe I'm missing something.
Click to expand...


agreed

for snow, i would severely recommend against a locker in the front. especially if you need 4x4 to drive in the snow. a front locker engaged in the snow in 4x4 is going to eliminate the functionality of your steering wheel
 
I enjoyed the hell out of my rear locker when it snowed this past winter. The road to my apartment is 4 lanes wide and hardly got plowed, so I'd be fishtailing all over the place driving through the snow. Also did some sweet drifting in the local mall parking lot before being run out by cops.

Moral of the story: If you don't drive like a moron, a rear locker will only help you in the snow. Control your right foot and don't mash the throttle when it's slippery out and you won't lose control. Obviously you can drive around in 4wd when it snows out, but if you don't want to, the locker only helps your traction when it gets slippery out. I'm definitely glad I had it and we only got a few small snowstorms this year.
 
on the trails covered in snow...i noticed being locked in the rear, my jeep had a tendancy to walk itself sideways instead of straight ahead...
 
I would just run one in the rear since you are in snow a lot. Or if you are gonna lock the front i'd go selectable. I would think that the rear locker in the snow would act similar to an LSD. I have limited slip and its fun in the snow! I agree with in4aride it will probably step out on off camber climbs.
 
in4aride said:
on the trails covered in snow...i noticed being locked in the rear, my jeep had a tendancy to walk itself sideways instead of straight ahead...
Click to expand...

the only downside to a auto-locker is on side hills the jeep will start to turn sideways as opposed to going straight, one of the few times being open is useful. On the street you will never encounter anything that steep. I like being locked much better.
 
yeah, I grew up in WA, so I know how to drive in snow. Even when I was a kid, I loved drifting my Dad's old rwd station wagon all over the parking lots. The biggest thing I ever drifted around a corner in the snow was a 11' tall 15' Isuzu box truck. Yeah, it was stupid, but not many people can say that they've done it.

I'm thinking I'm gonna leave it open and just run both open for a while till I can save the pennies for selectable front and rear.
 
I know it's fun. I love it. but rear locker in snow + windy mountain roads that are not always level = a cry for recovery help
 
Fidget360 said:
I know it's fun. I love it. but rear locker in snow + windy mountain roads that are not always level = a cry for recovery help
Click to expand...
Did you just answer your own question :shhh:
 
yeah, maybe:anon:
 
Lockers in just snow, like on a snow trail run or road covered with snow, are good the same as lockers are in any other terrain. On icy or slippery paved roads they can be a PIA, just like a limited slip would be. It's not true that front and rear lockers are bad for snow, they can be great for snow. But, they can be bad for slippery roads.
 
i dont really see this as much of an issue... no-slips are easy enough to take out and put the spiders back in... thats what i do, put in the locker when its wheeling season, and pop it out for winter. keeps the gear lube fresh too :)
 
I DD with lockers in the snow, they're not a problem at all. Theoretically they're worse than open for sidehills and such...but I've never found myself wishing I wasn't locked. In practice, you'll want a locked 100% of the time over anything else.

I wouldn't worry about locking the front either for snow. I barely ever have to engage 4x4 when I'm driving in the snow....I get plenty of traction as is with detroits f/r. I've used 4x4 in the snow before on a snow covered highway and it really didn't pull much at all. It was somewhat rutted from other people, so that may have made a difference? It was fine though, I did 65 in 4 locked f/r, no issues. I took it out of 4 because I really had no reason to be in 4. I know how to drive in the snow!! At slow speeds on windy back roads that you're cutting fresh tracks through, if you start turning while not on the gas, it may not turn the way you want to, but you just blip the gas and it goes where the tires are pointed.


I honestly can't think of a single situation where open would be better than locked. Can anyone else??
 
I'm locked front and rear and was a bit worried about the snow after first building the jeep. It was no big deal you learn how your rig handles with lifts and lockers driving it through the snow is the same. Its nothing to be worried about.
 
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