Question RE Lockright / EZ-Locker operation

[QKRTHNU]

Do lockers of the Lockright type design unlock immediately when you get off the gas, or do they only unlock when the wheel speeds differ (turning)?

i.e. if you're turning the wheel to avoid something on an icy road with no Throttle or Brake input will they be unlocked, or will the slick roads interfere with the normal function of the locker? (not enough surface resistance to force different wheel speeds in turn)

I'm trying to figure out what to expect after reading all of the ice/snow complaints.

 

[bretto]

They unlock when there is a different is wheel speed or should I say ground speed, to the other wheel on the same axle. When on ice/snow there is no traction so they tend to stay locked up around a turn when on the gas. Dont that that deter you if you were going to buy one though...just have to get used to it.....not as bad as some people make it out to be. If you're used to driving a rear wheel drive in the snow then a locker with be no problem and the benefits are mucho!

 

[QKRTHNU]

When on ice/snow there is no traction so they tend to stay locked up around a turn when on the gas.

They do unlock If you let off the gas during the turn right? That's all I'm concerned with. I have enough experience driving on ice that I avoid the gas & the brake when turning the wheel.

 

[bretto]

They do unlock If you let off the gas during the turn right? That's all I'm concerned with. I have enough experience driving on ice that I avoid the gas & the brake when turning the wheel.

In theory no but under the right circumstance with a minimum amount of traction they will unlock but with just a small bit of gas, they will lock right back up. On dry ground the outer wheel will always be "ground driven" faster than the inner and it will never lock until the inner catches up or the inner breaks loose(loses traction). They are great......don't sweat it.

 

[GroversXJ]

On dry ground the outer wheel will always be "ground driven" faster than the inner and it will never lock until the inner catches up

Confused me at first but realized what you were saying. What it comes down to is the inner tire coasts with the speed of the drivetrain and the outter tire has to spin faster to catch up to the inner tire, which it does when you start going straight again. Yes if you accelerate a bit they will lock up and squeal the tires a bit. There are small springs holding the two sets of locking fingers together and if on snow/ice there isn't enough traction to overtcome the strength of the springs then yes even around a corner it will remain locked up.

I now live out in the CA desert and haven't ever driven my front/rear EZ locked jeep in/on snow yet even though I used to live in northern UT.

 

[bretto]

Confused me at first but realized what you were saying. What it comes down to is the inner tire coasts with the speed of the drivetrain and the outter tire has to spin faster to catch up to the inner tire, which it does when you start going straight again. Yes if you accelerate a bit they will lock up and squeal the tires a bit. There are small springs holding the two sets of locking fingers together and if on snow/ice there isn't enough traction to overtcome the strength of the springs then yes even around a corner it will remain locked up.

I now live out in the CA desert and haven't ever driven my front/rear EZ locked jeep in/on snow yet even though I used to live in northern UT.

That is actually backward, the inner is trying to catch with the outer. The inner is driving the vehicle and the outer is just coasting faster on the outside and when the inner catches up, they lock up. Thats why when there is ice or it breaks loose it catches up with the outer and they lock up.

 

[explorer]

Short answer-in the situation you describe you would be hard pressed to notice the locker.

Long answer:
They will unlock any time there is a speed difference between tires. Under heavy compression braking(manual trans) it will drag both tires. Under normal coast it will unlock, although it is the inside wheel that unlocks because the torque is in reverse. That is why under a coasting turn you sometimes get a snap/pop from them. The inside is going from free to loaded, and the outside just the opposite. Lots of backlash getting mixed around from side to side. In any case, they work fine in snow and ice. My experience with a TJ is positive, in fact I think it makes it more controllable. It is easier to break lateral traction but it is also more consistent. With the open diff, sometimes both tires spin and you slide. Other times one wheel spins, the other doesn't and you don't slide. Sometimes it changes in the middle of a turn when one wheel gains or loses traction(ice to pavement,etc.) With the locker even if it slides you have much more forward drive and it tends to push you straight when under power. My TJ on hardpack snow is very hard to spin out under steady throttle and even more so on heavy accel.. Obviously ice is a different story, but there you're no better off with open diff. If it matter I run 32" Swamper radials,grooved and siped heavily, Lockrights frt. and rr.. I will say that the frt. locker makes it way to sensitive in 4wd on road, but I have never really needed it on the road, regardless of snow depth. By the way I live in MN so I know about snow, in fact live for it. Some of my best stucks have happened there. Go for the locker and take your time getting accustomed to its operation.

Brian

 

[junkxj]

Having driven locked trucks in snow/ice for a while, I would recomend messing around in an empty parking lot while you get use to the locker in slick conditions. On ice I have been going around a corner with a little throtle, then let off the gas completle and ended up backwards faster than you could imagine. Yes this was ice, not packed snow but even after years of driving a locked vechicle they can surprise you, especally if you don't realize it is solid glare ice.
By no means am I trying to steer you away from a rear locker, just realize that they can surprise you even after ten years of driving them in the slick.