Spool vs. Detroit locker

[explorer]

By this theory, there would be no tire chirping when turning corners on the street because the inside wheel would be governing the 'slower turniong wheel and allow the outside tire to freespool. Every automatic locker i've ever witnessed will chirp when you gas it aroung a right hand turn from a stop. I'm going to have to agree with kid here; when you're on the throttle, the axle shafts are locked together, thus turning the same speed... Well as long as your locker is working properly...

The tire chirping is because your spinning the tire. It doesn't mean the axles are locked together. It spins easily because your only powereing one tire until it catches up to the other side at which point both will drive. I could drive my Lockright equipped TJ all day and not chirp a tire as long as I was very easy on the gas. The Detroits I've driven were the same way.

 

[old_man]

I have run Detroits for decades and have had no major issues with it on the street other than if you power through a sharp turn, it will chirp the tires.

 

[explorer]

When you coast into a turn it will disengage. If you apply the power halfway through the turn it will try to run in the direction it's pointed. In either direction. This has nothing to do with unequal tire pressure or anything other than the locker. Simply put, a real locker, when locked (power applied), is pretty much a spool.

I guess when your talking about unwanted lane changes I was assuming you meant in straight ahead driving. In that case, at least with my TJ, it is very sensitive to tire pressure differences. If one tire is low by even a couple of pounds, it will yaw toward that side every time you shift. I agree that when coasting through a turn and then getting on the throttle, it wants to understeer more than an open diff, but thats due to it only driving the inside tire. Lets forget about accelerating out of a turn for a second. Are you saying that if you drive very slowly around in a tight circle, that your Detroit doesn't disengage? Because I agree with you on the traits that they exhibit, just not the actual mechanical function. Is a Lockright a "real" locker in your eyes? To me it is, whatever reputation it has from the strength standpoint. And with that, I can make a slow turn under light throttle and here the coupler ratcheting. It did it when new, and was the same throughout its life.

 

[ECU88XJ]

The tire chirping is because your spinning the tire. It doesn't mean the axles are locked together. It spins easily because your only powereing one tire until it catches up to the other side at which point both will drive. I could drive my Lockright equipped TJ all day and not chirp a tire as long as I was very easy on the gas. The Detroits I've driven were the same way.

Yes, you're chirping the tire because both tires are spinning the same speed, exactly as a spool does., the inner tire will chirp as it spins to catch up with the outer's speed in the sharp corner

It is possible to feather/ go easy on the gas and not have this occur with an auto-locker. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, just sayin that it happens.

I run a spool currently, i started ignoring tire noises long ago...

 

[explorer]

It is possible to feather/ go easy on the gas and not have this occur with an auto-locker. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, just sayin that it happens.

This is exactly my point. You guys are claiming that when power is applied, its just like a spool. It isn't. What is it about being light on the throttle that makes the difference. Have you ever taken one apart and looked at the internals? It can lock one side or the other or both. It can also allow one side to uncouple, but only if that side is spinning faster.

 

[Roxtar]

I agree that when coasting through a turn and then getting on the throttle, it wants to understeer more than an open diff, but thats due to it only driving the inside tire.

Completely wrong there.
It is because both tires are being powered equally.
That's why they are fighting the turn. The locker won't allow the tires to go different speeds and this is fighting the front end which is trying to force them to do so.
If you were only driving the inside tire it would just follow the front wheels (it would, essentially, be an open diff). There would be no binding, no trying to go straight, and no tire chirping.

 

[ECU88XJ]

This is exactly my point. You guys are claiming that when power is applied, its just like a spool. It isn't. What is it about being light on the throttle that makes the difference. Have you ever taken one apart and looked at the internals? It can lock one side or the other or both. It can also allow one side to uncouple, but only if that side is spinning faster.

because when you feather the gas you're accelerating and coasting alternately.

Anyways this debate is getting nitpicky; Automatic lockers are essentially acting as spools under acceleration and open differentials when coasting.


That being said, You can learn to drive them so they're virtually transparent on the street.

that's it, i'm done

 

[explorer]

I'll agree to disagree then. By the way, you can "un" soft lock a Detroit "soft" locker which lessens the torque required to disengage one side.

 

[Roxtar]

This is exactly my point. You guys are claiming that when power is applied, its just like a spool. It isn't. What is it about being light on the throttle that makes the difference. Have you ever taken one apart and looked at the internals? It can lock one side or the other or both. It can also allow one side to uncouple, but only if that side is spinning faster.

By feathering the gas you are putting the locker on the edge of locking and releasing. You're just not accelerating hard enough to put it in a "full lock" situation. Under "full lock" it IS exactly like a spool.
Idling through a turn and completely letting off the gas are doing the same thing to the outside tire. The ground is making it spin (driving the tire) instead of the engine. This is what causes the locker to release. The engine speed being lower than the ground speed. As soon as enough gas is applied to make it accelerate (now the engine is driving the wheels instead of the ground) the locker goes into full lock and becomes a "spool".

edit: Sorry, was typing this when other posts came. Didn't mean to hasta

 

[Bounty Hunter]

A Detroit behaves exactly like a spool until you let off the gas and get back on it, it's the locking and unlocking that give the squirrelly characteristics. A spool does away with this, giving 100% predictability and no banging. hasta