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Aussie locker in front in the snow.

H

HeavyMetal

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Fairfield, CT
I am leaning towards an aussie locker for my front end, all over hype 'i heard this from [insert person here]' aside, will this REALLY make me driving in the snow in 4wd THAT bad? will it be something ill regret? i dont care about ratcheting noises or anything like that, my entire decision is based on me using 4wd in the snow and avoiding paying 1000 bucks for a selectable setup. thanks all
 
Starscream918 said:
Lockers aren't as horrible as everyone makes them out to be as long as you take things slowly. Don't get on the gas hard, don't gas through turns, etc.
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do you have one in the front of your rig? if not i'm sorry but you shouldn't coment.

i had and aussie in the front of my xj on 33's and in the snow it was horrible any kind of speed an you would go straight. i used 2wd most of the time and only used 4wd when i really needed it and could USE it. put a non selectable locker in the rear not in the front if you plan to drive it in the snow on the road.
 
mine sucks.
 
lock right in the front of mine, when we had snow, it kinda blew. just have to remember its there and be very careful.
 
I've got Aussies front and rear, with 33x12.5 Trxus MTs. Recently drove it in the snow for the first time extensively - had about 6-8" on the roads before they plowed. I'd do it again anyday. It does respond differently (a lot) than open front/rear, but it's also very predictable when you get used to it. I have a stick shift also so I have to be even more smooth with the throttle - what tends to happen is if the front unlocks/unloads through a corner, you'll change directions very quickly.

The rear one is just plain awesome in the snow, I hate driving rear open diff'd vehicles in the snow now.
 
HeavyMetal said:
Would an aussie in the rear be much better suited? or are non selectables in the snow just a lost cause?
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Last year ran in the snow with a no-slip in the rear, it was great.
 
As far as offroad, I had a rear Lockright and it was a hassle on snowy mountain trails. Climbing offcamber meant spending most of the time sliding to the low end of the trail, which brought things to a halt.
There are no guarantees in snow, but I now run ARB's front and rear and won't go back.
 
i like open diffs on the road, but, my ex daily driver, now trail rig, is spooled front and rear...... it went, its liveable, but.....do you really NEED to be locked front and rear around here......nope, i know u dont.....
 
what about a having a detriot in front and a limited slip in rear? reason i ask is because im trying to gather info about detroits. i have heard that when detroits lock they lock hard so is a detroit something i want if i want to crawl and go in the mud and snow?
 
Finally got to try my front Aussie Locker on slick snowy roads today. Was kinda disappointed after all the scary internet talk. I found it predictable and easy to manage. Was much easier than open diffs because with the improved traction I could keep the RPM's down and use acceleration/deceleration to help steer. I suspect there may be more problems the closer to pure ice it gets. I'll be looking for ice to drive on now. I feel comfortable enough with this now to ultimately go Detroit Locker front/ Power-loc rear, or Detroits both.
 
I had a lunchbox in the back and it pure sucked. I couldnt go up a steep hill without it wanting to go sideways. I took it out and the next snow, it handled like a champ.

Off road, they are great. On pavement with snow or ice, IMHO, sux. If I had it to do over it would be a selectable egen though its much more expensive.
 
im not exactly clear on how the detroits work. dont they lock automatically? wouldnt it kinda be the same thing as an aussie or something? would it be better to get an ox or something?
 
I've never run a Detroit Locker. For some reason it's difficult to get any kind of concensus on whether they are good or bad in front. It was the same way with lunchbox lockers. I finally just put one in and tried it for myself. Some people have said that the Detroits handle very similarly to the lunchbox lockers in the front, but if anything a little smoother. I'm hoping this is so.
 
so yeah i went to 4 wheel parts website and on the caption of the detroit true trac it says that when they are locked they dont affect the steering at all but i dont know if i can believe that or not thats why im trying to get peoples opinions but its hard to get them maybe ill start a thread on opinions on detroit lockers in front sound good? ill search it first.
 
Yes, A "Detroit Locker in front" thread sounds good. I'd love to hear some firsthand impressions. But if you're thinking True trac thats a whole other thing. It's a well mannered limited slip diff.
 
ok yeah i looked into that i think i would ever buy a detroit locker i would get their "soft locker". isnt that detroits "full locker" that everyone talks about?
 
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