Forum:
ive read through diff howto so getting that i think
but i keep hearing people on about diff locks and how they
give landrovers and merc g wagons the edge over rough terrain.
what are diff locks , how are they used and what advantages are there with them.
thanks
diff locks
All vehicles wether front wheel drive, rear wheel drive or four wheel drive have differentials or 'diffs' between the driven wheeels. This allows the vehicle to corner smoothly by allowing the wheels to rotate at different speeds because when your vehicle goes around a corner the outside wheels have to travel a greater distance than the inside wheels.
There are many permatations of the four wheel drive system but you can break these down into two basic categories, part time and full time. Most Landrover vehicles operate a full time sytem. A centre diff allows the front and rear axles to rotate at different speeds as well as a diff in both the front and rear axle which does the same. By 'locking' the centre diff it allows more traction in slipery conditions as the fornt and rear axles will now rotate at the same speed. The G-Wagen goes one step further as not only can you lock the centre diff, but also the front and rear diffs which gives vastly improved traction off-road. There are also after market companies that make 'air lockers' for a range of 4x4 vehicles that dont have them fitted as standard. Unfortunately no one makes them for either the Sportrak or Fourtak.
Hope this helps.
yeah thanks i get the idea
yeah thanks i get the idea now.
if its such a good improvement why havnt all 4x4s got the option .
g wagons are 30yo.
cost i suppose?
Everyman is the architect of his own future.
Because they are expensive to
Because they are expensive to manufacture and install on vehicles which may never even go off road. In addition there are significant disadvantages for inept or inexperienced users, these are engaging them while on road or solid surfaces.
PR plays a significant role in a manufacturers sales, if people use them incorrectly they cause significant damage to the vehicles transmission. This is expensive to repair for owners, and the manufacturer can get a bad reputation for reliability even though the user is at fault. Consider a simple fact, according to statistics 80% of off road vehicles never venture off road and the drivers of such vehicles do not know how to use their 4WD systems properly. Could you imagine this scenario with such a complex drive system when they cannot even master very basic systems.
My Shogun has a locking centre diff as well as locking rear and front axles, it is immense off road, but even i have to think as these are rarely needed or used. This is with over 30 years of off road driving in all types of off road vehicles.
Even with these the manufacturer has installed dashboard lights which do all sorts of things to attract your attention and let you know they are engaged.