Posted by Nay on April 02, 01 at 14:35:40:
In Reply to: Re: Upgrading your FF posted by Andrew on March 27, 01 at 12:50:29:
Correct, unless you are coasting through corners, it is 100% locked. If you look at Tractech's site, you will see that the Soft Locker and Noslip are the same product just with a different name for different markets. They call it a "locker" for the Jeep market, and avoid that term for what is typically the commercial use market of the 14 bolt.
I know a lot of people who run automatic lockers and almost all of them love them because they are after fourwheeling performance and will give up road manners to get it. The people who run Detroits (or Nospin) tend to like them a lot better than the lunchbox lockers (or kits as Marty calls them :) ) because the engagement is smoother and they are so strong. I would personally never put a stock carrier locker behind a big V8 because it won't save you anything in the long run.
I also know people who don't like automatic lockers on winding roads such as being in the mountains, because it tends to push the vehicle around a lot when you can't get into coast mode. One guy told me he got pulled over by a trooper because the rear Detroit was pushing the front around so much. He apparently had a hard time explaining this to the officer :).
The tractech guy says it correctly. It is a 100% true posi that only unlocks to allow differentiation around corners. This is specifically referred to as coast mode because it specifically requires an absence of torque to allow differentiation. Virtually any torque engagement will keep it locked. These things do not sense wheel slip and then engage. Even people who love them to death say they have to take it easy merging into traffic or else the lockers will fight them. That is not the characteristic of a device that needs wheelslip in order to engage.
If you don't want to impact road manners, stay away from automatic lockers. The best thing you can do is a manual locker that locks and unlocks by switch. ARB is most known for this. You have an open diff on the road, and a full spool offroad. ARB's are very expensive. With install and air compressor on a 14 bolt, I bet you'd spend around $1,400.
If you just do moderate offroading, get a limited slip. They work well and you won't notice it in normal driving.
Nay
: To clear somethings up I sent a email to tractech to
: see what they had to say.
: below is what they responded with.
: but still, Thanks guys!!!!!!!!
: The unit we make for a 14 bolt GM rear is a nospin, not a Soft Locker. This
: unit is 100% locked (a true posi) unless you are cornering and you will need
: to exercise extra caution when driving in slippery conditions but it is made
: for on and off road use.This unit is made to unlock one wheel if it is going
: faster than the driving wheel.
: Brent Bussell
: Senior Account Administrator
: Application Technician
: Tractech Inc.