What's the best limited slip unit?

[Southpaw]

I'm new and didn't know how to make a poll so this is one, kinda.
I have a 99 X 2dr sport totally stock at least for now.

What's the best limited slip on the market?

-Auburn (reg. or pro series)

-Powertrax

-Detroit Truetrac

-Spicer Dana

 

[unclemeat]

What about Torsen?

I have a Truetrack in the front of my X. So far so good.

 

[hiridin]

i have the tru trac... haven't actually put it in yet but from the research i did, all the other limited slips will eventually wear out and then u have to buy another one. the tru trac supposedly does not have this problem. if what i read was right and its not too expensive. long lasting and good price was my reasons. the auburn which was my first choice was said not to last that long. i got that from what i read and from a couple people who have had it.

 

[Jefe]

The Powertrax units are full lockers, not limited slips

Both the TrueTrac and the Torsen are geared L/S so there are no clutches to wear out which is a definite plus.

I have an Electrac in the front diff, and unlocked it is basically a TrueTrac, and it works so well I rarely have to lock it up.

 

[Southpaw]

locker or posi

I'm going to drive my X on the road along with off road what are some of the disadvantages of say a powertrax on the road? Will I get more power to my wheels with the powertrax then auburn?

 

[r37ribution]

What about Torsen?

I have a Truetrack in the front of my X. So far so good.

...I have an Electrac in the front diff, and unlocked it is basically a TrueTrac, and it works so well I rarely have to lock it up.

Did you guys keep IFS? If you did did you have to replace the diffy to get the Detroit LSDs to fit? I have read and heard that the diffs in the front of our trucks is a d35's guts in the case of a d28 which didn't leave any room for an upgraded LSD.

 

[slravene]

no....jefe is SAS, and unclemeat is first gen (no ifs) As of right now there is no locker for the front IFS of 95+ explorers (the powertrax units were discontinued and VERY hard to find, and the Aussie Lockers had to be revamped, but should be back on the market within a month or so as they have told us)

 

[r37ribution]

Well I went a head and bought a TrueTrac for the rear, but if I can't put a TrueTrac in the front too I'm wondering if I shouldn't return it for the ElecTrac so I can have the benefits of the LSD in the TrueTrac and the capabilities of a locker...

 

[slravene]

i dont think you get it... there IS NO locker for the front of your truck right now. Keep your eyes open for the Aussie Locker for the front. It should be on the shelves soon.

 

[r37ribution]

yeah I understand that, I was referring to the rear and weather or not I should return my TrueTrac for the ElecTrac so I have a locker at least in the rear. I don't think I would want an TrueTrac LSD in the rear and a Ausssie Locker in the front.

 

[slravene]

dont really see why not. The truetrac is essentially a locker with better street manners. I reccommend an Aussie in the rear...but im partial to that But seriously you shoudl check out aussie for the rear; great customer service, good warranty, awesome product, and i has great road manners.

 

[unclemeat]

There are good reasons for a LSD in the rear. Better street manners and less chance of breaking a rear axle. Your driving habits should be what helps you decide. Do you offroad frequently? Are you hard on the skinny peddle. Do you know to replace a rear axle, and keep spares with you when wheeling?
Sometimes it is better to get stuck than to break. A winch is cheaper than a good locker.

 

[ExplorerDMB]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135619

 

[r37ribution]

...Do you know to replace a rear axle, and keep spares with you when wheeling?...

you need to replace the rear axle when off roading?

the spares thing sounds like a good idea

 

[DeRocha]

you need to replace the rear axle when off roading?

the spares thing sounds like a good idea

No.. unclemeat was saying that if you have a full locker in the rear and take it off road the potential to snap an axle shaft much greater than if you only had open diffs. With an open diff the power would be sent to the wheel with least resistance (ie in the air) while the wheel with beter traction just does nothing.. Obvioulsy in this situation you are more likely to get stuck. If the diff was locked both wheels would rotate at the same rpm and help keep you moving.

 

[unclemeat]

Thats right, if you have a rear locker and offroad hard, especally climbing, you are more likely to snap a rear axle. I believe that most lockers do not replace the c-clamp in the differential. If you break you are not moving until you replace the axle, cause it is going to come out.

 

[r37ribution]

ah thanks for clairifying. I've only been off-roading 1 time and that was with open diffs, it was pretty hardcore tho. 4 feet in the air all around lol. I get more air with my stock X than a bronco with 18" of lift did!

 

[r37ribution]

As far as best LSD goes, I would say it's a toss up between the TrueTrac and the Torsen. As said above, they are maintenance free and lack clutches since they are gear driven. The use of gears will make them far stronger then any other LSD out there.

The only thing I can see that differs between the TrueTrac and the Torsen is the position of the pinion gears. Detroit calls its gear configuration a helical setup while Torsen defines their's as invex gearing. Now if someone could shed some light on what helical and invex gearing are, we could compair the two. From what I can see it's simply the position of the pinion gears.

My truck will mostly be a DD. So keeping that in mind I don't want a locker in the rear. I already purchased a TrueTrac, but the ElecTrac sounds more and more appealing. The only reason at this point I would pick the TrueTrac over it is that there are less parts in it. I would then go with Aussie for the front so when I use 4x4 Low or 4WD Auto it would only kick in when I need that extra traction on the slippery surface. The determining factor would then be, would spuratically engauging the front differential (ex. when using 4WD Auto) cause excess wear on the Aussie locker?

 

[hiridin]

The determining factor would then be, would spuratically engauging the front differential (ex. when using 4WD Auto) cause excess wear on the Aussie locker?

the aussie locker should hold up fine... thats what its made for but auto 4wd and a locker up front would not be good. it would be kicking in on the road which means broken parts. u'd definitely need the brown wire mod if u want a locker up front. no more 4wd auto :thumbdwn:

 

[r37ribution]

the aussie locker should hold up fine... thats what its made for but auto 4wd and a locker up front would not be good. it would be kicking in on the road which means broken parts. u'd definitely need the brown wire mod if u want a locker up front. no more 4wd auto :thumbdwn:

If it is only kicking in when there are slippery surfaces, then don't you think it might be ok?

It wouldn't be engauging when I'm on a road with good traction. Correct me if I'm wrong, but since this is a locker then it only works when there is torque sent to the wheels right? Otherwise it's an open diff. So technically you can use it with great care on the road can't you? Especially since it's not even given power all the time through the use of 4x4 Auto. I've heard talk of people using lockers on their DD in the rear. I'm not trying to shoot your comments down at all, I just want to make sure I understand this right.