Detroit Soft Locker VS. Detroit Truetrac - Page 10

elkfan2 · 06-30-2009, 10:04 PM

[QUOTE=IslandTJ;7504643]I gladly keep mine. They make for an excellent upgrade for a daily driven Jeep subject to snow and ice on the freeway and side streets. As the TrueTracs (TT) are gentler on an axle, compared to the Detroit Softlocker - the TTs IMO are the perfect traction upgrade for the D35.

Sure if I trailered my Jeep and crawled on rocks, my decision would probably shift to a locker, but the transparency they offer on the roads and the increased performance on traction obtained off road in the Pacific Northwest - are reasons enough for me to recommend them to a daily driven Jeep.

I've wheeled stock in my Jeep for 10 years before upgrading to the TTs. From experience, they do offer a noticeable improvement in traction compared to open diffs. Additionally, I do not experience any clicking, loud bangs, chirping, over and under steering - when I drive to work and home every day.

Yes, it's not a locker but it does have its niche in the Jeep market

.

I'd rather slip than break...[/QUOTE]
I never said they didn't improve traction. I daily drive my jeep and the only time it gets trailered is when we go to Moab. I don't notice any clicking, loud bangs, chirping, or over and under steering, maybe that's because of the rear ARB and the detroit locker in the front is transparent in 2wd, also on tight trails like the ones in Elbe I didn't notice a loss in turning radius after switching to the front locker from a tru-trac. There will be a time when you're on a trail and slipping isn't really a good thing therefore needing full lockers. I do however agree that for a lot of people the tru-trac is a great upgrade especially if running the dana 35.

IslandTJ · 06-30-2009, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elkfan2

I don't notice any clicking, loud bangs, chirping, or over and under steering, maybe that's because of the rear ARB and the detroit locker in the front is transparent in 2wd, also on tight trails like the ones in Elbe I didn't notice a loss in turning radius after switching to the front locker from a tru-trac. There will be a time when you're on a trail and slipping isn't really a good thing therefore needing full lockers. I do however agree that for a lot of people the tru-trac is a great upgrade especially if running the dana 35.

Ahhh elkfan2 - D44 and ARB

If I had known 10 years ago what I know now - I would have purchased my Jeep with a D44 rear. A selectable locker at both ends is my dream scenario; unfortunately my budget won't allow me for such an upgrade

.

Someday...

elkfan2 · 06-30-2009, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IslandTJ

Ahhh elkfan2 - D44 and ARB

If I had known 10 years ago what I know now - I would have purchased my Jeep with a D44 rear. A selectable locker at both ends is my dream scenario; unfortunately my budget won't allow me for such an upgrade

.

Someday...

I'm sure I'll catch crap for this but after running with guys that have selectables at both ends I think I would rather have one in the rear and an auto locker up front. If on a tight trail I just leave the rear open and it actually steers just fine with the front being locked. I noticed that the guys running selectables up front can't hardly steer with the front locker engaged. We'll see after I get to run it snow wheeling this winter. So far with this set up I've been to Moab, and Elbe on the Busy Wild, and the Mainline trail.

86mcss · 07-01-2009, 12:31 AM

probably late for this but...

I have a tru-trac in my 02 silverado and it has great road manners and works extremely well offroad. Going from my crappy g80(factory posi) to the tru-trac was one of the best things I have done to my truck.

**Border Dave** · 07-01-2009, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86mcss

probably late for this but...

I have a tru-trac in my 02 silverado and it has great road manners and works extremely well offroad. Going from my crappy g80(factory posi) to the tru-trac was one of the best things I have done to my truck.

[Thread Highjack ON]

My wife's Trailblazer has the G80 (which is actually a full locking differential) and it has incredible traction in the snow. What was the problem with yours?

thorman944 · 03-02-2010, 06:26 PM

Wow, the OP clearly stated that he needs his jeep's 4wd for snow and ice - yet some still say how autolockers are better on the trail. Like the OP, I live in the mid-atlantic and if my jeep wonkt get me to work in ice or packed snow, I would trade it in on a subaru. Honestly, the off-road capability is secondary to getting to work in the snow/ice for 75% or more of all jeep owners. I do serious offroading 2 to 3 times each year at best, but drive in snow and/or ice 15+ days each year. For 'normal' jeep owners who rely on the jeep for transportation in the winter, those comments about 'how much better a true locker is on the trail' are downright wrong and bad advice. Most jeeps get put into 4wd for snow/ice more often than for off-roading. Something that makes my jeep dangerous in the ice is something that puts my life and my children's life in danger.

Anyone knows that any autolocker is unacceptable for someone who drives in the snow. So please stop talking about how it is good on the trail - good on the trail vs sliding sideways into a semi with my kids in the jeep. Um... let me think... NO!!

Front autolocker only is also unacceptable because open/posi front is necessary in the snow/ice, not using 4wd is not an option in these conditions, nor is a "full" locker.

Truetrac is my next upgrade. Not worth the cost/added vulnerabilities of a 'selectable' locker. Imagine switching the locker 'off' in the ice and killing my kids because the line had a kink and it was stuck in 'locked' mode.

thorman944 · 03-02-2010, 06:55 PM

And what is with everyone advising lowered gears? On a 4.0 with the stock (high) gearing, maybe. The 2.5 5speed comes with 4.11 gears and a 3.92 first gear. That alone is 16:1 in high-range. First gear is barely usable with my 30" tires and they are 3" taller than the 215's (27") that were stock. 5th gear on the highway is 2500+ rpm at 65mph. That's too high. I can't wait to upgrade to 265x75r16's (31.5ish") to make my 1st gear usable and my 70mph highway at <2500 rpm.

From everything I read here, 4.11 is barely acceptable for 30 - 31 inch tires, when in real-life, it is too low.

I'm adding a truetrac rear, yukon shafts, and 265 75 16's and I bet I can make any trail with minimal-to-no body damage and stock gearing. I know this set-up is stronger than 99% of jeeps that successfully traversed the mighty rubicon in the 60's and 70's. Autolockers and super-low gearing do wonders to assist poor drivers. Those with some common sense and intelligence can do much more with much less.

DanZ51 · 03-02-2010, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Border Dave

[Thread Highjack ON]

My wife's Trailblazer has the G80 (which is actually a full locking differential) and it has incredible traction in the snow. What was the problem with yours?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the G80 option is the "Gov-Loc" with is a centrifugal (speed limited) locker. (In other words it only "locks" at low speed)

**Border Dave** · 03-02-2010, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanZ51

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the G80 option is the "Gov-Loc" with is a centrifugal (speed limited) locker. (In other words it only "locks" at low speed)

I'm pretty sure it'll lock at any speed. When it senses one wheel is spinning a bit faster than the other it locks up. The only time that I notice it locking up is in very slippery conditions at fairly low speeds. I've heard that it's a fairly weak diff. If it ever breaks, I'll replace it with a Truetrac.

DanZ51 · 03-03-2010, 09:12 AM

You got me wondering.... So I set about re-educating myself on the Gov-Loc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTGZOJQQBeE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbMZ9vcYVSg

It's a shme the Gov-Lock has such a bad rep for exploding. It's operating parameters would fit alot of wheelers.

**Jerry Bransford** · 03-03-2010, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thorman944

From everything I read here, 4.11 is barely acceptable for 30 - 31 inch tires, when in real-life, it is too low.

4.11 is perfect for that size tire with the 2.5L engine that needs the higher rpms.

YJake · 04-28-2010, 10:06 PM

Very interesting thread!

Jake

jamisonmhopkins · 07-09-2012, 12:06 PM

I just purchased a 2002 Wrangler TJ. It had D35 rear and D30 front axles (27 spline) and just the 'stadard' four wheel drive system .. which you will quickly learn is nearly useless for any type of off-road fun.

I did a tremendous amount of research and ended up ordering the Detroit TrueTrac in both front and rear. Rustys Offroad was a huge help and gave me a good deal. I have a Rubicon Express 3.5 stadard lift with Bilstein shocks and Mickey Thompson MTZ 33x12.50x15 tires. These tires get great traction and are amazingly quite on the road. I also installed new 4.10 gears. The standard 4x4 system left much to be desired - according to many actual truetrac owners I spoke with they said should see a huge improvement in overall traction when off-road and still keep my daily drive manners in check.

I will post an update after a month or so of using these truetracs. I use this Jeep as my daily driver (about 50 miles per day) and I wheel on the weekends (mostly woods, mountian trails, mud, snow, etc... but no rock crawling). A friend of mine has the PowerTrax No-Slip systme in the rear of his and it does alright but can cause some on-road issues in the right situation. After weeks of research on the forums I decided to try the truetracs in the front and rear!

On the road they are not noticable at all. So far, on the trails, they have seemed to make a very marked improvement in areas that I could not access before or areas that gave me a lot of trouble. Again, I will try to post an in-depth update in about a month when I have really had time to put them through some hard testing. So far ... A+ I will say this, if you are like me and need to maintain your daily driver but also want the added benefit in the snow and weekend off-roading then I would strongly consider the TrueTracs. You will get some of the benefits with almost none of the potential problems associated with full lockers. If your rig is a full time off-road only rig then go with full lockers for sure. Otherwise, try the TrueTracs!

**Jerry Bransford** · 07-09-2012, 01:14 PM

I had f/r Detroit Truetracs in my daily driver TJ years ago and discovered while they are superb when all four tires can remain in firm contact with the ground, they don't do squat for an axle when a tire has too little traction offroad like on an uneven trail when a tire is barely touching or is up in the air. The tire in the air will spin uselessly and the tire on the ground won't have enough torque from the engine to keep you moving. After several years of frustrations with how my front and rear Truetracs didn't help me on the trails I enjoyed doing, I swapped them both out for front and rear lockers which gave a night and day improvement in offroad ability.

IslandTJ · 07-09-2012, 01:25 PM

I don't do rocks like Jerry (if I did, I'd definitely need lockers

), but my dual TrueTracs made it without issue on the small rocks this past Saturday

.

I'm still a fan of the TrueTracs, they hold up well here in the Pacific Northwest...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0wIyCRazB4