View Poll Results: Front or rear first? selectable or auto in the rear?
front
2
8.33%
rear
12
50.00%
auto in the rear
3
12.50%
selectable in the rear
19
79.17%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 24. You may not vote on this poll
Auto vs. Selectable; front or rear first
JK Super Freak
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,527
Likes: 0
From: USA
Just visit my buddies at Offroad Evolution, they can build you one just like it!!
Thread Starter
JK Super Freak
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,057
Likes: 0
From: Charlotte, NC
Originally Posted by GCM 2
Thanks brother!! Merry Christmas too
I guess I was just speaking of the snow/ice stuff, and really any very wet conditions, in daily driving duties not being too fun with that Detroit. I had a CJ-7 on 38" Super Swampers that did a 360* in its own lane in some serious rainy conditions. In fact it was when I was living in Charlotte, N.C. driving down Independence Blvd (the old unmarked 6 lane narrow one back in the 90's), scared the crap out of my girlfriend riding with me!! I have a close friend who is getting ready to put a Detroit locker in his 2009 4 Door Rubicon when he does his Dynatrac rear axle, it is mostly a trail vehicle, so he thinks it will be fine. I think he will get tired of it quickly.Btw, I drive on independence in the jk nearly everyday. Hate that road, lol
JK Jedi Master
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 11,463
Likes: 165
From: Austin <--> Colorado Springs
You will be getting rid of both axles, or just the 30?
Looking at it from a purely strength perspective, it makes a lot more sense to lock a 44 than a 30, so the rear axle gets my vote if you only do one.
Auto or selectable is a personal opinion. After a week or so, you will rarely notice the auto-locker noise on tight turns, (at least that's the way it was for me), so don't let that be the deciding factor. For any place that I was not concerned about winter weather, a detroit would be my first choice. Any place with weather, an arb would get my vote over a detroit - if you want a full locker. If you don't want to drop a grand into it and don't spend a lot of wheels-in-the-air time, the TrueTrac is a quality traction device. (you could get front and rear truetracs for less than the price of a single selectable).
If you choose the Front:
Dropping the money into a selectable or detroit for a 30 doesn't make sense to me. (i know a lot of people do it, just my personal feeling on the matter). So that narrows it to a lunchbox or a truetrac. (no winter weather, a lunchbox would be great. But I would much rather save a little stress on parts and have a truetrac up front).
Looking at it from a purely strength perspective, it makes a lot more sense to lock a 44 than a 30, so the rear axle gets my vote if you only do one.
Auto or selectable is a personal opinion. After a week or so, you will rarely notice the auto-locker noise on tight turns, (at least that's the way it was for me), so don't let that be the deciding factor. For any place that I was not concerned about winter weather, a detroit would be my first choice. Any place with weather, an arb would get my vote over a detroit - if you want a full locker. If you don't want to drop a grand into it and don't spend a lot of wheels-in-the-air time, the TrueTrac is a quality traction device. (you could get front and rear truetracs for less than the price of a single selectable).
If you choose the Front:
Dropping the money into a selectable or detroit for a 30 doesn't make sense to me. (i know a lot of people do it, just my personal feeling on the matter). So that narrows it to a lunchbox or a truetrac. (no winter weather, a lunchbox would be great. But I would much rather save a little stress on parts and have a truetrac up front).
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 123
Likes: 1
From: Clermont, Fl
Ive got the TrueTrac in the front and the Detroit in the rear...but no snow or ice here in Central Florida. You get used to the clicks on the hard turns. Didnt want to go with the ARB and worry about the compressor or lines getting ripped off or anything, my luck when I needed them they wouldnt be there. Just my .02 worth
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 116
Likes: 0
From: Charlotte, NC
I live in the Charlotte area as well! I feel for you having do drive on Independence everyday- no thank you!!!
I've had a DD down here with an auto locker (an Aussie locker) in the rear and it was totally do-able (5.2L V-8/auto '96 ZJ converted to nvg231 (so rear drive in street mode) with 4.5" lift and 33" BFG muds, dana 30 front 44a rear) I drove it everyday and my girlfriend (now wife) drove it as well and loved it! It was a bit noisy (sounded like the clicking of a roller coaster when coasting through turns, chirped the tires if you got on it) was absolutely livable until I blew it up! (lunchbox locker, a V-8, rear wheel drive, and a lead foot= blown up locker!)
I've had a trail rig down here (sometimes DD as well, depends on what I felt like driving in the morning) with a Detroit rear! (87 K5 Jimmy, 3" lift, 60 front (w/ARB), 14BFF rear (w/Detroit), 350/sm465/203/205(doubler)/37" tires) VERY happy with the Detroit! I will say it seemed MUCH quieter on the street than the Aussie locker. But, (to me at least) the Detroit's engagement on the street was more disconcerting than that of the Aussie. I suspect this may have been more due to the transmission than the locker. I say this since an auto tranny will give smoother power transfer over the shock of a manual tranny. (especially as widely spaced (ratio-wise) of a manual such as the sm465)
Neither locker did I find objectionable. Though, you do have to get used to the handling in the rain, (being Charlotte, I never hit any snow with either!) going around a corner and romping the throttle will lock the rearend and cause your taillights to pass your headlights if you're not careful!!! (Though, funnily enough, I never had that occur with the lockers, actually had that about happen with an open diff (69 Bronco w/300hp) and straight up happen with a limited slip (07 Dmax/Alli Silverado, that thing would scoot!!!))
I now have an '11 Rubicon so, selectable lockers. To me, selectable lockers are really the way to go if you plan on wheeling the rig but still being able to DD in the snow (you mentioned mountain trips being a possibility). Even for a trail rig, a selectable locker is preferable, IMHO. (hence my running the ARB fronted on the 87 Jimmy trail rig) My reasoning behind this is the frontend push that an auto locker can cause when out wheeling in certain terrains, makes it hard to steer. Example: went to URE back when I had my S-10 Blazer (04 ZR2, 31" BFG a/t's, auto, 2" lift (oem ZR2), limited slip reared) wheeled with a friend that has a TJ (4" lift, 33's, Lockrights front and rear) despite the Jeep's much shorter wheelbase, he was having to make 3 point turns where I was able to go right through with my larger Blazer. (due to the push of his front locker)
Having wheeled with a limited slip, I would say it's better than an open diff but, I don't consider one worth swapping into a vehicle! I had several occasions with the ZR2 where I had the clearance and articulation but not the traction to do an obstacle (even when I switched to BFG mt's), the rear locker on the ZJ was a considerable upgrade, (though granted not a direct comparison since the ZJ had bigger tires, MUCH more articulation, more power, and more ground clearance overall) the addition of a front locker with the K5 was better still! (though not a direct comparison once again due to bigger tires, still more articulation, WAY lower gearing (117:1 crawl), still more ground clearance, and more weight pushing the tires down!) I've yet to wheel my Rubicon, still in the process of modifying it. So, can't comment on it yet.
I hope my ramblings have been a bit of a help with your decision, sorry for the long post!!! Short version- I'd go rear selectable (ARB, IMHO) for the best mix of open diff for the street and fully locked for use on the trail!! For all the naysayers that I'm sure will say "Ohnoes, not ARB, they're not reliable!" I would counter with the fact that most any failures that I have seen were caused by improper setup! Additionally I would add that with the sheer number of ARB's out there, a VERY small percentage of failure would still yield a good size overall number of failures so, look first at how many are out there working great before you look at how many (comparatively very few) failures there are! Get it setup right to begin with and an ARB will be a FANTASTIC choice!!!!
I've had a DD down here with an auto locker (an Aussie locker) in the rear and it was totally do-able (5.2L V-8/auto '96 ZJ converted to nvg231 (so rear drive in street mode) with 4.5" lift and 33" BFG muds, dana 30 front 44a rear) I drove it everyday and my girlfriend (now wife) drove it as well and loved it! It was a bit noisy (sounded like the clicking of a roller coaster when coasting through turns, chirped the tires if you got on it) was absolutely livable until I blew it up! (lunchbox locker, a V-8, rear wheel drive, and a lead foot= blown up locker!)
I've had a trail rig down here (sometimes DD as well, depends on what I felt like driving in the morning) with a Detroit rear! (87 K5 Jimmy, 3" lift, 60 front (w/ARB), 14BFF rear (w/Detroit), 350/sm465/203/205(doubler)/37" tires) VERY happy with the Detroit! I will say it seemed MUCH quieter on the street than the Aussie locker. But, (to me at least) the Detroit's engagement on the street was more disconcerting than that of the Aussie. I suspect this may have been more due to the transmission than the locker. I say this since an auto tranny will give smoother power transfer over the shock of a manual tranny. (especially as widely spaced (ratio-wise) of a manual such as the sm465)
Neither locker did I find objectionable. Though, you do have to get used to the handling in the rain, (being Charlotte, I never hit any snow with either!) going around a corner and romping the throttle will lock the rearend and cause your taillights to pass your headlights if you're not careful!!! (Though, funnily enough, I never had that occur with the lockers, actually had that about happen with an open diff (69 Bronco w/300hp) and straight up happen with a limited slip (07 Dmax/Alli Silverado, that thing would scoot!!!))
I now have an '11 Rubicon so, selectable lockers. To me, selectable lockers are really the way to go if you plan on wheeling the rig but still being able to DD in the snow (you mentioned mountain trips being a possibility). Even for a trail rig, a selectable locker is preferable, IMHO. (hence my running the ARB fronted on the 87 Jimmy trail rig) My reasoning behind this is the frontend push that an auto locker can cause when out wheeling in certain terrains, makes it hard to steer. Example: went to URE back when I had my S-10 Blazer (04 ZR2, 31" BFG a/t's, auto, 2" lift (oem ZR2), limited slip reared) wheeled with a friend that has a TJ (4" lift, 33's, Lockrights front and rear) despite the Jeep's much shorter wheelbase, he was having to make 3 point turns where I was able to go right through with my larger Blazer. (due to the push of his front locker)
Having wheeled with a limited slip, I would say it's better than an open diff but, I don't consider one worth swapping into a vehicle! I had several occasions with the ZR2 where I had the clearance and articulation but not the traction to do an obstacle (even when I switched to BFG mt's), the rear locker on the ZJ was a considerable upgrade, (though granted not a direct comparison since the ZJ had bigger tires, MUCH more articulation, more power, and more ground clearance overall) the addition of a front locker with the K5 was better still! (though not a direct comparison once again due to bigger tires, still more articulation, WAY lower gearing (117:1 crawl), still more ground clearance, and more weight pushing the tires down!) I've yet to wheel my Rubicon, still in the process of modifying it. So, can't comment on it yet.
I hope my ramblings have been a bit of a help with your decision, sorry for the long post!!! Short version- I'd go rear selectable (ARB, IMHO) for the best mix of open diff for the street and fully locked for use on the trail!! For all the naysayers that I'm sure will say "Ohnoes, not ARB, they're not reliable!" I would counter with the fact that most any failures that I have seen were caused by improper setup! Additionally I would add that with the sheer number of ARB's out there, a VERY small percentage of failure would still yield a good size overall number of failures so, look first at how many are out there working great before you look at how many (comparatively very few) failures there are! Get it setup right to begin with and an ARB will be a FANTASTIC choice!!!!
Last edited by BLACKJKUR; Dec 26, 2011 at 08:28 AM.
