So, I have no LSD on my 13 sahara from the factory, which from my understanding after to talking to 2 certified mechanics is a good thing because the oem one is meh compared to aftermarket LSDs.

Basically, I am considering getting an Eaton TrueTrac which I have heard awesome things about. The Sahara is my daily driver and will be for 5-6 years, and if I go off-road, it will probably be light. I'm never going to rock crawl. So really the question becomes whether an LSD is worth the performance boost I will see in snow/wet road compared to what I see now. Is that performance boost worth the $500 + installation cost of a truetrac or am I fine with ESP, TC and 4WD?

Any weigh-in would be awesome.

 

You are probably fine with your driving habits, unless you have a good amount of snow and other slushy stuff. I have a TrueTrac in my rear diff on a 2013 Sport and I really like it, but I hit lots of trails, many that are sloppy. Plus snow. It works well in those conditions. Now, the open diff works pretty well too. The only reason I did the TrueTrac was I was already doing gears. Everything was open already. If I wasn't doing gears I probably would have waited a season or two and really see if I need it.

I do notice lots of new traction now. The rear tires stick like glue.

 

I have truetracs front and rear and they perform awesome! well worth it. Everyone used to tell me that for rock crawling they are useless and I have found that simply untrue. If you have decent flex and articulation your tires will stay on the ground and your truetracs will help you. With truetracs they are always working nothing to do, switch etc. just great traction at all times.

 

How much do you think is a fair installation cost for say the back? I see them around in the $500 range for parts.

 

Don't forget, JKs have a sort of limited slip on both axles: Brake Lock Differential.
It does a decent job of routing torque to the wheel with traction.

See if it's enough for now before you spend the money on an upgrade.

 

Thanks for the responses from both of you. Extremely helpful.

ronjenx, considering you deal with new england weather (probably a little worse than MA), do you have an LSD?

 

No LSD. When trying to get moving in snow/slush/ice, the BLD kicks in to increase torque to the wheel with better traction, much as a limited slip will do, although, maybe not as quickly. It does have the advantage of not wearing out like LSD will do.

It may be enough to get you through your present driving situation until you begin to do more aggressive wheeling.

 

Thanks bud. This was exactly the kind of testimony I was looking for. I ran my Jeep through winter without a second thought (even went out as soon as the roads opened on the Feb 4th storm) and was rolling through snow like it was dry pavement. I didn't notice a thing. But after talking to some people, I got worried I needed LSD.

I have heard though (for what it's worth) that the truetrac has a completely different non-clutch design than the other (including OEM) LSDs available and that it's super solid and doesn't wear out.

 

I did mine at the same time as the regearing. My total labor cost was $900.00 both axles. Not sure how much it would be for just Truetracs, pretty similar I'm sure. It also varies quite a bit depending on your area.

 

works only in 4 or 4 low

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVnspBtA1HU watch this genius ruin his mom's yard, but prove how it works.