I am looking at installing a locker in my rear axle and was curious which locker would be a good choice. It is my daily driver, but it will be used on the weekends on the trails.

 

I have ARB lockers front and rear, the onboard air is great to refill tires after the trail.
get the heavy duty compressor and the tire kit.

 

How much did you pay for your OX locker?

 

What is your budget. Do you want a selectable? An automatic? A limited? If you want a selectable, do you want air? Cable? Electric? If you want an auto locker, are you familiar with the handling characteristics on ice and snow? If you want a limited, choose one that does not use clutches.

The posts by Dyna in this thread are a good place to start:
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...28-best-locker

 

I like my Detroit in the rear, always locked so its easy. Not noticeable driving at all, very happy with it.

http://www.quadratec.com/products/16100_306.htm

Look around for pricing, I price matched and got mine for like $530, totally worth it. You also might want to regear why you are already doing lockers, to avoid paying for labor twice.

 

As it is your daily drive even more reason to go for the ARB air lockers, OK it is not the cheapest option but you will have the best for onroad and offroad. Basically you will have a 'locking diff' on demand.

Detroit and other auto lockers are great lockers (don't get me wrong) however will also try to function (lock) while you are driving onroad. Friends were all complaining about the rear locker 'torquing' up and releasing while driving normally. The clicking noise drove them bonkers. An autolocker in the front is a nogo anyway as this will make your steering pretty tough.

So to have best of both worlds, hence being able to have your diff locked on demand, I have ARB airlockers on my TJ and are considering it on my JK.

My two cents :-)

Cheers,

Mark

 

x2

every type has it's pros and cons
Detroits require no prior thought offroad as it's always there when you need it, but can affect on road performance and unpredictability on icy roads
Selectables offer the ability to run open when on road, but can require some prior thought while offroad when negotiating obstacles, meaning you may have tried negotiating an obstacle with diff open not locked and now realize you need it and it might be too late...and selectables offer a wide choice of delivery and design types as nthinuf stated, you can have mechanical operated, air operated, electrically operated...all with their own quirks, price points and followings

 

My picks would be:

TrueTrac - for the 99.xx percent of the time that you don't actually need a locker.
ARB - for the .0x percent of the time you might actually need a locker.
Detroit - for the same .0x percent, if you lived somewhere with no snow/ice. (this rig will be driven by your wife, right? So consider the snow/ice thing. You don't want her feeling unsafe or ending up in a ditch...)

 

Um, an autolocker lets the outside tire overspeed in a turn...thus the ratcheting sound. Much easier to turn with an autolocker than a selectable that is engaged. This is also why they don't excel in the snow, however. It requires traction to sense the difference in tire speed to unlock in a turn. Obviously, if you are on the ice, you aren't going to have traction and it won't unlock like your going to want it to. Not trying to sell anyone either way, just getting accurate info out there

 

I have a onboard air kit that uses a Viair 400c compressor. Does anyone know if that is compatible with ARB lockers??