Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives diff question for serious gear-heads

I'm not sure if anyone has explored down this path, but worth a try. Some of the newer trucks have limited slips but instead of being gear driven or using clutch packs, they feather the brakes automatically to achieve a similar result. It's not as effective, but better than nothing.

Both Nissan and Toyota offer this sort of "limited slip" in conjunction with an electronically activated manual locker .. basically a spool when engaged. Makes sense they won't interact because there is no "differential" action when engaged, it's straight through and solid.

What I'm wondering about is whether any of you have had an AUTOMATIC locker added to a diff that is equipped with this brake-based limited slip system.

I'm not sure if they'll interfere with each other or not.

Thoughts?

Are you talking about Traction Control? My Dodge has it but under a different name. It's not designed for off road at all. It's for bad highways. It won't give you a thing off road.

Exactly. I will say it does a wonderful job in ice, snow, wet grass, or a thin layer of mud. It is not at all designed for off road use. In fact my Jeep Wrangler has a switch to turn it off when off road. It keeps trying to apply the brakes on your rear wheels when you need some serious wheel speed to sling mud out of the treads.

I think each auto maker has their own name for it. Nissan calls it ABLS ... "Active Braking Limited Slip." It sounds like we're talking about the same thing.

I haven't found it useful so far as I can tell. I'm looking at a used truck that has ABLS but no locker. Rather than the factor type e-locker, having to route lines, etc, I'd rather go with a Detroit, I have a fair bit of experience with them. I'm just not sure the ABLS won't interfere with the operation (engage and disengage when cornering) of the locker. If it does, I might as well run a spool.

I'm probably not going to buy that particular truck but I'm investigating just in case.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Tom

Just weld it up and be done with it!

The traction control helps a lot on slick roads. We took a 1600 mile trip a year ago at Christmas and 1/2 was on ice and snow. We really appreciated it on that trip.

Some folks don't seem to understand the new ELSD systems. They aren't traction control, they are LSD using the ABS to deliver the resistance. Having the ability to compare older LSD system using internal clutch packs on my '07 Tacoma Sport vs the ELSD on my '12 Tacoma OR - there is no difference. The ELSD works as well and is seamless. The difference between ELSD and traction control is the ability to spin the tires - traction control doesn't allow wheel spin (which sucks OR), ELSD does.

A slightly more aggressive ELSD is the ATRAC system on my '12 Tacoma. it is highly effective and provides better off road traction than ANY non-locker LSD I have ever tried. Combined with the E-locker on the '12 OR package makes it a very capable truck.

To answer the OP's question, yes, you can combine an aftermarket locker (like ARB) with the ELSD systems and every thing will work fine. Just remember to manually turn off the electronics when engaging the lockers so the traction control doesn't kill your wheel spin. People have been running these set-ups on Toyotas for years. A Detroit Locker that engages automatically under load will probably make the electronic systems jerk the vehicle around engaging/disengaging. ARB selectable is the way to go for aftermarket lockers to be used in conjunction w/ ELSD.

HTH

David

I had a first year FJ Cruiser that had the ELSD system and the rear locker but the ELSD was disabled if you activated the locker. A simple bit of wire work deactivated this and that thing was a beast off road. I believe some years later Toyota eliminated the deactivation interlock.

Correct. Toyota also made some improvements to the electronic brake booster (faster cycling times) and the software logic to bring us to the current ATRAC. I think most of the manufacturer's have made similar improvements to their systems.

David

Thanks guys, that addresses the heart of the question.

Good info about the Taco. I'm negotiating on a 2014 right now. The questions are about a backup plan if the negotiations fail. Sounds like I might want to just skip that backup plan.

Tom

I have the electronic traction control/ Brake assist differential on my 2013 Jeep Wrangler. I don't think it's as sophisticated as the Toyota system but gets the job done. It works great with the aftermarket Detroit Tru-Trac's. The two systems mate perfectly and compliment each other.

Terry

That's good to know. I like staying abreast of jeep stuff. I haven't had one since '07 but if I could find the right used TJ I'd do it again.

Well, I passed on the locker-less 2013 Nissan the dealer offered me which was the motivation for the original question. Instead I have a 2014 Tacoma due in about a week which has the factory e-locker so I don't have to worry about these hypothetical questions unless I decide I need something extra up front. I don't really see wheelin' the piss out of this thing but sometimes after pulling off the side of the road to go call coyotes in the sage, a locker to get me back up out of the ditch proves to be better than waiting for help to tug on the end of the strap.

Tom

If you've got the money for a front locker you've got the money for a winch mount bumper and a winch - in my opinion, a lot more valuable than a front locker. US Offroad doesn't have the winch mount bumper available for the '12+ yet, but they will be available soon. I'm having one installed on my son's '07 next week:

http://usoffroad.us/store/winch-mount-bumpers/winch-mounts/tacoma-winch-bumper

I'll post pics when its done.

I'm first inline for the '12+ when available and will have one installed on my '12 when available ( few months).

David