Re: So...The Lock Right is NOT a positive locker..


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Posted by Dan Shockley on Thursday, March 15, 2007 at 00:34:56 :

In Reply to: Re: So...The Lock Right is NOT a positive locker.. posted by MoparNorm on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 at 22:48:12 :

Norm,

I respectfully disagree with your point.

The lock right can only unload the outside tire in a non-load (low load or coast) condition, as Clint stated. In a full load condition, the design of the locker will not allow it to disengage. There is a gray area between low load and full load. It is in this range of operation that automatic lockers often cause tire chirping, etc.

But to your point, in a low load situation where the locker allows the outside tire to disengage, you are not tranfering all the load (or even any significant load) to the front axle. The only!! thing that can result in a load transfer to the front axle is to loose traction on the back axle.

If we think about this in the context of Clint's wonderful diagrams, here is origin of my point. Given a front axle locked, the average tire speed is dictated only by the speed of the driveshaft and gear ratio. Likewise in the rear axle locked condition, the result is the same - rear average tire speed = front average tire speed.

Now, let's consider the freewheeling condition with the rear automatic locker. Now the inside tire is still traveling as per driveshaft rpm and gear ratio, but now the outside tire is acutally moving faster. Therefore the average rear tire speed is now faster than the front average tire speed - in effect reducing load on the front axle! (the same thing happens with or without the front locker, and with or without the ARB engaged).

The lock right and detroit are both good products. But, they have side effects such as hard engagement, tire chirping, and steering effects. For some people, these effects may or may not be acceptable. For example, I have a detroit locker in the back of my W300M and a Power Trax in teh back of my Land Cruiser. They are okay with me, but they aren't without compromise.

That said, the ARB is the best of all worlds! There are no conditions where it worsens the negative effects of an automatic locker! They are for most purposes independant!

The ARB allows you to have completely open performance in situations where that is desirable - hard surfaces, slick roads, etc. And, fully locked performance when appropriate! Overall, I consider it a no compromise option! I have ARB units in both ends of my Carryall, the front axle of the Land Cruiser and soon the front axle of the W300M!

I know that you still may disagree, Norm. But, I stand behind the fact that the ARB can absolutely not negatively affect the performance of any rig regardless of locker combinations!

But, I wholehardedly agree that dual ARBs is the best alternative!

Have a great evening,
Dan



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