All the hype about lockers always made me feel I needed them. Wheeling with about 150 people this weekend showed me how irrelevant they actually are for a street Jeep.

Now let me explain.....

If your suspension sucks and you are always carrying a wheel, then sure lockers rule! But with a little work your suspension can and will out do lockers. IN, an either or situation.

The good news is awesome suspension can be had for next to nothing while air or mechanical lockers for a STREET Cherokee can be rather expensive.

Lockers break stuff, and rob a person of precious engine power. They are also hard on steering components. And they are not a cure all. If you can't make an obstacle in your street Cherokee then I promise you its something other than lockers. I saw two or three different locked trailered rigs struggle where my rig had no problems. And the lack of lockers on my part never once kept me from making an obstacle.

My Jeep must be bad! LOL. On the contrary, probably the smallest rig out of 150 minus a few samies that were actually taller.

Now the reason I am posting this is for those of you like me who have been stressing because they were not locked. Feel they couldn't hang without being locked. I am here as a witness that they are actually very competitive IF you are set up in other areas being mainly tires/pressure/suspension. DISCLAIMER: yes there is always that one instance where lockers are king

Don't get me wrong!
Lockers are on my list, just way down, like right after the fuzzy dice

Any similar experiences out there?

 

yes a dialed in suspension and good driving to evenly transfer power between front tires will take you a long way and not having a front locker will save you some broken parts
but you never said anything about a rear locker

 

Lockers were probably my greatest upgrade.

 

There were a few rigs with us that only were locked in the rear. I do think this is a good set up. But truthfully they had more problems than I did with open diffs front and rear. Again I attribute this to my suspension and tire/air pressure choice. Not that open differentials are better at all. Just don't always look to lockers for the way out.

 

in my experience lockers have been nothing but beneficial. many instances you either need speed to get over an obstacle or a locker, even with all 4 tires securely on the ground.

 

If the tires on each side have grip, you have your locker Mr white.

It you are constantly caught with a tire in the air, then either work on your suspension or buy lockers.


You made your choice.

 

If 4 tires on securely on the ground it will for the most part be locked. It you are dragging body parts or undercarriage then certainly you lighten one side.

I never said open different were better. I said they can take you almost anywhere coupled with good driving/suspension/air pressure.

 

wrong, because even with all 4 tires on the ground, power would still only be sent to a front and rear tire. you would still spin 2 tires with all 4 on the ground..

 

i already explained why your first statement is wrong. it is not locked, not at all. you STILL only have 2 tires getting power to them. just because they have power, doesn't automatically mean they will climb up anything. you don't even have to be hung up to experience a lockers benefit. not sure what your wheeling is like, but in SoCal lockers will make any hill with sand, loose dirt, loose rocks, or slick rocks much easier to climb.

 

Actually no. Open diffs aren't necessarily an either or case. They base their power off of pressures. Equal pressure and both you tires pull the same.

This works well on lighter rigs where it doesn't take a lot of pressure to move the vehical. I honest don't remember once where I popped and jerked from one side unlocking.

 

Happens on loose terrain, mud, sand, gravel. Which is why I said the lockers (most notably the rear) were my best upgrade.

 

My ignorance here. I only wheel in rock and mud and dirt mainly. Limited experience in sand.

 

Open diffs = one wheel burnouts. If it's easier to move one tire than the other (one tire is on loose terrain and the other is on a rock) all you power goes to spin the one on the loose stuff. And that's with both tires on the ground...

 

Maybe I have lockers and don't know it! Sweet!!!

Or maybe I do t know what offroading is


You locker boys need to chill.

We are not comparing the two. We are putting a priority on the cheaper route that will benefit you greater in the long run.

 

Exactly that is why my open diff in my firebird would smoke both tires sideways down the road...LOL


Now I wonder how I did that? Anyone want to chime in here?