01-21-2016, 02:54 PM
Jake Wrote:So you can open your center diff? What's the point in locking the center diff if the wheels are gonna spin anyway.*insertusernamehere* Wrote:I am so fucking confused. I feel like you can make an entire semester class on this.
Most trucks' 4x4 systems have open diffs for the front and rear axles. You know what an open diff is. When you put the truck in 4WD "High" mode, it locks the center diff so that power goes to both front and rear axles. But! You still have open diffs front/rear, which means the same follies as always apply - if one wheel has traction and the other does not, on the same axle, all the power will shoot over to the wheel that is slipping.
Having a locking rear diff will then lock both sides of the rear axle together (think of a drift car with a welded diff) so that the rear axle has to spin both wheels at the same rate of speed.
Some trucks have a limited-slip rear diff. That's how my Denali was set up. Better than open, but only works as it decides to. The FX4 will let me lock the rear at will, assuming I'm in 4WD already.
2013 Honda Fit, 1991 Mazda Miata, Princess Blanca, Mystery, 1993 Volvo 940 - sold, 2003 Mazda Protoge5 - carmax'd, 1996 BMW 328is - sold, 1996 Honda Accord - sold