Trutrack vs Air Locker vs Detroit for rear

[kat]

I know you guys are tired of seeing me start threads but my head is spinning. Fist of all I do NO rock climbing and 90% of the time she is on the road. What off roading I do is mainly trails/mud/sand. With that being said when I do go off roading I stay in 2 wheel drive just tooling around but have had to lock it in from time to time. I do pull a little boat and some boat ramps can be a little slippery but never had an issue with my limited slip. I am rebuilding my rear end and looking at different options. I have youtubed it to death and coming here for some Bronco buddy help. I want something better than the stock limited slip. And honestly the research I have done looks like Trutrack is the way to go.

351w on 35's

 

[RODRIG3911]

I've got a Detroit truetrac and love it. Don't notice it's even there until you go offroad and I can climb some pretty tough trails with it and that's with an open front carrier.... eventually I'd like to put one up front too

 

[AZ73]

The trutrac is a type of Detroit locker. The major difference with air is if a wheel is off the ground on a trutrac, it will spin while the one on the ground won't move. You can correct this by applying the brakes slightly. You may also get some wheel skip on a corner if you're applying gas. it engages automatically. The air lockers lock both wheels when on, even if one is in the air, and turn completely off when switched off so you don't have the potential corner problem. I would recommend the trutrac if you're mostly street. There's some issues related to snow where a true trac is better, but seeing you're in FL, never mind. Standard Detroit lockers come in regular loud and clunky, or soft lockers which operate the same but are quieter. There's more data and opinions, but this is the basics of it.

http://www.eaton.com/Eaton/ProductsServices/Vehicle/Differentials/detroit-truetrac/index.htm

http://www.eaton.com/Eaton/ProductsServices/Vehicle/Differentials/detroit-locker/index.htm

http://store.arbusa.com/Air-Lockers-C7.aspx

 

[bronconut73]

I have a Detroit Locker in the back and a Detroit Tru-Trac in the front.

I don't notice "any" of the rear locker quirks anymore. Once you get used to driving with a rear locker you don't notice it.

 

[Rustytruck]

I have the same set up trutrac up front and detroit soft locker in the rear. Ive taken it everywhere my 33"tires will let me. If I were you and the surfaces you drive on you only need a trutrac in the rear. What I don't understand the mindset of only using 4wd when you absolutely need it. As soon as you hit any surface other than pavement pop that sucker in 4wd. Reduce the load on the drivetrain and let the system work as intended. Less wear and tear and less shock to the whole system. Also less wear and tear to the environment your driving on.

 

[sykanr0ng]

TrueTrac in the front, Wavetrac in the back.

http://www.wavetrac.net/

The Wavetrac is torque biasing like a TrueTrac under normal conditions but if it slips there is also a locking action to it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElaMcoO_drg

 

[BucksNBroncs]

Would love to hear more about the "wave". Do you have one Syk?

 

[sykanr0ng]

Would love to hear more about the "wave". Do you have one Syk?

Not yet.
They are expensive and I have a lot of parts left to buy.

 

[bronconut73]

The Wave-Trac is interesting...
I read a lot about a few years ago then it kind of settled down a bit. It "is" very expensive but I would like to experience it, look at it and stuff.
Nothing new under the sun, as they say, but its neat to see some new tech every once in awhile...

 

[bmc69]

Big fan of the True Trac for the rear here.

 

[Timmy390]

Big fan of the True Trac for the rear here.

Same.....

Tim

 

[Justafordguy]

On a mostly street driven EB the Tru-Trac would be a good choice but an air/electric locker could give you the best of both worlds.

 

[ntsqd]

The trutrac is a type of Detroit locker....

Um, not really. The Tru-Trac is based on the Torsen all gear, torque biasing differential invented by Gleasman and first marketed by Gleason. Eaton just dumped it under the "Detroit Locker" banner for marketing purposes. Principle of operation is totally different.
It works based on the principle that a worm gear can drive a spur gear, but a spur gear can not drive a worm gear. Works as a "Mechanical Check Valve" for torque in that torque can only flow in one direction thru such a gear set.

Weismann has a similar design and is claimed to be the actual inventor of this type of differential. No idea who was first or if they were parallel efforts.

The Weismann diff is said to be perfect in that it never slips a tire and it never spins a tire, and it is also said to be incredibly expensive to manufacture. The Gleasman diff reportedly gives up some of that perfection in exchange for being somewhat economical to produce.

For the OP's intended use I think the TruTrac is the best possible option. Install and drive. No switches, valves, relays or compressors to complicate things. And no wonky driving behavior from a Detroit. Street & dirt drove a Detroit for 20 years. It's the reason that the vehicle that replaced that one is fitted with ARB's.

 

[SteveL]

If that wave lock is way expensive just get an arb. I wouldn't want a detroit for a mostly street driven rig. I don't have one but a few of my friends had em in their rigs. You still feel the clunk and jerking. Then you get the extra drive train and tire wear on the street. Then there's the joy of hitting an unexpected slick spot on the road. Sure guys get used to it. I've had a spool in the rear of my 72 and I'm used to it but now that it's gonna see more on road time there's an arb sitting on the bench?

 

[nickgp]

From the sound of your intended use, I wouldn't go crazy w picking one of the various lockers out there. A Tru trak should be just the ticket.

 

[Nothing Special]

Downside to a TrueTrac is that it doesn't work very well when there is a BIG difference in traction between the two sides (like a tire in the air, or one tire on ice, the other on dry pavement). But in the situations you are talking about the two sides usually aren't that different. A TrueTrac would be my first choice for you.

Biggest downside to an automatic locker (like a Detroit) in the rear are the noticeable handling quirks. I've had a number of them and I think they are well worth it. bronconut73 says he doesn't notice them anymore after getting use to them. I definitely do notice them, but they aren't very objectionable. If you want the positive action, it's well worth it. But if you don't need it, a TrueTrac will be nicer.

Biggest downside to a selectable locker (like an ARB Air Locker) are that you need to work it. It gives you no traction benefit until you turn it on, and it gives you bad handling until you turn it off. That said, if you rarely need the traction, it still might be a good option. And if you are usually on pretty slippery surfaces the "bad" handling probably isn't that bad. Still, I'd rather have either the TrueTrac or the automatic locker (depending on the desired usage) in a rear axle than a selectable.

 

[kat]

Ive tried to find some good video of a TrueTrac in sand and mud but they are mainly rocks and they have the front locked in. I still think TrueTrac is the way to go. But still going to do a parts list for the Airlockers. I do like them just don't like the money

 

[bmc69]

Biggest downside to a selectable locker (like an ARB Air Locker) are that you need to work it. It gives you no traction benefit until you turn it on, and it gives you bad handling until you turn it off. That said, if you rarely need the traction, it still might be a good option. And if you are usually on pretty slippery surfaces the "bad" handling probably isn't that bad. Still, I'd rather have either the TrueTrac or the automatic locker (depending on the desired usage) in a rear axle than a selectable.

Nailed it. That's exactly why I run ARBs in the front of literally every rig I own but like the TrueTrac for the rear.

 

[kat]

How does the TrueTrac react on a dirt road??..If I decide to spin it around real quick, drop the clutch and hit the gas what will happen??..Will both tires spin??

 

[nvrstuk]

No offense but if you have a stick shift you need to "work it"...

I gave up on Detroits and "automatic" lockers first in Feb '87 for the front and '96 with the rear...nothing would give me the absolute control that the ARB's have for decades...

that said, if I was 98% street, I'd go Tru-Trac in the rear because if you don't need the ability to transfer 100% of the torque from the tire in the air (like an ARB) and you aren't in those situations then the TruTrac will probably work just fine...super simple, dependable, and for a street rig and some fairly tough trails they work great.

Your money but I understand the difficulty trying to anticipate how each would work for you...

Good luck