Originally Posted by
chook73
Note that this thread is on the Defender forum so I was of the impression we are discussing defender TC not Disco, 200 series, VW TC as that is not relevant to Defenders.
A quote below from Dave Ashcroft (off his website), the guy that makes ATB's, note in particular the part On low or no traction surfaces where one wheel has considerably less traction than the other and thus tends to spin
"The ATB gear type limited slip relies on the internal friction generated by gear sets within the diff centre, these gear sets are unsupported and designed to be ineffecient. In a normal situation, i.e. on road this diff will be totally transparent, you will not know it is fitted. Provided both wheels have grip no torque biasing takes place, on a bend or corner the faster outer wheel will try to bind up the internal gears but the inner slower wheel constantly unwinds the gears, so again on a corner no bias is felt. On low or no traction surfaces where one wheel has considerably less traction than the other and thus tends to spin, the gear action within the diff causes friction which in turn applies load to the wheel with traction. The amount of torque applied depends on what is termed the 'Bias ratio'. Bias ratios can be varied by different pre-loads and different gear profiles but the most common have a bias ratio of approx 2:1."
Fact: ATB's do not work on load, they work on rotational speed. That is how the ATB engages, one wheel spins quicker than the other and the force engages the gears. For the sake of this argument a wheel spins quicker either because it looses traction or because it is cornering.
Fact: ATB's are not pro-active, they are completely passive (i.e. dont work), for activation they rely on a wheel to loose traction before they come into play.
Fact: TC is not pro-active, they rely on a wheel to loose traction before they come into play. This is especially so on Defenders.
The argument that ATB/TC gives you better steering and therefore you can pick a better line and therefore you need less ATB/TC..... huh?
Your bizarre concept that lockers only have their place in vehicles that operate by spinning all 4 wheels through deep bog holes shows you have no concept what lockers are or how lockers operate. You need to stop watching 4WDAction DVD's my friend.
For most normal people lockers are about about making a more complete and capable vehicle that allows strengthening of driveline components and gives greater mechanical and environmental sympathy.
Your correct its about personal preference, thats the one thing you and I agree on but there is no way that you can argue that ATB's and TC will perform better than lockers.