Thread: When to lock CDL

We are off topic but I agree about the weight. Having said that on big trips without a trailer or boat I use the roof and it's max handbook weight limit. An advantage of diesel is that you can legally put a Jerry of the stinky stuff on the rear bar. You can't with petrol. So.for me 24 litres in a low profile fat boat tote tank goes on the roof as the only place for it. My instant up tent, one piece fishing rods, recovery tracks etc go up too. I found any extra top heaviness was well and truly mitigated by better tyres and Bilstein shocks with good springs (the 2 inch lift did not hurt handling) and thousands of miles on dirt roads with this set up proved to be stress free.

Cheers

Is your roof limit 75kg?

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Is your roof limit 75kg?

Ya don’t want to know what my roof load weighed when I did the Simpson.

Originally Posted by Zeros

If anyone is still in doubt about locking the CDL as often as possible (ie whenever off tarmac), watch this video. Land Rover Defender Talk. Andrew St Pierre and John RIch - YouTube

Also, IMO, it might help to think about the Defender 4x4 system a little differently. Instead of seeing it as an on-road system that can be occasionally locked up for off-road Think about it the other way round. ...Defenders are primarily off road vehicles. As such, the CDL is designed to be locked all the time. Unlocking it simply enables you to drive on bitumen without causing transmission wind up. So leave the CDL locked, unless you need to drive on the tarmac/bitumen. Simple.

Roof loads? It’s an absolute no brainer to keep weight low. A roof rack is for a wet swag, perhaps a second spare tyre if on an extended overland trip and collecting firewood close to camp. Keep all other heavy objects such as tools, fuel, gas bottles, water, etc off the roof. Pack lighter. It’s too dangerous to be top heavy.

Puma defender has a 150kg load rating. Off topic but thats the LR rating.

Zeros mate; you are not allowed to post facts, vdeos and links to litreture as this forum loves to operate on ignorance and bs.....and then call the pople that actually post facts up to be the ones talking BS.

Good video. Im sure someone will be more experienced than Andrew and Rich and say its non sense. Of course its not as safe, the understeer, the wind up.......

Written by Tact;
"The amazing thing thing is that the ATB action works just as well when wheels on BOTH sides are on ice, or BOTH sides are on tarmac. Ie a rear axle with ATB will handle both rear wheels being on ice. But when one is on tarmac/rock/gravel and the other is on ice - game over. The difference in available traction across the device means it functions only as an open diff. "
When you said the above you obviously did not read the rally post on torsen/atb type diffs i posted earlier and how they work on a centre diff, did you?? Clearly did not!

Tact out of curiosity do you have a atb in your centre diff? I know you have them on your front and rear but not sure about your centre diff.

I did. Let me tell you any prop shaft speed difference is picked up by the atb. So it does not act like a open diff with all 4 wheels on the ground and when one wheel slipps/spins through loss of traction causing the 2 prop shafts to spin at different speeds. The atb splits the torque and automatically the vehcile feels more stable and planted. I did a write up some where on here when i got it. Ps if you don't then you are not entitled to pass comment as you don't have first hand experience of a atb diff centre in your centre diff of your defender, this is a factual statement and only experienced people with first hand experience should comment (thats in response to your "pro driving " comment about me)

Originally Posted by 1nando

[...]Ps if you don't then you are not entitled to pass comment as you don't have first hand experience of a atb diff centre in your centre diff of your defender, this is a factual statement and only experienced people with first hand experience should comment (thats in response to your "pro driving " comment about me)

Fair enough.

One more video. Now this showcases the difference with the cdl locked and unlocked in slower situations. Please note how the vehicle drives with a open cdl and all wheels on the ground. Power is sent to one wheel only on which ever axle has the least resistance. Please note how leaving the cdl unlocked never allows for 2 wheels (1 at the front and 1 at the rear) to spin at the same time, only 1 will ever spin at a time as this is npt true 4wd. The path of least resistance will only ever travel to one wheel when unlocked so how people are reporting one front and one rear wheel spinning at the same time is beyond me without either a torsen/atb or a viscous coupling diff centre.
True 4wd will always provide drive to one front and one rear wheel at a even split of torque, with the cdl unlocked a defender is not in true 4wd but rather a 1 wheel drive.

Please read the info in the description also. CDL should always be engaged when off the tarmac.

Enjoy
YouTube

This is an interesting thread, with a breadth of ideas and opinions. Here’s how we do it, I’ve got 6 Defender tray tops running in Forestry and fire management, loaded all the time, most of my guys have never had experience with the Defender full time system before working for me. Basically we never lock the diff on fast dirt or tracks where there is no weight being lifted off axles. As soon as there is weight transfer off the front axle, ie, steep inclines, I insist the diff is locked, as well as any low range situations. Obviously if the forestry roads turn to slush and there’s a risk of sliding or loosing control we will lock the diff in. I see no need at all to lock the centre diff on dirt roads where your road speed could be up to 80km/h.. maybe this comes down to experience driving on these roads. I’ve never had a transfer case, or centre diff failure and 4 of these utes have +400,000km on them.
At the end of the day, this is what works for us and I don’t believe in forcing my ideas down the throat of others, do what your comfortable with and what works for you.

Originally Posted by 1nando

One more video. Now this showcases the difference with the cdl locked and unlocked in slower situations. Please note how the vehicle drives with a open cdl and all wheels on the ground. Power is sent to one wheel only on which ever axle has the least resistance. Please note how leaving the cdl unlocked never allows for 2 wheels (1 at the front and 1 at the rear) to spin at the same time, only 1 will ever spin at a time as this is npt true 4wd. The path of least resistance will only ever travel to one wheel when unlocked so how people are reporting one front and one rear wheel spinning at the same time is beyond me without either a torsen/atb or a viscous coupling diff centre.
True 4wd will always provide drive to one front and one rear wheel at a even split of torque, with the cdl unlocked a defender is not in true 4wd but rather a 1 wheel drive.

Please read the info in the description also. CDL should always be engaged when off the tarmac.

Enjoy
YouTube

Nando!
I think you just have to accept that no matter what it is that you have experienced, someone else will have experienced something else!
No amount of videos will help you learn that. Only experience will.

You said that power will be sent to the wheel with least resistance. What if that 'least resistance is equal on more than one wheel?
Where does the power go in that situation? Only to 'one wheel'?

When you say this:

"note how leaving the cdl unlocked never allows for 2 wheels (1 at the front and 1 at the rear) to spin at the same time, only 1 will ever spin at a time as this is npt true 4wd."

What happens when two wheels have the same amount of resistance? where does the power go then .. only to one wheel?
Think about it for a minute!
On a bitumen road in ideal conditions .. which wheel(s) have more, less or the same 'resistance' .. and where does the power go?
Leaving the CDL unlocked in the bitumen road situation, does the car drive only via one wheel, or two, or three, or four wheels?

I think you just have to accept that there exists a number of different situations than you have yet experience in your life.