Thread: P38 diff questions

The viscous coupling does the job of a 'centre' diff between the axles - handling front to back rotation differences. Axle diffs look after differing wheel rotations on each wheel of the attached axle. Diff lockers go inside the two axle diffs, locking them when needed. The viscous coupling 'locks' itself when needed (in theory)

LSD's are largely useless offroad in my opinion. LR chose to use traction control as their method of choice, which actually performs quite well - possibly as it's safer and less prone to breaking axles. Personally I'd rather they'd used some sort of air or electric lockers - I hate auto lockers and would never use them again, had one air locker front and one detroit locker rear in my hilux - I MUCH preferred the air locker.

I'd suggest trying it out a bit first with just traction control, it's surprisingly effective - lockers are better and if you've got the money go with air lockers

Same

LSD seem to not temporarily lock the diff long enough to get the vehicle moving again in sticky situations. In other words, as soon as traction is gained within the split second the LSD releases the lock, which in off road situations is not long enough.

Traction control i found is a great system for beginners to intermediate off-roaders, as you don't need to do anything except concentrate on the track ahead and taking the correct line leaving the TC to do the thinking for you.
Only problem is when your about to drive through deep muddy, slippery section of track where maximum traction is required, with traction control you have to lose traction first before the system kicks in, which can in certain situations be too late and remain stuck.

With Air or electronic lockers you can engage and lock the diff before you drive into difficulty, minimizing the chance to get stuck in the first place.

However RR's do have fantastic axle articulation which in most cases will perform almost as good with the TC as it would with lockers.