Thread: What's the consensus on.........

Frank, I do this. Every dirt road. The difference was really noticeable with my old 2 door Rangie on dirt, so I kept using the theory on all my other landies over the years, except of course the viscous coupled Sherwood.

Enables less 'snatch' front to rear and if pushing it through corners etc allows better throttle steering predictability.

Definately does no harm, anyway.

JC

I am the opposite of JC. I tend to lock it if required or doing low speed proper 4wd stuff. On high speed dirt I tend to leave it unlocked as I prefer the "loose" way the car feels. With it locked it just wants to understeer everywhere. Although I did lock it 12 months ago on a very corrugated road to keep pointing in the right direction, the corrugations were so bad I needed the tightness that locking it gives.

Originally Posted by BigJon

I am the opposite of JC. I tend to lock it if required or doing low speed proper 4wd stuff. On high speed dirt I tend to leave it unlocked as I prefer the "loose" way the car feels. With it locked it just wants to understeer everywhere. Although I did lock it 12 months ago on a very corrugated road to keep pointing in the right direction, the corrugations were so bad I needed the tightness that locking it gives.

I'm that too^^

My concern is that on really winding dirt roads it'll understeer right off the edge on a tight bend.

I always engage it - as BigJon stated for corrugations "to keep pointing in the right direction" and I find that this also applies for dealing with the bumps and gutters found unexpectably on dirt/gravel roads.

Frank - I have no idea of how to set up a Poll but maybe this would be a good way to view the overall results of your question - to lock or not to lock? Maybe a MOD could assist.

Don't engage on good dirt roads. Engage where wheel spin is anticipated ie sand, rutted road. Replacing my centre with Ashcroft Transmission torque converter which allows for changes in traction and can be locked up when required. See Ashcroft Youtube on why do land rover transmission units fail, about half way through vid for centre diff discussion.

I don't mean when racing flat out on twisty stuff, yes understeer will be a whole other problem. I use it mostly high speed dirt roads, and any dirt road especially while towing.

JC

Unless I'm only going fairly slowly, I always engage it. Especially if I'm well loaded, or towing, and if its wet, always on.
I feel its always better to be safe than sorry,, and I'm a bit old for racing my own car these days,,

It depends on what you're doing and what you're expecting.

As long as you're on a surface that can shift enough to prevent wind-up, there is no harm to the vehicle.