This 100%.

I can't understand why the LSD isn't at least an option on SRW trucks. I'm rarely in a challenging off road situation where the locker is useful, but I drive on snow and ice covered roads several months per year.

 

I couldn’t agree more!

 

Limited slip is way more useful to me. When living in snowy places it rocked.

 

In the past I ran into situations where the limited slip did not engage (there was snow on the ground, so I was positive it was not engaging), when that happens I was told to push the brake and the gas and that would engage the limited slip. It would. The problem was....at that point you were stopped and thereby "stuck".

I personally like that **** that locks the rear axle prior to getting "stuck".

My 2012 and now 2019 SD allow me to plow up hill on my driveway in all but the worst of snow conditions because of the locking rear axle.

 

I love a locker. I do wish we had a LS when the locker was disengaged though, instead of an open diff.

I will say, the LS units that Dodge/Ram uses works great. They use a helical gear type instead of the clutch packs that Ford used to use...

 

This is my second truck with an e-locker. My '91 Ranger had the LSD. I prefer the e-locker due to no extra maintenance involved and when it's locked there is no question about power going to both wheels.

 

That is what the traction control software is for. In every situation, except extremely low traction and low speed and off-road, the traction control will out preform a LSD. Therefore, let the computer do what it does on road (i.e snow, ice, rain) and when you know better pull the **** for a true 2 wheel drive truck.

I'm happy with the combo Ford offers, just wish I could get an E-locker for the front. If a company would produce a $1K locker I'd be swapping out the carrier in a heart beat.

 

If Ford offered this an option from the factory I would have ordered it for sure.

 

Most LSD's can only help when the traction between the two tires isn't very different. If you have the least ideal situation, say a tire on pavement and another tire in the air or in a deep muddy hold, typically 100% of the torque will go to the tire with the least resistance (traction) and the vehicle won't go anywhere. They also lose effectiveness as they age, and there is no real way of knowing when it needs maintenance.

The nice thing is the LSD's are passive, and you can't tell if/when it is working.

The Locker requires a little more brain power to operate, since you have to activate it. But when the going gets tough, I would choose the locker every time without a doubt.

 

You and me both! I would pay $1500 for it......

 

If you lock in the locker is it immediately locked or do you have to move a couple of feet before it engages?

 

They both have clear benefits, and drawbacks. Here's my &.02

1st off, once you truly understand how LSD's work, you should also be able to understand how electronic traction control can do the same thing (by applying brake pressure to the spinning wheel, therefore forcing torque to the other side). So to a point LSD has become obsolete because of traction control.

The biggest drawback to LSD performance was that it wore out over time and becomes less effective. This is because the clutches were required to slip every time you go around a curve. If you drive all the time on very curvy roads the wear is accelerated. This also has an affect on longevity of the lubricant, and even fuel economy (LSD is actually creating extra drag going around corners compered to open (or locker) differentials, which creates heat (cooks the lube and wastes fuel).

Lockers are obviously better at providing straight line traction, but they suck in a curve (really bind things up and/or cause both tires to lose lateral traction), which is why the PCM has interlocks preventing them from "always" working.

In reality though, a locker provides the best of both worlds because of the electronics that we now have that thinks for us and turns it off when not safe, and the traction/stability control takes the place of the LSD (for the most part), and doesn't wear out. We rely on electronics to so much for us these days that its scary.

 

This is true to an extent, but if electronic aides could completely replace an LSD, no one would offer them anymore. I personally feel better with a mechanical system for controlling torque in addition to the computer based system, but that is maybe just me. In any case, I'm offroad so infrequently that the advantages of the locker are wasted on me. Just wish the LSD was offered as an option, it wouldn't need to replace the E-locker for those who prefer it.

 

I believe it's locked right away if you lock it when you are stopped.

 

Traction control sucks on snow covered roads, I have driven a Ford van that had it, I had to turn it off to get anywhere. Traction control and limited slips work completely different.