So someone posted here that the SD SRW only get Open or E-locker rear differentials, I did a build and that is a true statement.
So I did a build on a couple different F150, same thing as SRW, Open or E-locker.

On the SD DRW builds, you get Open or Limited Slip, no locker.

Not sure I see the savings by doing this since the DRW's will have LS but no Locker. Ford's inventory and stock still has to support three different axle set ups at a minimum for the SD plus the past builds. Will take years to see any savings on this change.

Can anyone confirm that 2017's did or did not have LS as an option? LS was not an option on my 18 when I ordered it last Nov.

Any insight as to why Ford is all but deleting the LS?

 

Because it's obsolete, even if it ever worked at all. Most LSD's in Fords were worthless. Can't have trucks sliding around in snow like a Mustang, can we?

E-locker, decent tires, and TC are more capable in the hands of a decent driver. Works great. Too bad about the OEM tires though. I'd only order the open base diff, if you absolutely have to have an LSD, then get a nice one like a Detroit Truetrac. Swapping rear diffs is pretty cheap and easy compared to the front.

 

+1 on the Ford LSDs being worthless. My 08 had one and only once could I ever get it to work, and that was with most my weight on the brake pedal....

Normal driving it did nothing.


I'm much happier with the locker.

 

I've run limited-slip diffs for over 30 years. Personally, I think for serious off-roading or extreme snow, I'd prefer an e-locker. For daily driving and occasional snow use, I prefer limited slip. Why? Limited slip helps with take-off traction in the rain every time you hit the gas. E-locker's need to be engaged.

I've driven my 2009 F150 with a limited slip (and 4x4) in unplowed 21" snow - the traction limit is how much snow I could push to the side with my front bumper. I've never had an issue with my limited slip diffs - if the surface is very slick (ice/mud), you may need to put the parking brake on lightly to get enough force on the clutches to work.

 

I'd normally agree. I had a 2007 Tacoma with Limited Slip as well and it was great! It actually worked! And for offroad i was going all the same places the boys with the lockers were....
It just seemed like the one in the Sterling rear end did nothing....

 

Nothing is more embarrassing than a Super Duty, that's not even high centered, or grounded anywhere, getting stuck in shallow mud or snow. (with an LSD rear especially!)

These trucks are a whole different animal with an E-locker rear.

One thing I have noticed, is that the TC one wheel control, has helped this truck in conditions where I was starting to get stuck in 4wd (E locker OFF). Helped at least as much as an LSD has ever done in a SD.

Does the TC work as well as a properly shimmed tight LSD (with no BS friction modifier)? I don't know. Maybe.

Does the TC work better, than the OEM LSD's with OEM settings that we've had in Super Duties since 1999? Yeah, I think so.

None of those trucks, of the many I've driven or owned, had a LSD that actually worked like the ones found in the F150 or Mustang (heck you can HEAR the Mustangs diff clattering).

 

This is the answer. With modern traction control and ABS systems - the truck can modulate tire slip better with throttle and brake modulation then a LSD can. So building off hardware that every truck has - they can provide the benefits, without having to add a $200-300 part.

 

And it exercises the ABS system really well. That was a killer of early ABS systems. We never used them, and they failed.

 

I agree. I've always been the type of guy that 'if the front wheels don't pull, i don't want it'. I have had front and rear lockers on my Jeep since before it became manufacturer acceptable. My 2000 SD has the limited slip and it has always worked, well till the clutches wore out. I haven't bought the $300 clutch replacement set or taken the time to tear down the rear end as of yet.

With the modern traction control system, it did make the mechanical system obsolete. With TC and a locker you have the best of both worlds and not the compromise of the LS differential. The TC will take care of you on the road and you via manually operating the locker can take care of the off road. Of course, one also need the front tires pulling option, my question is why do they even still make 2x4 trucks.

 

I wish Ford would step up and offer a worm-gear style (helical) LSD. The LS in my '06, '07, and '16 Dodge/Ram are amazing. Ford screwed the pooch with the clutch pack design...

 

To answer your question:
Limited Slip was not an option on 2017 SRW.
Only open diff or elocker.
The clutches wore out on the LS anyways.
I much prefer the electronic locking rear differential.

 

Well...this thread is no fun for me. LSD's are awesome...apparently the one on my DRW wasn't worth the money.

Welp...

Doesn't matter...I'll never have the truck in a situation it matters more than likely. The only reason I got 4WD is for if I ever have to sell it. I engaged it the day we picked it up to make sure it worked...and I bet money I'll never use it again...because I, like most people, never off road their truck or do anything where 4WD is required. Yet people have decided its not a real truck if it doesn't have 4WD. Potential idiots that might buy my truck in the future made we waste money on an option I'll never use.

 

Or, maybe you just need to start going places that require 4wd.

 

Wow!
.

 

We bought it to tow, not go off road.