Jump to content

Detroit rear locker - any good ?


Recommended Posts

They take some getting used to with the clunk as they engage/disengage on their own but are generally very good - ideal fit and forget type auto-locker.

Whilst Tony suggest an ARB for "a little more" the locker its self will be another £250, then add a compressor to run it and thats another £150 so unless you want to double your budget then forget ARB's!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Small hijack..

My racer's previous owner is offering me a Detroit locker very cheap.

how ever I have a good ARB front locker in the RRC that could be relocated.

does anyone have experience of racing with Detroit's over ARB's

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest mortus
..........Or are they not so good as they tend to bring on understeer when trying to turn off road?..........

thats what all difflockers do...

thats the point in a diff so you dont get that understeer.

your not surposed to turn whilst your axle is locked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The fact that you cannot turn a Detroit off means that you tend to get understeer in some situations where traction is reduced (especially where traction on the front wheels is limited) - particularly with the shorter wheelbase of a 90. I understand that Range Rovers and 110s are less prone to problems. As White90 suggests, I had one in my 90, was dissapointed and I removed it in favour of an ARB which I never had cause to regret.

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thats what all difflockers do...

thats the point in a diff so you dont get that understeer.

your not surposed to turn whilst your axle is locked.

Yes, I knew that bit, but when off road and the ground is slippery, a detroit won't come out so this will bring on indersteer, therefore a three-point turn. Or spend a bit more and get an arb saving you the three-point turn :lol: So, what one is it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

your not surposed to turn whilst your axle is locked.

Sometimes you have limited options.

Remember that if there is any residual torque across an ARB that it will not unlock until that residual torque is released.

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thats what all difflockers do...

thats the point in a diff so you dont get that understeer.

your not surposed to turn whilst your axle is locked.

Young bobtail Rhys' question is on the mark.

Detroit lockers are made to automatically unlock the outer wheel when turning,however,on very low traction surfaces they sometimes fail to unlock when they should,and so they can have the tendancy to push the vehicle straight on in a turn.

I think detroits great for general offroading,and I've never had any issues with clunky engagement or on road handling - they work,and you never have to think about whether to engage them - but after running one for the last two years I am changing to a selectable locker (ARB) for the improvement in steering which is so important for trialing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The fact that you cannot turn a Detroit off means that you tend to get understeer in some situations where traction is reduced (especially where traction on the front wheels is limited) - particularly with the shorter wheelbase of a 90. I understand that Range Rovers and 110s are less prone to problems. As White90 suggests, I had one in my 90, was dissapointed and I removed it in favour of an ARB which I never had cause to regret.

Chris

I was talking to jules about this last night and told him that (i had heard) a 90 is too light for a detroit locker and therefore does work to its best ina 90. I have personally seen several 90's at differant times with a detroit lockers very stuck in an easy off road postition due to the locker with not disengae and not letting the car turn

I have always prefered the ARB as you have 100% control of the locker and the car

And BTW for me the detroit is more expensive than an ARB locker so it would definatley have to be the ARB :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Young bobtail Rhys' question is on the mark.

Detroit lockers are made to automatically unlock the outer wheel when turning,however,on very low traction surfaces they sometimes fail to unlock when they should,and so they can have the tendancy to push the vehicle straight on in a turn.

I think detroits great for general offroading,and I've never had any issues with clunky engagement or on road handling - they work,and you never have to think about whether to engage them - but after running one for the last two years I am changing to a selectable locker (ARB) for the improvement in steering which is so important for trialing.

Thank you ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i have a detriot fitted on my 90 and i think its great,

yes you do get some understeer mainly noticed when driving offroad but also on road you can feel it at times, but if you take your foot off the throttle then its fine and goes round corners just the same as a normal open diff, the other down side is side slopes, the back end tends to slide down when on a side slope, but maybe this is just down to my tyres, to be honest you dont know that its there after a while as you tend to adapt your driving style to suit, (i believe you would have to do this with an arb as well), there is no clunk or bang when it engages as its permenantly locked, you do here it clicking when going round corners though as it has a sort of freewheel device,

the difference after i installed it was very noticable and one of the best single modifications i have done to my 90, im not saying its as good as an arb but it is half the price, as for instalation i thought it was quite simple and if you are mechanically minded then you should be able to do this yourself no problem, make sure you have the instructions and correct tools available though (dti guage etc) and make sure the diff your fitting it into is a good one to start with so you dont have to shim the input gear.

oh and i think £400 is a bit steep, you can get them new for less than that.

martin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Small hijack..

My racer's previous owner is offering me a Detroit locker very cheap.

how ever I have a good ARB front locker in the RRC that could be relocated.

does anyone have experience of racing with Detroit's over ARB's

Jules, is it a full locker or a tru-trac? I'd have thought an LSD would be better in the back for racing.......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jules, is it a full locker or a tru-trac? I'd have thought an LSD would be better in the back for racing.......

Detroit full lock I assume as a tru-trac people normally don't refure to them as locker's

very valid point

My last racer had a Quaff LSD but there a little pricey how ever I suppose I could flog the 4pin its already got.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jules I'd agree that for racing an LSD (or torque biasing diff) is the way to go.

I had a Detroit locker in my old 90 and it was ok as a poor mans alternative to an ARB, ok for general off roading or challenges but not what I'd want throwing the truck round at speed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The manual for the Detroit locker (NOT the Trutrac made by the same people) does not recommend fitting the locker to short wheelbase vehicles. This is defined as less than 127" :o

In practice, the Detroit is unnoticeable in a 130, and works well in a 110. In the 100" Disco it tends to unlock and lock a lot, and this can be pretty noisy. In the 90, if you sneeze it will unlock and so I wouldn't go for one.

I do know someone on the forums with a 90 got Ashcrofts to remove his Detroit FOC as they should not have recommended it in the first place..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The manual for the Detroit locker (NOT the Trutrac made by the same people) does not recommend fitting the locker to short wheelbase vehicles. This is defined as less than 127" :o

In practice, the Detroit is unnoticeable in a 130, and works well in a 110. In the 100" Disco it tends to unlock and lock a lot, and this can be pretty noisy. In the 90, if you sneeze it will unlock and so I wouldn't go for one.

I do know someone on the forums with a 90 got Ashcrofts to remove his Detroit FOC as they should not have recommended it in the first place..

Hi Jim,

you're quite right, the longer the wheelbase the better they are but I don't agree with your comment 'they should not have recommended it in the first place',

many many people buy them for 90's and I always spell out the downside of the detroit lockers which is they will clunk and bang a bit, this is the dog clutch engaging and disengaging and can sound awful, if you can't live with this then spend a bit more and get an ARB, you get what you pay for, we sell both and are unbiased.

a couple of customers have had the detroits fail prematurly and rather than supply a replacement we have just charged them the difference and supplied an ARB,

we see quite a lot of the dog clutches failing in the 24 spline detroits , usually, but not always due to a halfshaft failing first. We are in the process of trying to get them to address this as this problem has been there since we got them to develop them the detroit lockers and truetracs for landrovers many years ago, even if they fix this it will stop them failing but will still clunk and bang,

we stock and sell them because our customers want them but do we 'recommend' them ? rarly,

I wouldn't have one in my car,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why

they have their place in the market as they are simple, easy to fit and cost effective, ideal for farmers, construction vehicles or 'play day' vehicles and other vehicles that are 'off road' biased.

it's the 'on road' mannors that let them down, the locker introduces backlash into the diff due to the way the dog clutches work, I wouldn't fit one in my 90 as it's an 07 and I don't want additional backlash and the associated clunking on a new vehicle which is mainly used on the road. It's just used as an auto demonstrator.

Some people like them for racing as you can use their sharp locking action to your advantage and use the power to kick the back of the car out. This technique is not suited to the faster rally raid stuff where the quaife or Truetrac is better as it's action is much softer,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. By using our website you agree to our Cookie Policy