Spec'ing Timberline 4x4 Setup

[wander]

Hey, Steve, thanks for the information and pictures. It looks good. It's also nice to hear additional positive feedback on Timberline.

[Steve Hunt]

Originally Posted by wander

Hey, Steve, thanks for the information and pictures. It looks good. It's also nice to hear additional positive feedback on Timberline.

Tim is a 100% solid guy to deal with.

[b. rock]

I've seen a few van people do LSD rear and locker front but not sure I get why - I would flip that. Locker rear, LSD front. I have that now on my WJ, had it that way on my FJC, and plan on doing it that way with my van. Rear locker is vastly more useful than a front locker in general conditions. Only time I've needed a front locker is somewhat serious rock crawling where the other option was more throttle and broken parts/body damage.

[boz11]

My van is a little different but maybe the experience is valid. On snow and ice how smooth the engagement of of the traction device can be more important than maximum lock up of the axles. Limited slip has some ‘give’ and latency that can be an advantage on spots of ice and packed snow.

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by b. rock

I've seen a few van people do LSD rear and locker front but not sure I get why - I would flip that. Locker rear, LSD front....

That's certainly the way I'd go if I didn't want/afford selectable lockers front and rear. A locked front end will generally increase your turning radius.

Herb

[wander]

Thanks for the input regarding rear locker. My rationale is that the rear LSD would provide good traction on slick streets/highways without the push of a locker. The front locker would provide strong pulling power when the rears get stuck on a trail. (Disclaimer: I'm new at this.) I could go locker front/rear, but that just seems overkill.

[b. rock]

Or why not lsd/lsd in that case? Depending on the type of LSD you can figure out how many wheels would have to lose traction in order to be fully stuck. You said you're mostly looking at forest service roads and presumably bad/slick conditions, any locker might be overkill. Heck with the locked center diff when you're in 4x4, you may only need a rear limited slip. I would think Tim at Timberline would weigh in too if they're doing the work.

[wander]

Originally Posted by b. rock

Or why not lsd/lsd in that case? Depending on the type of LSD you can figure out how many wheels would have to lose traction in order to be fully stuck. You said you're mostly looking at forest service roads and presumably bad/slick conditions, any locker might be overkill. Heck with the locked center diff when you're in 4x4, you may only need a rear limited slip. I would think Tim at Timberline would weigh in too if they're doing the work.

I had a great conversation with Tim this morning. I asked about LSD/LSD and he said he's a little nervous about LSD up from because you can't know exactly when it would lock up on you and if it did in certain conditions, it could be dangerous.

He also said, driving in conditions I described (Enchanted Rockies Trail, Mojave Road, Forest Roads, etc), ARB lockers might be overkill and I would likely never need it. So, we settled on LSD (Eaton Detroit TruTrac) on the rear and Eaton electric locker up front.

[b. rock]

Cool, glad you got a setup that should work for you.

A front lsd won't really lock up and is only going to be functional when the front axle is engaged, but that's besides the point.

[wander]

Originally Posted by b. rock

Cool, glad you got a setup that should work for you.

A front lsd won't really lock up and is only going to be functional when the front axle is engaged, but that's besides the point.

Good to know. Thanks!