KOOL
I can't wait to get this thing in and head up the mountain. It just snowed around here.

 

With my tires, I didn't notice too much of a snow wheeling improvement, rr locked/ frt open was maybe 5-20% better than open/open. Now that may just be that my tires sucks. Where I really saw a difference was rocky hill climbs, and in mud. That may all change when I get around to getting different tires.

 

Alright, here's the instructional link:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...member-161405/

 

Matt, i agree, i think it would be because of your tires.

I went a lot of places in the snow in 2wd without a problem. The rear locker has made such a difference offroad in general. Id offer to let you borrow my tires for a comparison, but i think the distance is a little much!

 

I was thinking about this and I have to clear the tires partially of blame.

In road snow I can understand why the traction increase isn't as dramatic. On level flat ground the two rear tires have a similar amount of traction. An open diff distributes the torque evenly between the tires in this situation. To break traction, both tires are nearing the limits of adhesion (grip). With an open diff, one of the tires is going to break traction if torque increases. Your already using up almost all your two tire's grip while open. With a locker, you maybe get an extra couple foot pounds of torque from the tire that didn't slip, but because it was already nearly using up all its grip, the locker doesn't help much.

Obviously, if one tire is on ice and the other on gravel, the locker will help where the open diff is stuck, but where the tires have a similar amount of traction, it doesn't do much good.

 

It is installed. Mike at Mikes Specialty Repair installed my Aussie today MSR on Yotatech. Mike was nice enough to let me watch the install. I have to say.. it was fascinating to say the least. Mike was extremely meticulous and tenacious about the install.
It was raining way to hard for me to put it back in the truck when I got home so I will do it in the morning.
Thanks Mike for everything!!
I posted the two most beautiful things in the world hahaha
Christy Turlington

and tucked away within that pile of metal is the elusive (NEW) 4.88 gearing with an AUSSIE LOCKER!!

 

My heart already belongs to Eva Green and Catherine Zeta-Jones ...in a bath together. With a Lightning jet fighter. And lots of jelly.

 

We've had more snow and I'm starting to think it was just incredibly slick the first couple days, as I'm thinking the locker is quite a bit better than the 5-20% increase I suggested earlier. For kicks I've been driving through the 1-2' of snow at the edge of the road, and its almost like it isn't there, the truck just keeps eating it up. With chains and a locker in the rear, i was able to go through an offroad course in the snow that the truck wouldn't have gone through after a little rain when stock.

i stand by the observation that the locker doesn't really help where both wheels have almost the same level of traction (I explained why a couple posts ago.).

 

1st thing this morning I took my truck out for a test drive with the new Aussie and the new 4.88's. I live down a muddy semi steep driveway. I normally have a little trouble backing out of the driveway but not now. The truck instantly grabbed and backing out was like never before. I drove the truck up to the market to get the diff oil moving around. It is pouring rain and hail here and the highway is VERY dangerous. I did notice a slight pull to the left when accelerating. I also noticed the truck to grip better. It felt tighter and more stable (not sure why but it did.)
I have yet to take it up the mountain.
One issue I have is with the speedometer. I have 4.88's with the Aussie in the rear and an open diff up front. My tire size is 32 10x 50 Super Swamper TSL's. It seems as if I was going much slower than the speedo indicated. I don't recall reading this in the many write ups I have read on re gearing. I have read many articles on tire size and speedo change. I haven't changed anything with the tires and the speedo reading seems different after the gear install. Any input on this would be nice.
As of this morning I feel very positive about the Aussie. My driveway has always been kinda tricky.

 

With a set of chains, in deep snow the 4Runner was amazing, I guess its only some types of snow my tires are good in, or that a single set of chains makes an incredible difference. I was able to pull a loaded ford f150 up a snow covered hill (6" of ice and snow) with 7 people sitting in the truck and on the tailgate up the hill with no wheel spin. On its own it simply slid from side to side ,not going anywhere.


Here's a vid:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOv8Kybwwyw[/youtube]

Here are my snow pics:

 

AHHAHHAHAHAHHA
HOLY CRAP that was awesome!
That is deep white junk! I think I will stop complaining about the rain down here.
Great pictures!

 

I have to say, getting used to this new set up is a little tricky! Going around corners is a new adventure. It also ticks when I come to a stop on level ground (like rolling up to a stop sign.)
The grip is amazing to say the least. It is as amazing off road as all the reviews say.
I am VERY VERY happy with it.

 

Best advice I have for getting the locker to behave around corners (to stop it lurching), is to gear up and give it more throttle. IE: if I would normally go around a corner in 2nd gear with the 1/4 throttle, with the locker, I'd go around the corner in 3rd and give it 1/2 throttle so its almost lugging. This smoothes out the engine power output.

What do you mean by it ticks, describe the situation.

 

The ups lady decided to tease me today by delivering something to my neighbors...

 

Thanks for the advice on the corners.

I noticed a ticking sound at a stop sign the other day. I got under the truck yesterday and the chain on the spare tire rack was hanging down. Usually it is tucked back up on the platform. I must have bumped into it when I was re installing the diff. The ticking was coming from the chain hitting some metal under there when I was coming to a stop. lol

 

I figured it must be something like that. During my install, I tied a rope around the prop shaft. I forgot to remove it and went for a drive. Top snapped and was smacking the gas tank every rev of the prop shaft. Made a strumming noise that made me worry that I'd put the gears in wrong.

Nice art by the way. I can't even imagine being able to paint like that.

 

Thanks!

 

I like the Egret with Octopus, its not a view you often see.

 

I have been driving my '87 with a front aussie for a year now. Minot, ND has received 30" of snow this season. Most of the city streets are ice packed and slick. I have been using 4hi (both hubs locked) most every day for a month. It definitely requires attention and a firm grip on the steering wheel (as the locker locks and unlocks with throttle), but it has been great traction and very manageable. It i had the time, i would maybe swap out the locker for the orig. spider gears for more street-friendly steering during these winter months, but it's not worth the time right now.

 

I emailed Aussie about a V6 locker yesterday;

"Our design approach to the V6 is significantly different than the other locker currently available. This design is significantly more complex than a 2 pinion and we also have to design for two different V6 carriers. This has been a time consuming program, but we are confident we will have a model for the V6 carrier in the near future. We apologize that our original time estimates were significantly off, but that is often the nature with this type of new product development and we do all we can to meet our stated release dates, but our primary focus is on reliability and performance."

Is the Lockright really that much worse? Because Im still gonna spend some time saving, maybe by then something will be out but I doubt it.

Matt16 are you in the lowermainland?