kiwiaudio

My 2000 Tundra has the standard rear diff and its driving me crazy. I cannot stop the rear unloaded tire from spinning in a corner when driving in the rain. Right slow turn is prevalent causing right rear tire to spin under even light acceleration.
Will a limited slip rear end take care of this ?
Has anyone traded them out?
I'm wondering if the diff heads only are interchangeable ?

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

http://www.howstuffworks.com/differential4.htm

:wabbit2:

badattitude

I have a truetrac and think it's great. It will prevent the inside tire from spinning by appling power to both wheels. Do you have good tires?

SCToy

Yes it will help, a lighter foot would help too. LSD would be better than a locker.

Keep in mind that if you punch the gas with the LSD that you will get oversteer, instead of just a little wheel spin. If you're not ready for that, then it might not be such a good idea.

tj884Rdlx

i also would recommend a LSD to compensate for your heavy foot/light rear end combination! hahah j/k!

personally, i'm saving for a True-trac. it's just another brand of LSD.

you could also try a quick fix of checking your tire pressures. make sure they're not over inflated, which would contribute to breaking loose quicker. air tires to the TRUCK's spec on the sticker, not the tire's max psi.

kiwiaudio

Thanks for your replies guys. The oversteering slide out phenomenon with a heavy foot with a positrac was also mentioned by a buddy at work. I don't actually have a heavy foot, but its surprising how easy this thing will spin.

"Are my tires good? " No, and the problem has been exarcebated by them. I intended to buy Michelins again, but bought Goodyear Forteras upon the tire dealers recommendation, and i'm working with them to get them replaced. Goodyear is the worst to work with they told me, but they only said this after my complaint ! They Cost a fortune and they suck in the rain! Wear out super quick too - I'm going to run about 20 K short on the mileage warranty. But this is another story !

Is Truetrac what Toyota calls a positrac or LSD ?

SCToy

I do know what you mean with the inside tire spinning even with a little 22re on an uphill corner in the rain.

I'm gunna go ahead and just say that buying a better tire for rain is going to be a lot cheaper solution to your problem. Especially if you only have issues with driving on pavement in the rain.

xxxtreme22r

Better tires or don't cut your corners so tight. There is no reason why you should be turning tires even with a 3.4 or 1uz in there.

My BMW (does not have the LSD option) don't even have that problem even in snow unless you really give it gas and has got to be a heck of a lot lighter in the rear then that Tundra.

badattitude

Is Truetrac what Toyota calls a positrac or LSD ?

No, it's a aftermarket product made by Detroit/Eaton. The truetrac is different in that it uses gears instead of clutchplates. It is a better design in my opinion.

tj884Rdlx

x2

if Toyota sold a LSD, it would most likely be a TRD branded product. i don't know if they offer one, but almost all 8" toyota diffs are the same, so that's what you'd look for if you wanted a toyota-specific brand.

kiwiaudio

So what is the True-trac going to run you ? Seems like the best choice !

tj884Rdlx

4wheelparts.com shows the truetrac for toyota 8" is ~$500.

VERY COOL: IT ALSO SHOWS EATON IS HAVING A BIG REBATE OFFER THRU THE END OF THE YEAR: $70 OFF THE TRUETRAC, and discounts for all their products, including locker and e-locker, as well as positrac.

http://www.4wheelparts.com/promo/pdf/eaton.pdf

i'd actually jump on this if i wasn't fearing my trans is about to grenade. 3rd and 5th are getting really loud and i need to save $ for the pending rebuild.

xxxtreme22r

The only way an LSD "locks" is if torque is applied this is because an LSD is torque biased. In order to get more torque more gas must be applied. This is exactly what you do not want to do when on slippery surface especially when not in 4wd. (dry slippery rock as an exception) And if your in 4wd unless your driving an AWD vehicle on pavement in the rain, you deserve whatever you have coming to you.

A simple Yes or no to his question is not the correct answer. As there is major side effects to having any type of locker. Especially when on the street. Rear end kick out off-road is not an issue since most of the time when you need a locker it's because your tires are either unloaded (which the O.P. improperly describes his inside tire in the original post) or is completely off the ground. Also rear end kickout is magnified if your tires are junk as since the locker transfers more torque to the outside wheel it actually increases the chance that that tire is gonna spin and if it does both will spin leading to rear end kick out.

The O.P.'s issue is not because an unloaded tire is spinning. The entire normal weight of the vehicle is on that tire. And unless he gives it too much gas there is absolutely no reason why that tire should spin. Having low tread tires doesn't help.

4x4climber

To the OP It is up to you obviously. But if you were a good friend of mine asking me. This is how I would explain it.

Will a limited slip or positrac fix this ? Will a limited slip rear end take care of this ?
rear unloaded tire spinning in a corner when driving in the rain

Simply, No, It will not fix the problem. It has it's trade-offs. I couldn't have said it any better XXXtreme.

Think about it this way as potential to something bad happening...

0 tires spinning = good
1 tire spinning = bad, but ya still got one more...
2 tires spinning = someone pulling you outta the ditch or someone else quarter panel.

I would prefer to slow it down. Turn wider and smoother. And don't try accelerating thru turns, especially the apex. If the tires are spinning the foot MUST be in the pedal to some degree. I would prefer to risk spinning ONE tire on the road rather then 2. I vote save your money. =D

kiwiaudio

Actually my issue is exactly that the unloaded inside tire is spinning ! Tight right turn with even a little gas starts the inside right rear tire spinning.
Hell, it will spin extremely easily when the truck is pointed straight ahead !!
I've gotten into the habit of engaging 4WD when in the rain even when pointed straight.
My wife refuses to drive this thing when its raining !
I'm starting to wonder if the chassis is twisted or there is something else creating wedge and unloading this corner !

BMcEL

I wasn't gonna get into this one but this is getting ridiculous. Powerful truck + bald tires + wet conditions = KEEP YOUR FOOT OUT OF IT. Simple as that.

xxxtreme22r

Actually you do not have an unloaded tire. Just because the tire is on the inside of a circle doesn't mean it's unloaded. Unloaded means there is no weight on the tire. If there is enough weight transfer through your right turn then you making your turns too fast and the truck is heavily leaning in that direction. And even then it's not that "unloaded" and you'd still be either using too much gas or turning too fast.

Lockers are for unloaded tire spinning or to make tires turn on the street together when going in a straight line. Lockers should not I repeat should not be used to prevent tires from spinning when going around corners on the street. It will only compound your problem. I know alot of SCCA solo racers as well as hill climbers that don't even like running locker LSD or otherwise in their cars. Simply because they do not want to oversteer. NASCAR drivers can get away with it as they are professional drivers and can compensate quickly enough and even then some of them get out of shape on road courses. Granted NASCAR's are spooled. But same principle applies.

And if your going in a straight line and the tire spins easy, well there you go, that's your problem, your using too much gas. Your not driving an 800 hp vehicle on the street and should not have that problem with good tires and a light foot. My BMW has probably just as much weight, and power as your truck does and I do not have the issues you are having one bit in either rain or snow unless I power myself through a corner.

Sill not sure if your truck is a v6 or a v8, but in either case this has nothing to do with the trucks power.

BMcEL

Weight shifts to the outside of the turn...the inside tire may not be unloaded but there will always be less weight on it.

Power is certainly a factor here...are you saying that a 20R can spin a tire just as easily as a Tundra (whichever motor it has)?

xxxtreme22r

bmcel see my edited post about unloaded tire through a corner. I edited it because I knew there was gonna be an argument over weight transfer through a corner. But unless he's leaning enough to droop the inside tire there should not be enough weight lifted on the inside tire to spin it with a light foot. These trucks lean but they don't lean that much.

SoCal

It Is not the Truck. It's the loose nut behind the wheel.