does good traction = $$$$?

tx65coupe · Jun 22, 2010

I had a locker in my F150 for a little while and it sucked after about a year. It was noisy as hell and would jerk and slam etc. My friend had the same problem with the locker in his 70 Stang after about a year. After those experiences, I'll never have one again in a street driven vehicle. Both my truck and his Mustang were daily drivers at the time, maybe the lockers just don't last for a lot of miles. I have no idea why they acted like that.

Hack · Jun 22, 2010

Rusty67 said:
I heard these are an interesting alternative:
Detroit Truetrac Differentials

Wow great idea! I would never have thought of that.

Hack · Jun 22, 2010

Rusty67 said:
I think if you are getting to the point where you are running slicks then its possible you are driving less of a street car and more of a track car.

That's why I used the word "EVER" in my post. Because it sucks to go to the track one time, run slicks and burn up your trac-loc. Believe it or not, some people take their street cars to the track occasionally. Some even drive there with slicks in the trunk, swap wheels at the track and then drive home.

dennis112 · Jun 22, 2010

Rusty67 said:
I heard these are an interesting alternative:
Detroit Truetrac Differentials

I had a Truetrac for awhile. It worked well on the street and OK at the track. I found that it wanted to push the rear of the car towards the right, which I found odd but was correctable with a Caltrac adjustment. It held up for 150 passes or so before it gave up the ghost--I was running Drag slicks so I added to its demise.

After teardown I discovered that there are no parts available to service the Truetrac and that it was supposed to be repaired only through a total replacement. Since I preferred drag over street driving I swapped in a full spool which does a better job of sending me straight down the track.

I certainly would consider installing a Truetrac in a street car which saw limited strip duties as mine did take a lot of hard abuse.

Here a few pics of what one looks like inside:

One of the parts that was broke:

silverbluebp · Jun 22, 2010

I run a stock type suspension in my 66. 9" rear, Tru-Trac locker, 4.11 gears, panhard bar, 4 1/2 mid eye leafs and Koni shocks. On the street with the crappy street tires, traction is directly proportional to the force applied by the right foot.
At the track with sticky tires it's awesome! Very predictable and able to apply the power at will and still have it stick.

For road courses, the tru-trac works great.

Vinyl66 · Jun 23, 2010

65coupe408w said:
+1

I have no issues with my locker, every now and then you can feel it locking/unlocking but other than that I am really happy.

I have heard that if you are making decent power you can chew up a trutrac over time...

+2

Absolutely no issues at all with my Detroit locker. I think some people that comment on them have not used them. I can not even tell it is there until it does a 2 wheel burnout every time.

65coupe408w · Jun 23, 2010

dennis112 said:
I had a Truetrac for awhile. It worked well on the street and OK at the track. I found that it wanted to push the rear of the car towards the right, which I found odd but was correctable with a Caltrac adjustment. It held up for 150 passes or so before it gave up the ghost--I was running Drag slicks so I added to its demise.

After teardown I discovered that there are no parts available to service the Truetrac and that it was supposed to be repaired only through a total replacement. Since I preferred drag over street driving I swapped in a full spool which does a better job of sending me straight down the track.

I certainly would consider installing a Truetrac in a street car which saw limited strip duties as mine did take a lot of hard abuse.

Here a few pics of what one looks like inside:

One of the parts that was broke:

That was the point I was trying to get across with my earlier comment about trutracs....in the end they die if you put a good tire on the car

Thanks for the pics

65coupe408w · Jun 23, 2010

Vinyl66 said:
+2

Absolutely no issues at all with my Detroit locker. I think some people that comment on them have not used them. I can not even tell it is there until it does a 2 wheel burnout every time.

Agreed on the 2 wheel burnout!

rebel65 · Jun 23, 2010

so would you recommend a locker for a street car? i'm going to replace the gears in my rear to have 5th gear @ less than 75 mpg ( 2.80 gears ) and wanted to switch to 2 wheel burn outs as i hear they're called . i heard from friends who had lockers on 4x4s that it dragged their tire till it unlocked and then after a while it chewed up ?? idk if that's even correct or not so i was wondering how long you've had your locker as if i take my car to the strip it's only a few times to get a baseline of what my street warrior can do with me behind the wheels.

Vinyl66 · Jun 24, 2010

rebel65 said:
so would you recommend a locker for a street car? i'm going to replace the gears in my rear to have 5th gear @ less than 75 mpg ( 2.80 gears ) and wanted to switch to 2 wheel burn outs as i hear they're called . i heard from friends who had lockers on 4x4s that it dragged their tire till it unlocked and then after a while it chewed up ?? idk if that's even correct or not so i was wondering how long you've had your locker as if i take my car to the strip it's only a few times to get a baseline of what my street warrior can do with me behind the wheels.

I definitely recommend a Detroit locker for a street car. I have had one in the 66 Mustang since 2003. Couldn't be happier with it. It's quiet and drives exactly the same as before.

I also have had one in my daily driven Jeep Wrangler since 2000. Lockers are more noticeable behind manual transmissions. Also, the soft flexible suspension of the Jeep will tend to transfer the low speed U turn "bucking" to the driver much more so than the shorter stiffer suspension of the Mustang. The short wheelbase of the Jeep also makes the locker more "visible" to the driver. I have to drive the Jeep a little differently with the locker. For example pushing in the clutch and coasting on U turns to prevent the inside tire from chirping. That's the major thing and to me it is no big deal.

A full case Detroit is much stronger than a posi or lunchbox style locker. If you plan to use sticky tires you will want the extra strength. And since you will go to the dragstrip you will need sticky tires.
Oh, and you may be planning to only take the Mustang to the strip a time or 2but beware.....it's very addicting!!

tx65coupe · Jun 25, 2010

I don't know why but both the ones we had completely sucked on the street. I can not remember exactly which one we had. I think it was the EZ Locker. All I know is after the experiences we had with lockers, I'll stick with limited slip.

Detroit EZ Locker - Info and Reviews of Lockers, Limited Slips, Differentials

Vinyl66 · Jun 28, 2010

The thread starter does not need a Detroit EZ Locker A lunchbox locker like this is not strong enough to handle the power of a 427. He needs the strength of a "carrier" locker like the Detroit Soft Locker. The full carrier locker is MUCH better on the road than any lunchbox locker too. More pricey but definitely worth the expense to do it right the first time.

tx65coupe · Jun 29, 2010

I don't know why you refer to it as a lunch box locker, but I will definitely agree that its crap. It doesn't hold up under a stock motor.

blown65 · Jun 29, 2010

Vinyl66 said:
The thread starter does not need a Detroit EZ Locker A lunchbox locker like this is not strong enough to handle the power of a 427. He needs the strength of a "carrier" locker like the Detroit Soft Locker. The full carrier locker is MUCH better on the road than any lunchbox locker too. More pricey but definitely worth the expense to do it right the first time.

Maybe that's the difference, cause I abused the crap outta my Detroit locker and never had an issue with it. Had a posi in it before and I noticed it back there more than the locker.

fvike · Jun 30, 2010

A torque-arm could be the way to go suspension wise. It can be run with leafs.
http://www.totalcontrolproducts.com/torquearm.html

The TrueTrac is awsome, it's a torsen type diff, short for TORque-SENsing. Basicly, it operates in the opposite way of an open diff, sending power where there is traction. It never actually locks up, but devides power to the wheel with most traction several times per second. It is the basis of the Audi Quattro system, and very reliable. Here in europe, the Audi crowd regularly build 600-1000hp engines, but they do not ever have to strengthen the driveline of their cars. Of course, dragracing is a different story, and it puts restraints on the differential. I don't think you can break one with outright power, but over time, like Dennis. At least Mopar Muscle Magazine couldn't break it with a Hemi Road Runner and slicks.

does good traction = $$$$?

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