Posi, good or bad?

MrStang123 · May 25, 2005

Ok well Ive heard multiple things from people. Some people say that its good for wet/snowy road conditions and such but some say it isn't. So which would it be? And yeah I know that these cars are rwd and aren't really going to hold like an awd would even with posi. But does the posi help?

wyominghotwheel · May 25, 2005

yes..........i like my posi

emagdnim · May 25, 2005

wyominghotwheel said:
yes..........i like my posi

Definatly i live in Canada and it snows tons up here and i can honestly say without my posi i would have gotten stuck several times... but it can be scary when driving down the highway and if you push the throttle to fast on a icy road the back end swings out easy with posi.

Cheers

Copperstang87 · May 25, 2005

I live in canada and drove my 5.0 for one winter and I couldnt get down my road with 6" of snow on the ground, both tires would just sit there and bog down, I think limited slip like some f bodys have r better for winter but thats just my 2 cents.

emagdnim · May 25, 2005

Copperstang87 said:
I live in canada and drove my 5.0 for one winter and I couldnt get down my road with 6" of snow on the ground, both tires would just sit there and bog down, I think limited slip like some f bodys have r better for winter but thats just my 2 cents.

Doesnt simple logic explain that two spinning wheels will give you better traction then one in snow? Theres probably some sick and twisted reason why it doesnt lol but from experience i give it the vote of yes!

Copperstang87 · May 25, 2005

emagdnim said:
Doesnt simple logic explain that two spinning wheels will give you better traction then one in snow? Theres probably some sick and twisted reason why it doesnt lol but from experience i give it the vote of yes!

Thats wut I figured, powerful car and good tires, should b good in winter, was not the case for me, i think limited slip would b better with one tire spinning while the other one is trying to grip in snow. On dry pavement thats another story I luv my posi

HISSIN50 · May 26, 2005

why would someone NOT want a limited slip diff in incliment weather?

emagdnim · May 26, 2005

HISSIN50 said:
why would someone NOT want a limited slip diff in incliment weather?

I think Copperstang fails to realize limited slip and posi are the same thing...

maverick0716 · May 26, 2005

Actually limited slip is also called a "posi" or Ford's version "trak-lok". They're all the same.

I also live in Canada and with 4 Bridgestone Blizzak tires on I can go pretty much anywhere. The "trak-lok" definitly helps! The only time it gets scary is when you have to accelerate while turning....then the car will want to so sideways....why? Because the rear end can't "slip" because there's not enough grip on the road to hold the one tire. So both rear tires will want to turn at the same speed, unlike when it's dry, then both the rear tires spin at different speeds while turning. Hope that makes sense.

z9_87 · May 26, 2005

I believe posi and track-lok/limited slip are different. Doing a search found this:

Skud said:
I thought limited slip (aka "Traction Lock") uses clutches to distribute power to both wheels. The clutches allow for quiet operation.

Posi-Traction uses gears (teeth) to physically lock the two axels together, hense the name "posi" (positive). If you have a true "posi" rear end, you'll hear clicking from your rear-end when you go around corners. That clicking is the sound of the gears engaging/disengaging..

If i'm not mistaken posi is more for an all out drag car.

HISSIN50 · May 26, 2005

yep - two different ways of achieving a coupling that transfers power and allows slip (clutches vs ratcheting gears or other means).

Add to that peoples' differing definitions and jargon and it gets confusing.

Maryland Stang · May 26, 2005

In most wet road/snowy conditions an open rear (non trac-lok) is better.

Picture this: US 301 in Bowie, MD at rush hour. My wife is driving because we just stopped at the MickyDees and I wanted to enjoy my Quaterpounder. It is raining out. We're on the road that leads across 301 to the Home Depot and the baseball stadium in the right lane stopped at the light wanting to turn left onto Northbound 301. 301 has about a 2 foot crown in the middle and is about 10 lanes wide at this point with a 3 foot grassy median. The light turns green and I tell my wife to take it easy. She crosses the southbound lanes and starts to make the slow arcing downhill (don't forget the crown) turn to get into the far right hand lane. Just as I'm about to tell her to take it really easy she gives it just a hair too much gas. I hear the engine rev and get that sickening feeling that one might get if they fell out of an airplane. Out Of Control. The back end starts coming around because both tires were spinning (trac-lok) and there's absolutely nothing to keep it from turning. The car is now sliding backwards down 301 heading for the guardrail on the far right. I say under my breath "this is gonna hurt". The car slides right up to the guardrail and stops about 2 feet from it. I drove from there as my wife was calling it the Devil Car. If the car had had an open rear this would never have happened.

VG30DE · May 26, 2005

Thats why so many awesome cars are one leggers... cause most people dont know how to drive em. If you can handle going sideways and know how to deal with it, in the rain AND snow, 2 tires spinning will always always always give you more going power, its impossible for it not to. But yes, if its a one leg you go straight where pozi would go sideways. In my daily driver, I have AWD with pozi in the back... cant beat that for the rain or the snow, and my mustang when its dry is like your mustang in the snow, so I know what its like, and theres no freakin way in hell I'd ever have a one legger in ANY of my vehicles simply because of the loss of traction in all conditions.

Scorcher2005 · May 26, 2005

z9_87 said:
I believe posi and track-lok/limited slip are different. Doing a search found this:

If i'm not mistaken posi is more for an all out drag car.

no, they are the same. they both use clutches. what you are referring to is called a locker. Take a look:
http://fordmuscle.com/archives/2004/03/powertrax/index.php

maverick0716 · May 26, 2005

Maryland Stang said:
In most wet road/snowy conditions an open rear (non trac-lok) is better.

Picture this: US 301 in Bowie, MD at rush hour. My wife is driving because we just stopped at the MickyDees and I wanted to enjoy my Quaterpounder. It is raining out. We're on the road that leads across 301 to the Home Depot and the baseball stadium in the right lane stopped at the light wanting to turn left onto Northbound 301. 301 has about a 2 foot crown in the middle and is about 10 lanes wide at this point with a 3 foot grassy median. The light turns green and I tell my wife to take it easy. She crosses the southbound lanes and starts to make the slow arcing downhill (don't forget the crown) turn to get into the far right hand lane. Just as I'm about to tell her to take it really easy she gives it just a hair too much gas. I hear the engine rev and get that sickening feeling that one might get if they fell out of an airplane. Out Of Control. The back end starts coming around because both tires were spinning (trac-lok) and there's absolutely nothing to keep it from turning. The car is now sliding backwards down 301 heading for the guardrail on the far right. I say under my breath "this is gonna hurt". The car slides right up to the guardrail and stops about 2 feet from it. I drove from there as my wife was calling it the Devil Car. If the car had had an open rear this would never have happened.

Like I said, it's worse while turning only. All other times, the Trak-lok is way better in snow.

89MustangGX · May 26, 2005

Scorcher2005 said:
no, they are the same. they both use clutches. what you are referring to is called a locker. Take a look:
http://fordmuscle.com/archives/2004/03/powertrax/index.php

This is correct.

Posi-Traction, Traction-Lok, and Sure-Grip are all limited slip clutch-type diffs.

Then you move into aftermarket pieces and can go from similar clutch style, to locker, to spool (fully locked) style -- with some others inbetween.

Mustang5L5 · May 26, 2005

It's really both.

Trak-loc can be used to help you gain traction since both tires are connected mechanically. This way when 1 loses traction, you still have the other one pushing.

This can also get you in trouble because if you get 1 spinning fast enough, it will spin up the opposite side as well...which will cause you to fishtail

Mean86GT · May 26, 2005

posi = gm
traclok = ford

sorry it a pet peeve of mine to pollute a mustang with a gm name.

z9_87 · May 27, 2005

Posi is a GM thing but as was said above it's not done with clutches as traclok is. GM also has a traclok like thing that is not called posi.

tjm73 · May 27, 2005

I've driven Mustangs with both open diff and trac-lok in all weather conditions. 95% of the time I would rather have the trac-lok. 4% of the time I don't care either way and 1% of the time I wish I had open diff.

Posi, good or bad?

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