does anybody else hate the rear e-locker?

[BenBB]

Opps, replied to the linked treads above! Anyway, those links are useful. I found this http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/catalog/owner_guides/13f12rq1e.pdf
And printed it up.
Thx for the help!

That's it, nice!

 

[1BAD454SS]

I have heard that you can wire one of your upfitter switches to the e locker + wire and engage whenever or whatever speed.

 

[bet on black]

I have debated a detroit locker for the rear.

Separately, I have heard that some people have successfully wired the locker directly so that it can engage at any speed.

glad to see i'm not alone.

yes you can wire it to stay on full time, it just needs 12v. the factory setup steps down to 5v after a short time to hold it, but for short bursts, it's likely not necessary to step it down. one guy bench tested an OEM locker setup, and left it powered up with 12v for 30 days striaght, and it did not burn up

i did that in my 4x4 van when i swapped in axles from a 2013 f350, with the e-locker in the rear, but the van is heavy enough, its harder to break the one tire loose.

i don't want to drive on wet pavement with it fully locked all the time like a spool. that's a recipe for a mess, and will definitely break the tires loose on every corner.

You can keep it engaged above 25 mph in off road mode even in 2wd. In my experience, a locked rear on a slippery surface like water or ice can spin you off the road. Also, the traction control makes the open different act like a limited slip. When it feels a wheel lose traction, the brake is applied to transfer power to the other wheel. The e- locker is one of my favorite features of the Rappy. My 2 cents.

like i stated above, i don't want a locked rear (i.e. a spool) for street driving. i want something like a friction based limited slip, a locker like the Detroit setup, or a gear style like the torsen or truetrack. not trying to slip off the road, but also not trying to spin the one tire at every stoplight in the rain, and it rains a lot here. hell, its raining right now...and has been on and off for days.

in my experience, the stock TC doesn't act like limited slip. instead, it pulls so much power that the truck falls on its face, and won't let you drive through the spinning wheels and pedal it for traction. i want something that will automatically engage the second rear wheel when the one loses traction.

 

[bet on black]

I have heard that you can wire one of your upfitter switches to the e locker + wire and engage whenever or whatever speed.

yes you can, but again, i don't want to run around on pavement fully locked, and also i don't want to have to flip a switch to get traction for almost every take off when the road is a bit wet.

 

[mmaterni]

yes you can, but again, i don't want to run around on pavement fully locked, and also i don't want to have to flip a switch to get traction for almost every take off when the road is a bit wet.

There's a bit more to the traction equation than just the differential. For example what tires are you running? I live in Northwest Ohio and rain, snow, and ice are common here. I switched to the Falken AT tires from BFG's and couldn't be happier with their wet performance. My 2 cents.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[bet on black]

There's a bit more to the traction equation than just the differential. For example what tires are you running? I live in Northwest Ohio and rain, snow, and ice are common here. I switched to the Falken AT tires from BFG's and couldn't be happier with their wet performance. My 2 cents.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

yes, tires make a lot of difference, but with the e-locker unlocked, you are only using half of the rubber on the ground in the rear...no matter what rubber it is.

the truck has toyo m/t tires, the same i run on my van and on my lifted f250 before this. not the best for traction on wet pavement, but they aren't terrible if you have at least 2 of them pushing, and i like to keep the truck capable for handling mud on construction job sites and heavy snow, as we drive to our colorado house to snowboard, a lot. especially if there is a storm passing through. usually we take the 4x4 van i built, but if it is just me and the wife, we take my truck.

i'm rebuilding the front differential right now, and adding the torsen locker for the front also, because i want both front tires to get power as well in 4x4, even for highway use on snowy roads. (didn't that become standard in '12?)

 

[BenBB]

Yes Torsen front from '12 on. Like @mmaterni said there's more to it than the diff. The truck itself is a compromise and while quite capable of going pretty much anywhere and hauling anything, it's not going to be perfect at everything. That said, it's a big-ass truck and 6k lbs. with 35" tires and 4.11 gears won't dart across the street like a Tesla. Especially with most of that weight up front and most of the torque in higher RPM. Good luck I hope you get it closer to what you're after.

 

[mmaterni]

yes, tires make a lot of difference, but with the e-locker unlocked, you are only using half of the rubber on the ground in the rear...no matter what rubber it is.

the truck has toyo m/t tires, the same i run on my van and on my lifted f250 before this. not the best for traction on wet pavement, but they aren't terrible if you have at least 2 of them pushing, and i like to keep the truck capable for handling mud on construction job sites and heavy snow, as we drive to our colorado house to snowboard, a lot. especially if there is a storm passing through. usually we take the 4x4 van i built, but if it is just me and the wife, we take my truck.

i'm rebuilding the front differential right now, and adding the torsen locker for the front also, because i want both front tires to get power as well in 4x4, even for highway use on snowy roads. (didn't that become standard in '12?)

How much weight to you have in the bed? The mud terrain tires are definitely a compromise on wet traction. Have you considered changing over to an aggressive all terrain that can handle the mud and snow you most usually encounter as well as have generous sipping for the wet stuff. I agree that you only have one tire on the ground with an open diff but one tire that actually hooks will be miles above a spinning one. Also the addition of weight in the bed could improve traction as well.

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[bet on black]

i carry zero weight in the bed...it is not necessary with proper differential setup in my experience. might be necessary for a rwd truck in a snowy environment (a buddy of mine in college did that to get by in Boston in a rwd ford ranger), especially one with an open diff, but not a 4x4.

i'm well aware of the dynamics of hipo motor in a pickup. to raise funds for my raptor purchase, i sold a 1993 gen 1 ford lightning (mostly stock), and a 2003 gen 2 lightning with an 82mm large frame turbo that made around 700 hp on the street, that i owned for 15 years (bought new) and built it all myself, from the motor to fabricating the turbo kit. (pic attached)

sometimes, with a lot of torque, it just ain't going to stick, so you need to be able to just let it eat the tires some, and pedal and steer it through that. maybe i just drive like a crazy person, but that's another issue altogether...

i was planning to put a whipple on this thing, but that will just exacerbate the street traction issue, and it seems silly to increase power until it can put it to the ground. i guess if i drove like a granny on the street and only hauled ass off road, the rear e-locker would be cool. i wish there was an option for a limited slip that would then lock like a spool for off road excursions. that would be the best of both worlds...

 

[BenBB]

Daaaamn. Nice Lightnings. I wonder if the couple traction bars available (I think RPG and maybe Icon?) for Raptors would help, and/or ARB air locker. The rear springs aren't the best either, as I'm sure you know you try one thing and find the next weakest link...