Gen 3 Torsen vs eaton e-diff

[thatJeepguy]

Coming from a more low speed world and not running Sand at high speed ever. I will say engaging the front lockers is super rare and is typically reserved for high angle situations where you have one or more wheels off the terrain. In this case the front lock is a must if you want to navigate the situation and low speeds with finesse. A locked front also binds your front steering unless there is considerable slip (enter the torsen) . Due to the IfS and massive weight and size of a raptor, I cant see but more than .5% of situations where the average ( let alone Bucks’ crawling) Raptor owners would need a locked front end. Hey if you wheel hard every weekend and use it hey its worth the 3 K .
Just make sure the hardware is not going to interfere with the unit working properly! IE , you install the locker and the truck keeps applying the brakes because of wheel sensor input etc…

 

[BoostCreep]

Coming from a more low speed world and not running Sand at high speed ever. I will say engaging the front lockers is super rare and is typically reserved for high angle situations where you have one or more wheels off the terrain. In this case the front lock is a must if you want to navigate the situation and low speeds with finesse. A locked front also binds your front steering unless there is considerable slip (enter the torsen) . Due to the IfS and massive weight and size of a raptor, I cant see but more than .5% of situations where the average ( let alone Bucks’ crawling) Raptor owners would need a locked front end. Hey if you wheel hard every weekend and use it hey its worth the 3 K .
Just make sure the hardware is not going to interfere with the unit working properly! IE , you install the locker and the truck keeps applying the brakes because of wheel sensor input etc…

Exactly. I’ve owned several vehicles with front lockers. Used them very sparingly but were crucial when needed. But it’s pretty impossible to even get a Raptor into a situation where you’d need a front locker just due to its size, weight, and front ifs.

 

[shigman]

the data point I look at, ford just ran the Baja 1000 in a stock 24 raptor R… seemed to do just fine.(minus cage, wheels, etc for safety)

I look at it this way:

torsen diff goal is to transfer torque to the outside drive wheel during a turn as the inside wheel binds/slips at speed on loose surfaces giving better turn performance. For arguments sake let’s say it can do that with 0% torque loss.

The brake lock goal does the same thing except it costs some % of torque (and brake life) to instead of mechanically sending torque outside it uses the brake to slow the inside wheel. Same result achieved in terms of overdriving the outside wheel. The base raptor has 510lbft available so what circumstances would the driver run into where the brake lock (if well programmed) actually slowed the vehicle down or unsettled the vehicle contrary to driver expectation? Yes the driver will have to add more gas, as the brake lock diff needs more power at the same speed to overcome the braking action. The only scenario I see is taking turns at full throttle where there is no more torque to give. How often are folks out there going full throttle into and through a turn, and on top of that a turn sharp enough where the difference in wheel speed between the left and right would be enough to trigger the torsen?? To me and i would guess nearly all owners it is a ~0% occurrence. I suspect anyone with the talent to attempt something like that is going to heavily modify their truck because the front diff wouldn’t be the first component to come up short vs their talent.

I mean don’t most people do raptor run type stuff in 2wd anyway lol. It’s more fun in 2Hi.

 

[thatJeepguy]

Exactly. I’ve owned several vehicles with front lockers. Used them very sparingly but were crucial when needed. But it’s pretty impossible to even get a Raptor into a situation where you’d need a front locker just due to its size, weight, and front ifs.

Lest we forget the somewhat frail nature of driveline components on IFS…