How Necessary is the Torsen From Dif?

[Truckzor]

Do you wish airplanes didn't fly?

Do you wish pornstars didn't have sex?

Do you wish booze had no alcohol?

I wish you would understand what a Raptor is - what its heritage and purpose is - so you wouldn't want to cut its nuts off and still call it a Raptor.

If I lived in AZ or CA, I would be driving a 2WD Raptor. 4WD isn't what makes a Raptor a Raptor. It's what holds a Raptor back from having more front travel.

 

[WhatExit?]

Yep, a 2wd Raptor is just dumb.

That's ******* funny!

If that's a Raptor then this is a sports car...

 

[Rakimb17]

I'd avoid the torsen if I could. Reason being is that the 2010 and 2011 Raptors did not have the CV failures as often as the 2012+ that all had torsen. I also can't recall any non-torsen units failing grenade style. Does it work, yes. But I feel that there are pros and cons with the torsen.

 

[EricM]

Do you wish airplanes didn't fly?

Do you wish pornstars didn't have sex?

Do you wish booze had no alcohol?

I wish you would understand what a Raptor is - what its heritage and purpose is - so you wouldn't want to cut its nuts off and still call it a Raptor.

I wouldn't call any 2005+ F150 front axle drive system its "nuts" by any stretch. The 4WD system is easily one of the weakest parts of the truck. It's the same vacuum actuated hub system Ford has used on every 4x4 F150 since 2005. Sucked in 2005, still sucks now. It's nuts? Shit- more like it's glass jaw.

The large amount of suspension travel is what makes a Raptor so unique from other F150s, not the 4WD system. As noted above, a 2WD Raptor could have even more travel. All that weight going away would make it even more capable in the rough stuff at high speeds as well.

 

[rtmozingo]

I personally think more would be lost by making the truck 2wd than would be gained. As it stands, you can go just about any place you want, provided your truck will fit.

Going 2wd might gain you a *slight* increase in travel, and would reduce weight. But without other substantial mods, you aren't gaining that much travel, and you lose a large amount of off-road capability in other environments.

Do I love going fast off road? Yeah. But I also like trail crawling to get to great isolated camping spots and views. If the Raptor wasn't offered in 4wd I would have had serious reservations buying one.

Back to the topic at hand, torsen came standard on my build (802) and I would have ordered it had it not been included. The Gen 1 issues others have noted don't seem to be coming into play, and from what I've gathered, it is only if you're running bigger tires that those issues creep up anyway.

 

[jabroni619]

There's a lot of things that make a Raptor a Raptor. 4WD isn't the only thing, but it is one of them.

No, the Torsen diff is not necessary for daily (street) driven Raptors. If it was a necessity it wouldn't be an "option"

 

[Philo Beddoe]

The info shared earlier by Frank is great info. But just a heads up- it is a generic reference to how a Torsen works. Our trucks do not have a 3:1 TBR, that is just the arbitrary number used in the example of how it functions. Ford SVT used a 2.5:1 TBR along with no preload. It is a design specific to the Raptor. No preload means that a complete loss of traction, as in when one front wheel is in the air, will transfer no torque. This design was meant to increase durability and help with road manners. It was also meant to work with the electronic traction nannies. With no preload, a complete loss of traction can be overcome by applying some brake, tricking the system into thinking there is some traction and thus transferring torque. With the electronic nannies on, the truck will apply brakes on it's own. Just wanted to hopefully add to the discussion, even though it's late. If anyone is interested I can also explain a little bit about what creates the difference in TBR between different Torsen models.

 

[Ditchplains1]

Rakimb17,
Really? I've not seen any threads about frequent CV joint failures; certainly not excessive frequency in Torsen equipped 2012+ Raptors....A quick Google search turns up a 2010 that tore it's CV boot in deep sand....

Eddie

 

[MTF]

IWE, is what Torsen eats up.

All future statements retracted, I was incorrect.

 

[Frank N]

Torsen engages whenever you are sending power up front and one side of the front slips sending power to the other side. It's a mechanical LSD, regardless of speed.

https://torsen.com/2017-raptor-video-showcases-torsen/
https://torsen.com/how-it-works/
Type 2 -(Type-B) differentials use the more common parallel axis helical configuration but modified for more even load distribution. These gears, called Equvex™, have lower “natural” friction, making them well-suited to FWD and 4WD front axle applications. They also allow compatibility C-clip live axles and have a high degree of design flexibility. Type-2 designs represent the majority of axle applications today.