Nittus wrote:
Also how did the welded front affect your friends steering?
Yes, it does affect steering, as any locker does when its locked, with hubs locked.
When off-road, you lock hubs only when you expect to need the locker. Ie, as you approach a difficult obstacle, you lock hubs, and unlock hubs after passing the obstacle
Effectively, you drive 99% of the time in 2wd, and use 4wd only when really necessary . It's surprising how far you can in 2wd if you drive strategically.
I'm not familiar with "super select". I'm guessing you push a button which engages 4wd in the transfer and locks hubs? If so, a welded diff would be super easy. No getting out to lock/unlock hubs. But you then have 2wd, or 4wd with front end permanently locked.
Your super select would help overcome steering challenges too. Deselect 4wd if you need to turn tightly.
I find having the steering affected with the front locked is only a problem on a high grip surface or on flat ground, or in if trying to steer out of a rut, up a rock step etc.
Most of the time a wheel will slip in rough conditions when you need to steer (lockers are usually only used when traction is compromised). Steering is affected worst when there's a lot of load on the driveline. Unload the driveline, you unload the steering. I've often stepped on and off the clutch to gently rock the car back and forth to allow me to steer tightly to crawl an obstacle. Effectively all this does is unload the driveline momentarily to allow you to steer tightly.
And have you had experience or personally know anyone who has had a "catastrophic" failure with a chinese locker?
