Air Locker. To engage or not to engage???

[dirtyGQ]

what type of tyres and is it a diesl or petrol as drove my cousins petrol 100 series and found my to run rings around it on the beach (mine is a gq 4.2 non turbo) and went to fraser at xmas a lot of people bogged but we were towing a heavy trailer and had 4 passenger's and didn't look like getting bogged at all .

[Rainbow Warrior]

Center and rear only wouuld be my choice.

I won't engage the front to retain steering control as we know locked fronts always want to go straight on and at 60 kph up you don't want to lose any steering control specially on sand.

Actually I found steering was better on sand with front locker engaged & open rear diff.

[bruiser]

My lockers have been setup so that you can only engage the front when the rear is locked
Sure it would not be to hard to chnge this though.

[bruiser]

Dirty GQ
I'm not about to get into a nissan drives better on sand than a toyota or a deisel drives beter than a petrol.

Almost any vehicle will be working fairly hard in extremely soft powdery sand.
Unless you have some seriouse engine mods.

The question relates to any type of vehicle and any setup.

[Ruffy]

Sheeeeeeeeeeez, i can see a weekend at Portland is the only way to resolve this. And after many many hours spent on the sand i can tell you i'll be leaving the lockers at home. Sand is a whole new game!.
When your stuck with you rear locker in give me a yell on 23 UHF and i'll come snatch you out!

[bruiser]

Ruffy.
I tend not to use lockers at all on the beach.
What i was saying is that the vehicle has been set up so that you can not engage the front without first engaging the rear
I was not saying I drive around all the time with the rear locked.
And I did not start this post because I have trouble driving in sand or get bogged. I was just interested to here if other people find they help or not in the original scenario
I have never been bogged in sand.
So you can keep your strap to yourself

[dirtyGQ]

Ruffy.
I tend not to use lockers at all on the beach.
What i was saying is that the vehicle has been set up so that you can not engage the front without first engaging the rear
I was not saying I drive around all the time with the rear locked.
And I did not start this post because I have trouble driving in sand or get bogged. I was just interested to here if other people find they help or not in the original scenario
I have never been bogged in sand.
So you can keep your strap to yourself

i can see where your coming from and think with the front locker in may save a bit of wear and tear but not sure .i find it gets a bit hard to steer though with it on at speed ..

[crankycruiser]

Lock em all up...

if they are air lockers u can turn em off when ya need to steer....

[vSAHARAx]

I'de leave the centre locked up, but travelling at 60km/h +, i cant see how havin any of the lockers in would make any difference. Momentum is a 4wd's best friend in sand and if your travelling 60km/h its gonna take a bit to bring you to a complete stop and bogged. If it starts to slow the car down surely u will have enough time to come down a gear or 2 rev her up find another rut. If i was driving up the beach at Fraser at high with my tyres around the 18psi mark i wouldnt feel safe driving any faster then 60km/h in the soft stuff, as you know its very hard to find a set of wheel ruts that are relatively straight, ide hate for it to bite and fall over.

1 qn for ya Bruiser what motor has yours got in it. cant get mums 80 Series 4.2 TDi (1HDT) outta 3rd at high tide on Fraser, at 3000rpm temp guage around 3/4, rev it 3000rpm + she starts gettin hot. So we tend to be nice and toodle up the beach, we get there eventually.

Troy

[Rainbow Warrior]

Sheeeeeeeeeeez, i can see a weekend at Portland is the only way to resolve this. And after many many hours spent on the sand i can tell you i'll be leaving the lockers at home. Sand is a whole new game!.

You're going to swap diffs to prove a point, you are keen

[rOd]

What do the Dakar Rally cars have on them?

How do they manage to drive on the soft Sahara sand?

Its similar to the conditions you guys speak of.

Rod

[dirtyGQ]

got stuck in wathhumba creek lsat time i was at fraser (xmas) little bit of weed on top of sanf ended up being 3 foot deep !
no traction device would help in that situation just sunk dow to near a foot over my wheel arches . No one would have thought we could get it out as all the spectat suggested we were there till next low tide .. yuck ...
I really cant see how people get bogged on the beach without the weed factor .

[Ruffy]

Pisser.. yes i'm going to swap diffs to prove a point!!
couldn't help but laugh at the point argued back there about having one wheel in the soft stuff and one wheel in the wet sand. Cos you'd do that as often as you could wouldn't you!
As for the Dakkar, definetly not a locked diff in sight. Buggies that race the finke or hattah or sealake, not locked. Safari cars, not locked. Experienced 4 wheelers on sand, not locked. Bogged 4 wheelers on sand, high tyre pressures and locked diffs hehehehehe!!
Keep 'em rollin'

[Wooders]

Okkkayy - I guess these guys are just newbies with NFI and were just lucky t win last year

[-Scott-]

Okkkayy - I guess these guys are just newbies with NFI and were just lucky t win last year

Win the last SIX years, with bucketloads of torque. I read something about regulations set a maximum power limit, so the engines are tuned for torque - usually quoted as "undisclosed."

Back to the question. I find my front locker reduces the tramlining in existing ruts, so I can drive straighter.

If the going is that hard, and steering is an issue, SLOW DOWN. Drop it back a gear, travel at 40km/h with similar revs and less throttle. Better still, stop for a cleansing ale while you're waiting for the tide to go out.

Scott

PS Isn't it "illegal" to drive above the high water mark on Queensland beaches?

[Ruffy]

I believe the original question was about engaging diff locks manually ie air lockers/ centre diff locks... I don't think self locking diff lock are able to be engaged manually!

[Ruffy]

I think some of us are forgetting the senario here. Travelling at 60-70 kmh on soft sand with little or no wheel spin a lock front or rear diff is only going to hamper your efforts to make a directional correction if required.

[-Scott-]

As for the Dakkar, definetly not a locked diff in sight.

I believe the original question was about engaging diff locks manually ie air lockers/ centre diff locks... I don't think self locking diff lock are able to be engaged manually!

You're the one trying to change the subject. This thread is about locked diffs and sand. Your attitude in this thread has been that locked diffs are not required on sand, and your "Dakkar" comment was made to support your position. You were wrong. The OWNERS of the Dakar rally use locking differentials.

But the Dakar winners were using automatic locking diffs - perhaps they never locked?

Scott

[Ruffy]

Your right, i said locked diffs are not req'd on sand and i'll stick to it.
As for the Dakkar vehicles i'll concede defeat partially, but self locking diffs are a completely different topic. If someone was to ask about running a self locking diff in sand i'd say stay off the gas on turns. Unless you're running a Dakkar with shiteloads of power and bugger all weight.
I'll stick to my guns that i wouldn't use lockers on the sand, Lockers being a difflock that is engaged by the driver.
Simple solution is to put it to the test. i Know i have and no lockers won every time.
There is a definite advantage in lockers if LH and RH wheels are on surfaces of varying traction eg, dry sand wet sand, but why and for howlong would you put yourself in that situation.

[Ruffy]

Grrrrr why are we doing this?
I'm happy to continue my sand driving unlocked cos i know it works better. If you want to lock up then go for it!

[Rainbow Warrior]

Your right, i said locked diffs are not req'd on sand and i'll stick to it.
As for the Dakkar vehicles i'll concede defeat partially, but self locking diffs are a completely different topic. If someone was to ask about running a self locking diff in sand i'd say stay off the gas on turns. Unless you're running a Dakkar with shiteloads of power and bugger all weight.
I'll stick to my guns that i wouldn't use lockers on the sand, Lockers being a difflock that is engaged by the driver.
Simple solution is to put it to the test. i Know i have and no lockers won every time.
There is a definite advantage in lockers if LH and RH wheels are on surfaces of varying traction eg, dry sand wet sand, but why and for howlong would you put yourself in that situation.

Hey I've seen Sierra's, Manx buggy's etc cruising in the soft stuff without even a front diff, let alone a locker, I've even driven my Patrol in the soft stuff in 2WD too at 60kph so that proves 4WD isn't needed either

[Rainbow Warrior]

Grrrrr why are we doing this?
I'm happy to continue my sand driving unlocked cos i know it works better. If you want to lock up then go for it!

Because now you know you need the locker you will sink next time you try it without

[chops]

No lockers.. just drop down a gear and find the loud pedal!

[Rainbow Warrior]

No lockers.. just drop down a gear and find the loud pedal!

Yep as long as you can chew forward 2 inches for every inch you sink you'll be fine

[Wooders]

Grrrrr why are we doing this?
I'm happy to continue my sand driving unlocked cos i know it works better. If you want to lock up then go for it!

Have an opinion & justify why all you want - That's the fun & benefit of forums.
But be careful when shooting down others with "facts" .

[vSAHARAx]

Only Time i will become bogged in sand is when shes draging the diffs and spare tyre through the sand, this is while im travelling through real soft stuff, up a slight incline in first high. All 4 wheels were spinning most of the time. only thing that will stop her going down next time is a set of 33's and put a spare tyre carrier on. Lockers wouldnt have helped me any, but ive never seen or heard of anyone going from 60km'h to bogged in one hit .

Just drive it like u stole it and you should be sweet!