Outer Limits 4x4 Board

hey guys

just thinking bout welding the diff cus i dont have the money for a locker

how did it drive on the road?

cheers boyd

In a short wheel base sierra, an absolute dog to drive on road.
Pigrooting around corners any any low speed. A pain in the ass in carparks and petrol stations. Definately not recommended.

In a long wheel base maruti, (my daily driver) marginally better on road.
If the tyre pressure is high enough (over 32psi with my 31's) It is tame enough to put up with.

Both cars can be dangerous in the wet or on slippery roads, especially if you're not paying attention.

For what it's worth, I NEVER recommend that someone weld their rear. Despite owning several cars with welded diffs, a proper lockrite or similar is always a better option for a car that will see frequent road use.
Save your pennies or stick to open centres. They're your only realistic options.

did you do a search?

This has been covered lots and lots.

The narrower/more agressive the tyre and the longer the wheelbase, the less you notice.

Basically the car understeers into corners and oversteers out.

Steve.

My opinion:

Daily driver = NO

Weekend toy = If you don't have the option of air lockers, or cant afford lock rites etc, then maybe.

I have a welded rear in my LWB and had it in my old SWB too, I havn't had any issues, the car does drive very differently though and you really do have to learn how to drive the car all over again (on and off road)

My advice is see if you can find someone with a welded rear with a similar vehicle setup to your own and ask them to take you for a drive, then make up your own mind.

oh ok

nah its not my daily

thanks for the help

cheers

Hi all,

I have a mini-spool (same result as welded - just a bit stronger) in the rear of my 91SWB Sierra. I run 31's on 15x8's. YES it sometimes 'pigroots' around corners at low speeds (when on bitumen/concrete), BUT I find it overall very acceptable on the road. Anything over around 35Kmh and you almost wouldn't know that its there at all. Mine is not a daily driver, however I do a fair amount of clicks on the road - and I wouldn't have mine any other way (apart from having an air-locker of course)! It is nowhere near being a "dog".

In the bush it is simply awesome, all the time.

Also, I am glad that I have a mini-spool in the rear over a lockright (which I have (and like) in my front diff). The slightly unpredictable nature of a lockright in a rear diff can be interesting in comparison to a spooled or welded diff, where you always know what to expect.

As Jaffa said though, it would be a good idea to go for a drive in a Sierra with a locked rear so you can see for yourself.

Just my 2c!

Cheers,

Pez

thanks heaps mate

think i will weld it. i will also be running 15x8's an 31's

i wont be doing heaps of road k's just wont it to drive half deecnt when i do

cheers boyd

I will add that I do have the money for airlockers and I do run an airlocked, CrMo axled front end, but the rear is and will continue to be welded. (actually, mini spooled via a trail tough mini spool)

My car is LWB and not daily driven, but I can see no advantage in the $$ for an airlocker in my application.

If I was a DD shorty and I only had the money for one end, yes, it would be airlocked rear and open front.

I acutally prefer the car on road with the spool, even on a wet road. I find it easier to get around corners. Takes less lock and comes out of the corner more easily.

You do have to be more attentive though - it will drift.

Steve.

Gwagensteve wrote: I acutally prefer the car on road with the spool, even on a wet road. I find it easier to get around corners. Takes less lock and comes out of the corner more easily.

You do have to be more attentive though - it will drift.

Steve.

X2!


Pez

i have had 2 swb with welded diffs now,both on 31s at's and mt's at different times.with the all terrains it was loud,hoppy and not road friendly.now with my muddies and on higher pressure its pretty good(well was before i broke it ).should i finally go spool??

Mine isnt really a DD but if it had to i dont think its that big of a problem,there are things about my car i hate more than the rear end and besides without the locker i wouldnt be able to drift a full loop of all the roundabouts

weld it, by the sounds of it, i drive my suzy daily more then you on 12.5 33's...

*it is illegal*

*handling is changed, new drift driving style is needed in wet*

Chews tyres. meh. my tyres dont chirp unless on concrete. but not much hopping, which is a good thing. All depends on make type of tyre. My stockers chirped..

DONT DO IT!!!

wait till you can afford an auto-unlocker or even better and air locker.

i had a welded diff, and while yeah, i got used to it - it wasnt ideal by any means, and i only welded it cos i broke it and didnt want to buy a new standard centre - instead i saved up for my current airlocker.

if it was an offroad only rig then id say go for it, but the loss of onroad functionality really will get to you, and if it doesnt, when you eventually get a real locker you'll wonder why you didnt do it sooner.

As Steve said, skinny very aggressive tyres hardly feel a spool/welded centre.
My lwb rear is (mini)spooled and while it understeers into, oversteers mid and understeers out of corners it is predictable, cheap and VERY reliable.
As long as the car isn't a DD, has chunky tyres and is LWB I'd say go for it.
Save $300 over a lockright and $900-1000 over an air locker.
$$$ you save could buy tyres or cage or front locker instead.

Jas.

Hi all.

One point I forgot to make in my previous post is that my 31's are aggressive muddies - this definitely helps on the road - the more "normal" (or A/T) your tires are, the worse it will be on the road with a welded/spooled rear.

Weld away!

Pez

alien wrote:DONT DO IT!!!

wait till you can afford an auto-unlocker or even better and air locker.

i had a welded diff, and while yeah, i got used to it - it wasnt ideal by any means, and i only welded it cos i broke it and didnt want to buy a new standard centre - instead i saved up for my current airlocker.

if it was an offroad only rig then id say go for it, but the loss of onroad functionality really will get to you, and if it doesnt, when you eventually get a real locker you'll wonder why you didnt do it sooner.

X2.....and tyres scrub quicker, axles splines chop out quicker.............

And you get up them hills quicker!!

joeblow wrote:
X2.....and tyres scrub quicker, axles splines chop out quicker.............

Who cares if it's not a daily?

I don't - I'll tear out tyres offroad long before I'll buff them down on the highway, and I'll break an axle long before I've worn the splines down.

horses for courses.

Steve.

yeah i will weld it sounds good.

should have it done by next week

thanks heaps guys

mines done i run 30" mt's its not to bad on road, i dont notice it to much, roundabouts are fun in the rain any way!

ok well it should be ok on the road if you guys are right im going to get my simex extremes tonight in 31'

will weld it next week and tell yous how it goes

cheers

make sure u pack bolts in, the first time i didnt mine, i just wleded the gears and it broke after about a month, pack stuff in and weld everything it works, also take a few days asy driving on road to get used of it cause its fun

welded the diff on my vit on wensday and it is amazing of road...and no where near as bad as i thought it would be on road... mine is a daily driver(by that i mean about 2 min to work) and i am lucky that i live where there is bush all around , the most i would have to drive to get to my fav tracks is about 15 min so i can certainly put up with the on road handling.
i am not at all sorry i did it but just a little worried about rego next time thats all

i put mine in more for onroad drifts than offroad performance

mrRocky wrote:i put mine in more for onroad drifts than offroad performance

yer thats always fun to do in the wet.
having said that i have found with my lockright thats i get more tration around the corners and i can take them faster usualy depending if it understeers. but too much thortle and she will drift

brendan_h wrote:

mrRocky wrote:i put mine in more for onroad drifts than offroad performance

yer thats always fun to do in the wet.
having said that i have found with my lockright thats i get more tration around the corners and i can take them faster usualy depending if it understeers. but too much thortle and she will drift

click click BANG?

rustyzook wrote:

brendan_h wrote:

mrRocky wrote:i put mine in more for onroad drifts than offroad performance

yer thats always fun to do in the wet.
having said that i have found with my lockright thats i get more tration around the corners and i can take them faster usualy depending if it understeers. but too much thortle and she will drift

click click BANG?

i cant realy hear any clicking only if i dont accelerate and have the clutch in

sounds allright, i looked at autos from mine, but the locker is worth more than 10 1ltr diff put together so the CIG did the trick!

Is a welded diff any better off-road than a lock-right, performance wise?

Mike

under power, they are 100% identical.

The lockright has a theoretical advantage in that under coast it should unlock, so if you are maneuvering at idle the lock right should give a normal turning circle etc, however, this can be bit unpredictable and depends on traction and terrain.

On sideangles etc the welded diff will tend to make the car slip down the hill a bit, whereas a lockright working well should help to stick on the hill better.

The real catch is how loose the lockright is. If it's tight and takes a bit of force to unlock, it's probably worse to drive offroad than welded due to the unpredictability.

Steve.

mrRocky wrote:i put mine in more for onroad drifts than offroad performance

you mean you put one in for tighter donuts on the gravel
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=rkT7Q-s7A5o