NEW PRODUCT: Factory Locker with TORSEN LSD Suit Landcruiser

Diff Lockers.

For many years people opted for diff locks since when you are offroad and your standard diffs are acting as open centre then its easy to get stuck.  Differential lockers (once engaged) will make sure opposite wheels move at the same speed and you keep moving forwards.  There are a few popular diff lock options such as the ARB Air Locker, TJM Pro Lockers and the E-Lockers which have external manual control.  Some cruisers came with OEM/factory lockers that are activated via a dog gear being held into position by the preloading a spring via an electric motor.  All of these lockers have pros and cons, in their function, but there are a couple aspects common to these:

• While locked the vehicle can generally move forward through varying terrain.
• When locked and on hard surfaces, your steering ability is compromised as the wheels are moving at the same speed.
• When not locked, they are open centre, which means the wheel that’s easiest to turn, will spin.

In addition to these, there are a couple varieties of auto-lockers that are locked by default, but if power from the wheel is greater than from the gearbox/engine, the gears will ratchet over to allow easier turning.  These can click and can be easily heard when ratcheting while cornering or feel locked if powering through a turn.

Landcruiser Differentials.

Almost all 80, 79, 100 and 105 cruisers were fitted with a rear LSD and open centre front.  Factory lockers were optional on most models, but were not cheap.  From around mid 2016 the VDJ79 GXL models had factory diff locks standard.  These made them very capable offroad, but the rear was open centre on the road and being part time the front axle wasn’t doing anything.  Later models had traction control, which applied the brakes on the side that was about to start spinning, which means that since one axle is shorter than the other it is always once side that goes through pads much faster than the other side.  This is more of an issue for vehicles with performance upgrades.

Our experience with TORSENs.

Our upgraded HDJ79 was fitted with a TORSEN up front, but we couldn’t find one to fit the rear.  When taking off in the wet, it was required to leave the front hubs engaged and change from 2H to 4H to get to 50kph without slippage.  That was OK, but a bit of a pain.

After fitting the TORSEN to the rear, engaging the front hasn’t been required. Now a TORSEN in the rear is a must for any Cruiser I own so I am able to accelerate with maximum traction.