A-Trac is a must for our IFS

Jeep's break lock differential BLD is not as quick as A-Trac, it needs a lot of wheel spin to kick in and gets annoying. A-Trac quickly pounces on the spinning wheel(s)

 

Having just come from a Jeep after years in Toyota the two aren't remotely comparable... at the same time though what's the point of dealing with all the bs that comes with a SFA if you aren't going to double lock it.

 

I'd agree, one works better than the other, but aren't remotely comparable? I'd say they're basically the same thing, Atrac just works better. To @Yotaholic's point, Atrac engages more quickly; although, that may be a function of tire size, in my experience.

 

SFA vehicles lift wheels too lol. Lockers are the best, no arguing in that. Jeep is for extreme offroading, something most of us don't do.
Also, A-Trac and BLD are basically the same thing, just different names and different software

 

oh…. I might need to revisit my Bilstein 6112/5100 set up.

when talking about low shaft speeds is this like under 20-30mph? High shaft speeds over 40mpg? I typically try go 30-40 mpg on washboards but to bumpy so have to go under 10-15 mpg.

 

I have to stop opening ATRAC threads. They're getting as bad as the oil threads.

 

A Miata and a Ferrari 458 are both 2-seater coupes that do the same thing. I wouldn't say they're comparable either.

Jeep's BLD is a joke. I thought I'd be fine with it when I bought a Sport S because of how good ATRAC was in my Tacomas (because I'd rather have aftermarket lockers and avoid the Rubi tax) but it's just not even playing the same sport. The SFA with swaybar disconnect was a monster but it's clear the BLD was an afterthought and just an adapted on-road solution.

 

Ha!

 

Shaft speed is mostly unrelated to vehicle speed. When you drop off a ledge or hit a large pothole, that will be a quick movement of the suspension. Something like a rough road or washboards is a slower, but much more repetitive movement of the suspension.

If you're mostly on road or slower trails go with the Bilstein, it's an amazing setup for that. If you are doing hundreds of miles on desert roads a month, I'd be eyeing Fox/King.

 

BLD is annying, at that point I would just send it lol. You didn't have LSD?

 

Nah the 2020 JT didn't include them standard and I don't like Trak-Lok anyway. Right foot was usually the answer.

I had the wide D44s and always planned on a pair of Eatons and 5.38s but when it came to shit or get off the pot, the reliability concerns pushed me back to Toyota and a 4Runner.

 

When A-Trac fails me finally, I will report here with a video lol. But I will definitely do multiple attempts to make it work, I have a lot of faith in it.

 

Dealerships here wanted $58k TSRP for TRD Off-R premium. Bunch of clowns!!

 

Dealership bastards

 

I want $58k for mine!

 

Rear locker gives no traction aid to the front wheels. I've encountered obstacles where A-Trac produces better results than the rear locker alone. Of course in some terrain (mud, sand, deep snow) A-Trac can be detrimental.

 

In this video, front locker couldn't do anything because a rear wheel also lost traction. A-Trac handled two wheels from two axlss, front driver and rear passenger. So I know what you are saying. A-Trac is amazing.

https://youtu.be/B9XV1-oYKnQ?si=P-iaw82wjUHeNbFg

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_s6uxiP0NHE

At the 4:00 mark notice the GX460 having problems climbing that slight incline? A good example how you should learn the basics before going on difficult off roading terrains and learn about the off-road features. The guy was not in 4lo and no Atrac and his first time taking that vehicle off-roading. He is lucky he didn’t break the front-left tie rod on that angle of approach and turning too much towards passenger.

 

And so much momentum after they switched to 4Lo.
The 80 series on 35s was the coolest vehicle there.

 

Like butter

Oh yeah that 80 Series had serious flex.

 

Wouldn't a two-wheel-drive have made that obstacle, if they had a rear locker? Atrac wouldn't have worked better than a single rear locker, in that scenario, would it? I get why a front locker is less helpful on an unweighted front end, especially with a wheel in the air, compared to four wheels turning (with Atrac) but a rear locker would have made the obstacle without any of the spinning in the first place, wouldn't it?

Not relevant to your post, but I was looking at a Jeep forum and saw a similar conversation about "brake lock differential" (the Jeep version of Atrac) and thought it was interesting/funny that they were having a very similar conversation, that a Jeep doesn't need a limited slip differential (LSD), or locker, if it has BLD. One poster went so far as to say, BLD is better than either locker or LSD in snow and on ice, BLD is almost as good as locker and equal to LSD in mud, but BLD is not as good as LSD or locker in rocks. There were several that don't think lockers are necessary at all if you have BLD. My guess is most people think whatever they have is the best, until they upgrade to something better and that becomes the best.

 

No reasonable person will say A-Trac and BLD are better than lockers. A-Trac is no match to a fully locked vehicle. What we are saying is that A-Trac is good enough for most people.
Yes, in that video, a rear locker would have done it, as one tire had really good traction but wasn't moving.

I did use the rear locker in the same test. Here is the video

https://youtu.be/5eKYLZfHa2I?feature=shared

 

A lot of people who don't use the tool in question, but have lots of opinions about it, as usual.

Y'all need to hit more trails.

 

I have used a-trac a lot. It is very, very good. I'd rather fail with a-trac (hasn't happened yet) than fail and break an axle with a IFS front locker.

 

A-Trac is a great tool, that plus a rear locker is very useful as it will increase the front end traction without putting too much stress on the CVs.

But nothing beats an experienced driver with triple locked rig. You can use a front locker if you have some not so common sense with respect to your truck and the terrain.

 

^Sky's the limit tho. Got three lockers and you'll want an Atlas transfer case to front-dig. Next you'll want rear-steer...

 

It's not actually instant in any situation.

A-TRAC takes a little wheel spin to engage. It's a great feature, and I am constantly impressed by it. But, it's not a locker.

 

Interesting, so the driveline shock from MTS/A-Trac clamping down on the slipping wheel overloaded the ADD intermediate shaft on TFL's Tacoma:



Sheldon says they found no mfg defects with the parts, so it should be a relief for owners of 2024 4Runners, which have basically the same front diff.

 

Wonder if locked center diff without A-Trac would have any issues in that scenario

 

Aren't all non full-time cases center-locked? It was my understanding all 4R were two-speed t-cases, always "locked", but for the Limited AWD t-case