ATRAC vs MTS

Rear locker will stay engaged up to the maximum speed you can achieve in 4lo.

3rd gen Taco OR gets MTS and Crawl Control on automatic transmission models and A-Trac on manual transmission models. 2nd gen Taco OR gets A-Trac with both transmissions.

 

The best thing about A-Trac is its convenience. Don't wait till you get stuck. Turn it on once you are in 4Lo and keep driving. Locking axles requires some work and you can't keep them locked all the time.

 

Nothing like lockers for extreme offroaders.

 

There is no fun in that. I never use any of the extra stuff unless I can’t keep moving in just 4Lo. Besides if using Atrac too much you could overheat the brakes

 

To put things in perspective, Ultra4 4400 Unlimited race buggies have spool axles front and rear, and the entire driveline is overbuilt to handle the tire scrub.

 

When A-Trac intervenes it means it is needed, otherwise it won't intervene. On Jeep, BLD(A-Trac) is automatically activated when you switch to 4Lo, I had it for years and never had any issues. Don't overthink it, have fun.

 

If I had a trail queen, I would just want lockers, no traction gimmics.

 

I don't care for MTS much, either.

In mud, I usually make sure that traction control is completely disabled, so I can spin the tires to clear them. IMO, you don't want anything limiting the throttle in the mud.

Most all-terrains are pretty useless in deep mud. But your best chance of getting traction is being able to spend the tires to clear the treads.

 

Don't wait until your stuck to engage A-Trac. I always use A-Trac in specific situations. Mainly steep, loose rock hill climbs.

 

Correct, I just meant in the sense you don't get both.

And maybe I'm misremembering about the lockers and confusing it with Jeep because I distinctly remember a few strings of profanity one day about lockers turning off and sway bars turning on. I was on the east coast with my Taco so never had it locked at anything above 5mph.

 

They make you pay more, it's all about money. Few decades ago, 4x4 vehicles did not come with even lockers from factory. CJ and FJ40 were open diffs

 

Manufacturers started eating aftermarket's lunch. Jeep now is offering a winch from Factory. They are not manufacturing winches, but surely they're getting them cheaper

 

And yet you could still successfully off road.

 

It also made you a better driver because you needed to take better lines when you didn't have lockers. Lockers compensate for poor driving skills.

 

Not as well. I've wheeled with Defender 90s and 80-series Land Cruisers all on 35s. They struggle on obstacles I walk up on the first try.

 

My 21' Tacoma TRD OR had Crawl Control on it. I loved it. It was like cruise control for 4 wheelers. It would do all the work to get me out of a tough spot. Kinda' felt like cheatin'.

 

^That was after TSB software update right? I remember Toyota broke crawl control one year where the truck would stop when it hits a curb-height obstacle

On my 2018 Tacoma I found crawl control isn't good enough on the technical obstacles (i.e. stuff that still require attention with 35" tires). For those I manually modulate throttle, and brake with my with left foot.

 

To the extent that this is true, I would say that A-TRAC and MTS do too, and in a way that takes less skill than lockers.

My last vehicle before the 4Runner was a D-90. In my experience it was superior off road to the 4Runner. Better ground clearance. Shorter wheelbase. Better angles. More articulation. Could effortlessly fit bigger tires. The 4Runner has its advantages (mostly in terms of creature comforts), like electric windows and central locking. Real back seats. More cargo space. Better towing capacity. Better aftermarket support! But as far as struggling on obstacles that the 4Runner would walk up on the first try — nope. Perhaps the struggling you witnessed can be attributed to you having superior skills rather than a superior vehicle.

 

The Defender 90 was never available with lockers from the factory. Compared to a 4R or Tacoma on 35s with factory rear locker and A-Trac/MTS, it struggled on obstacles. For example:



My Tacoma:



This was a 3/5 medium-difficulty trail roughly equivalent to a 6/10 rating by US standards.

The LR also had thin skids which would be considered tinfoil by North American standards. Indeed we had to stop a few times so the Defender driver could pry back his bent front skid away from the tie rod.

 

It’s literally physics. Having the option to activate lockers will always be better than no locker as long as you know what to do. It doesn’t mean we can’t have fun without lockers either though.

I agree. Atrac and MTS require less skills than using lockers in that aspect. No worries of breaking stuff and they can be turned on as a “what if” without knowing if they need to be engaged or not for someone who’s learning to off road. Which is a great thing. That’s how I’ve been teaching my wife using my truck. I don’t let her use lockers yet

 

My D-90 had full-time 4WD with a center locking diff from the factory.

 

I meant axle lockers. Center locking diff should be a given. Even a Rav4 has center locking diff.

 

My experience with the D-90 comes from driving it. Not watching it. Assuming my skill level hasn’t diminished since I got the 4Runner, I’m in a good position to say which is more competent off road. But hey, think what you want.

 

^I'm sure there's some rose colored glasses going on.