Quote:
Originally Posted by James Rothwell
Yes the LC has a centre lock too.
I found when I went offroading when I had my 80 series Landcruiser with friends that had Landrovers that I could get up and over or through anything they could but 80% of the time I'd have to lock the centre+rear when they could get through by locking just the centre.
But why don't LR fit a rear locking diff to their Defender, is there some mechanical restriction that means it isn't possible or they just feel that it isn't required especially now that TC seems to work so well.
I think I might have said earlier in this thread that you never see a Landrover offroad here in UAE but I did actually see one on Friday in the desert a very new looking Defender 90 that was really struggling with the sand dunes, the owner seemed to think that the TC couldn't be turned off. Is that true? To its credit it did manage to make it back to firmer ground without actually getting stuck just progress was slow.
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I would say there are a few reasons, the primary one being the LR's were not designed from the outset with diff locks in mind. They can snap half shafts like carrots with open diff's. In inexperienced hands even LC or G Wagens can suffer damage to their drive train when their diff's are locked and they have far more substantial axles / half shafts. The entire design philosophy is different, Defenders in particular rely on axle articulation, LC and G Wagens still have reasonable articulation but take a look at the anti roll bars, they're massive compared to the LR ones.
Although there are many LR's around with after market diff locks you really need to alter your driving style to make them work effectively and importantly reliably.
Plus software is way cheaper than hardware!
Software will flatter the amateur but can only react to stuff as it's happening. I've seen D4's do some pretty impressive stuff but the human brain, combined with diff locks will always win.
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