Lockers

Hey everyone!  I have a 2014 Jimny and I'm wondering what everyone's experience with lockers are?  Are they worth getting and if so, what kind did you get and what was your approx cost?

Notwithstanding the fairly monstrous cost of a pair of arb air lockers and compressor and fitting I would have a double locked Jimny in a heartbeat, coupled with some appropriate tyres it would be essentially unstoppable. However at a cost of potentially 2 to 2.5 grand I'm happy to wait, for now.

Definitely worthwhile if you regularly drive in places where your wheels come off the ground.
ARB air lockers are arguably the best but also the most expensive option.
Chinese ARB copies are available that will save a few hundred pounds.
X Shock Dakar make and electric locking rear diff that is also a torsen LSD. This is around £700 and doesn't need a compressor to run so cheaper to install. When not a locked diff, it still gives you the traction advantages of a limited slip diff so it's a really good option and the one I'd go for.
Then you have "automatic" lockers like the Kaiser locker and Lockright. These fundamentally change how the diff works, making it better for traction off-road but not so good for road driving. They are sensitive to how they are installed and can be quite crude in operation.
Lastly you have the option of welding the diffs. It's cheap and dirty but very effective off-road. Most people weld the rear but that does impact on-road driving and reduce manoeuvrability. I have welded my front diff. It's made the Jimny a monster off-road without affecting day-to-day 2wd driving. I also have a Quaife LSD in the rear, but that's not a locker.

wrote:

Hey everyone!  I have a 2014 Jimny and I'm wondering what everyone's experience with lockers are?  Are they worth getting and if so, what kind did you get and what was your approx cost?

Slightly opposing the two views above. But I'd say it depends.

As in depends on where you will be driving, how often and what you are trying to achieve.

Lockers provide many benefits. But also some downsides, such as a poor turning circle when engaged. Require manual intervention on when to use them or more importantly, when not to use them. And are only suitable for use in certain situations. It is also probably true that much of the time you wouldn't actually 'need' them to conquer the terrain you are on.

Unless you are rock crawling where you want no wheel slip to engage your traction adders. I think an ATB setup is likely a better compromise, especially when combined with traction control. This would then be a passive system requiring no user intervention at all for it to work, it wouldn't impact your turning circle and would offer benefits on all surfaces, including when in 2wd on the road.

But as said, it really does depend.

wrote:

I have welded my front diff. It's made the Jimny a monster off-road without affecting day-to-day 2wd driving. I also have a Quaife LSD in the rear, but that's not a locker.

Not knocking this or anything, but I can't understand the physics of how it isn't impacting day 2 day use? The idea of a diff is to allow opposing wheels to travel at different speeds, such as when cornering. A welded diff would completely prevent this, either inducing wheel bouncing/slip and understeer. Or a complete resistance through the steering wheel to want to change direction.

In 2wd the front diff is completely isolated from the transmission and road wheels, so the fact it is permanently locked makes no difference whatsoever to road driving.