Diff lockers

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationWavetrac are a completely different company to Quaife. Impressions from people that have used both seem to be that the effect of the extra torque transfer in low grip situations is minimal, even when both wheels are on the ground. I think the electric locking torsen is definitely the way to go.

I took one for an M3 out of it's packaging the other week and it was in a Quaife box with the Wavetrac name also printed..... Must be doing a collaboration or something ?

sniper

Has anyone installed/heard about/used a "ET208 Rear E Locker"? I'm looking to put an E-locker on the rear of my Gen3 because I don't fancy doing a whole air system. Seems cheap at ~$350USD.

durfsurn: You can go to this link to follow my install and read all of the comments.

Chinese E-Locker

I think the ebay link that Busta provided is the same locker I bought from China, now being sold by Xshock Dakar. That may be incorrect but the picture they show is identical to the picture that the Chinese locker use to have on their website.

Unfortunately I can't give much feedback on the performance/durability of the locker itself. Just after the install, the Philippines went into a strict lockdown. Even now I am not allowed to cross regions to get to the province where I go off-road - and Metro Manila has probably the same amount of off-road areas as downtown London.

I'm only guessing that the ET208 that you reference is one that is shown on Alibaba (or maybe Aliexpress). The one I looked at appeared to be a copy of the TRE E-locker (which I have for my front). In the case of TRE, they are a straight locker without a Torsen style LSD. TRE is also Chinese but it is a joint venture of Citroen and Peugeot for production of OEM parts. Even prior to using I will admit a lot more faith in it than my rear locker.

Thanks zukebob, I've read through your thread before, its what got me interested in doing an E-locker rather than waiting and doing an Air system - the ET208 is indeed an Alibaba special which I found trying to source a purchasing place for a TRE E-Locker. Does anyone have a link to one?

And if I do want to go for the Alibaba special what do I need to look out for? Is it likely to be completely unrealiable? I don't plan on pushing it super duper hard and will keep it off when on-road unless its really raining badly. Is it a direct swap or do I need to get other parts? I've done mechanical and car electrics work on other cars before but never a diff swap. Also how do I ensure compatibility with my Gen3 (2010) Jimny?

Really appreciate anyone's input, thanks guys .

That ebay link up there shows a seller with one of the worst ratings I have ever seen on ebay. product can still be ok of course.

Durfsurn you will not need a locker on-road for bad rain. I do not even engage 4x4 on rain, only very bad snow or offroad. My ARB is never used on-road. actually if it is very slippery, it could make your car go straight when you would like to follow the curve.

otherwise: remember that an ARB RD88 from an old Samurai will also fit the jimny rear diff for a lower cost option. My ARB was originally bought to put in a Samurai / SJ but when i had my Jimny diff out I couldn't resist putting it in the Jimny.

for me with little time to spend on the car I have difficulty to spend so much money on chinese items of questionable quality that is alot of work to replace.
I have no reason to doubt the quality except for the ebay rating and not a well known brand and troublesome warranty if any.
With my ARB I feel alot safer that my investment is not a waste of my too little time and saved up money.

To satisfy my curiosity I decided to look at x-shock dakar site. In their video of a Jimny with the e-locker, they showed the switch. It is the LR (WMD) locker that they sell. The WMD site is: WMD E-Locker
If you want a locker with a helical gear LSD, either here or through Busta's link would be the source. Busta's link appears to show the locker for a better price.

For the TRE you can contact them through this site: TRE 4X4

For something in the price range of the Alibaba locker I would recommend the HF here: HF E-Locker
I don't have any experience with the e-locker by HF but their airlocker gets a lot of work here in the Philippines. Haven't heard of any problems. You can also find a couple of HF locker reviews on Youtube. If you scan through some of the later pages in the "What Did The Postman Bring Today" thread, there was a memebr here that bought the HF e-locker. I think he is in Russia. You might pm him and see if he has any feedback.

Edit: The HF E-Locker was mentioned in the "What Did I Do To My Jimny Today" thread. The member was g r e e n from Russia if you want to ask for feedback.

 

Interesting that the WMD E-locker comes in an 8 bolt, 22 spline configuration. I assume that would work in the Jimny front diff. The only other lockers that are a direct fit in the front axle of a Jimny are ARB and Kaiser.

I do echo Yakuzas concerns about fitting a diff of unknown origin. As well as the cost of the unit itself, there is signifcant time and expense involved in fitting. Faulty units could soon become very costly. That's part of the reason I went with Quaife, who have a solid reputation and a lifetime warranty. If you're fitting the diff in the front this is slightly less of a concern as it is only used for a small fraction of the time and a broken diff can be isolated from the drivetrain with the transfer case and hubs.
 

Busta wrote: Interesting that the WMD E-locker comes in an 8 bolt, 22 spline configuration. I assume that would work in the Jimny front diff. The only other lockers that are a direct fit in the front axle of a Jimny are ARB and Kaiser.

I do echo Yakuzas concerns about fitting a diff of unknown origin. As well as the cost of the unit itself, there is signifcant time and expense involved in fitting. Faulty units could soon become very costly. That's part of the reason I went with Quaife, who have a solid reputation and a lifetime warranty. If you're fitting the diff in the front this is slightly less of a concern as it is only used for a small fraction of the time and a broken diff can be isolated from the drivetrain with the transfer case and hubs.
 

Interesting twist.
So if you can only fit one diff lock,
Front or Back and why ?

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For offroading the most gain of traction with a 100% locking diff is the back.
Going up hill the most weight is put on the rear of the car. (if you drive forward)

For On-roading the most gain of traction and fun for an "active open" diff is the back as well.

I would say it depends on the type of locker you are installing and the type of driving you do.

If the majority of your driving is extreme off-road (e.g. pay and play toy), or you are fitting a selectable locker like the ARB or electric locker I would definitely put it in the back. You have complete control of when it engages, and otherwise they operate as an open or LSD differential which will not have any negative effect on day to day driving. The rear axle is mechanically stronger than the front (no CV joints) and the rear axle provides most of the drive going up hills.

On the other hand, auto lockers like lockrite and kaiser lockers can have some detrimental effects on on-road driving. They fundamentally change the way the drive is transmitted to the wheels and therefore how the car handles. They also double the maximum load on the drivetrain compnonents, so will cause accelerated wear. And in the case of the lockrite, the crude mechanism with lots of metal to metal contact has a limited life expectancy. For a daily driver/occasional off-road use they would be much better placed in the front axle, where they are only active when you engage 4wd. Combined with an LSD in the rear this would make a formidable combination on and off-road. This is the combination I'd like to have, but kasier lockers are prohbitively expensive and fitting a lockrite in the front axle requires machining a rear diff to fit. So I have another, budget freindly solution in mind that I will be making a sperate topic about soon....

This guy makes some interesting and valid points about how a locking each axle affects the way a car behaves off-road.

 

Busta wrote: I would say it depends on the type of locker you are installing and the type of driving you do.

If the majority of your driving is extreme off-road (e.g. pay and play toy), or you are fitting a selectable locker like the ARB or electric locker I would definitely put it in the back. You have complete control of when it engages, and otherwise they operate as an open or LSD differential which will not have any negative effect on day to day driving. The rear axle is mechanically stronger than the front (no CV joints) and the rear axle provides most of the drive going up hills.

On the other hand, auto lockers like lockrite and kaiser lockers can have some detrimental effects on on-road driving. They fundamentally change the way the drive is transmitted to the wheels and therefore how the car handles. They also double the maximum load on the drivetrain compnonents, so will cause accelerated wear. And in the case of the lockrite, the crude mechanism with lots of metal to metal contact has a limited life expectancy. For a daily driver/occasional off-road use they would be much better placed in the front axle, where they are only active when you engage 4wd. Combined with an LSD in the rear this would make a formidable combination on and off-road. This is the combination I'd like to have, but kasier lockers are prohbitively expensive and fitting a lockrite in the front axle requires machining a rear diff to fit. So I have another, budget freindly solution in mind that I will be making a sperate topic about soon....

This guy makes some interesting and valid points about how a locking each axle affects the way a car behaves off-road.

 

LOL
I was just about to post that video from Matt.

But yeah. It depends hugely on your kinda driving.

As an occasionall off road trail kinda driving I will really think about adding it front. (More into the overland)

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