I used to run a Toyota 4X4 in Baja and it had open diff. Never a problem with the diff and wheel slippage was not an issue. I did rebuild the tranny twice in 100K miles due to a design flaw in the tranny.

Our race cars all use open differentials with beefed up pinions.

My GMC Sierra 4X4 has a stock limited slip and it works well. I could hear it locking up a bit on tight turns when it was new, but it works fine now. Between the limited slip and automatic transmission in the GMC, it does get better traction than the Toyota did.

The H2 is full time 4WD. It has three differentials. You can lock the center and rear differentials. The locks automatically kick out if you go over a specified speed in low range. The front diff is conventional. I have towed with the center differential locked, but there has never been a need to tow with the rear differential locked. There is also a switch to change the transmission shift points for towing to keep lower gears engaged longer.

Another system that works well is a traction control system that will independently brake a single wheel that is spinning. It will work on up to three wheels at a time. You can also set the desired amount of slip depending upon whether you are on snow/ice or sand. Hummer and Mercedes both have systems like this.

Reply

Quote Reply

Digg It

Del.icio.us