Anti slip or E locker for snow/ice

[Yogi217]

Hi everyone, thank you all for your help with my skid plate question. Fortunately/unfortunately, as can be the case when asking for information, new questions pop up.

One that surfaced was the ant slip vs e locker question, which is better for me? I'm looking now at trucks that have either the ORG or the protection group. Both with the night package, so i can get either the limited slip or the e locker...

I've read a lot of, what appears to me to be, conflicting information. But that could be my limited understanding.....

I've never had a rear locker, limited or e.
I know an e locker is an open dif when not turned on, so maybe this is more open dif vs lsd, but I'd love to hear your thoughts as I either plan my build or find one on the lot in the near future.

Which is better for driving up and down snowy and icey roads? How about snowy and icy hilly roads? How about deep unplowed snow?

Anyone better if you hit a latch of black ice? I once had my old wrangler do a 180 so fast that i didn't know what happened. Luckily no one was coming the other way.

I think I've read an lsd can send your rear end sideways on slippery surfaces, while an open dif can lose some traction, but doesn't send your backend out... I could be understanding that wrong, so please help me here....

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[2019REBEL]

Snowy and icy roads I would just put it in 4wd. On my 2014 Outdoorsman I had the LSD and it helped quite a bit. On my Rebel I have the E Locker and have only used it a couple times in really deep snow(6-10 inches), breaking trail. Also note that the E Locker will disengage around 25mph and up and re engage when you drop back down to 25mph so if you are going faster than this it won't work.

 

[79 300]

I have had trucks with limited slip and open rears, I never had one with the E-locker. The one place I noticed the open rear was a problem was pulling out from a stop during the rain, especially on a hill. Normally you would just be in 2WD, and would sit there spinning. With the E-locker you would have to turn it on or you would just sit there spinning. The anti- spin (limited slip) will automatically engage and get you moving quicker, without you doing anything.

 

[smashweights]

LSD for any situation on the road.

 

[SpeedyV]

4WD and traction control are your friends here. ELocker might also be helpful if you were trying to get going from a dead stop on ice.

 

[STR]

You’re going to get conflicting information in this thread too... There is not one set-up that is universally the best in all circumstances. Limited Slip might work better in light snow and slush, and the elocker might be better in deep snow, however, nothing is really good on ice. Actually weather appropriate tires are probably more important.

I always find it interesting that after the first big snow fall every year I see countless trucks and SUVs in ditches. Why? Perhaps they feel invincible because they’re driving an AWD or 4WD.

There are many YouTube vids of people demonstrating their set-up. This is just one w/the elocker in light snow/ice:

 

[YellowSled]

Are you rock crawling? if yes, go with locker. Anything else, go with anti slip

 

[STR]

^^^ Perfect example of conflicting information

I think a lot of people think it’s either elocker or nothing. You still have open differentials with 4WD high and low... plus you have the elocker, which is certainly more useful than rock climbing alone.

 

[Yogi217]

No rock crawling. Just hlly, snowy or icy New England...

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[ktl5005]

No rock crawling. Just hlly, snowy or icy New England...

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Either will wprk or even the basic 4x4 without either will work also.

 

[VectorZ]

I've owned both. Unless you are a frequent hardcore off roader get the limited slip.

 

[Boston]

No rock crawling. Just hlly, snowy or icy New England...

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Surprised nobody is talking about traction control, which for 99% of the time does what’s needed. Ignoring my off road truck with two lockers, my old family Honda Pilot had a rear user selectable locker which I used for fun a few times and only once actually needed it in 259k miles of service over 15 years.

I did try that iced snow covered hill without it just to prove I needed it. Engaging it (VTM 4lock in Honda speak) it walked right up.

 

[Wakesnowb]

I too wondered what I should get for the snow. Ultimately I went with the E-Locker because I think the 4wd modes with the traction control and driving at reasonably slow speeds with good tires should perform great in the snow then if I get into any one off oh sh*t really deep snow or off road situations then I would have the E-Locker to hopefully bail me out. In all reality I will probably rarely use it but I like knowing it is there. Might come in handy somehow also if the zombie apocalypse happens.

 

[mikeru82]

E-locker for me. But I didn't have a choice since the ORG was one of my must-have options. And you can't get the ORG with the anti-spin diff. Besides, I've had limited slip diffs wear out on me, and I didn't even realize it until I needed it. I know I'll have the e-locker if I get into a situation where I need it. The auto 4wd combined with traction control worked great for me last winter for commuting to work in the snow.

 

[SpeedyV]

Surprised nobody is talking about traction control, which for 99% of the time does what’s needed. Ignoring my off road truck with two lockers, my old family Honda Pilot had a rear user selectable locker which I used for fun a few times and only once actually needed it in 259k miles of service over 15 years.

I did try that iced snow covered hill without it just to prove I needed it. Engaging it (VTM 4lock in Honda speak) it walked right up.

Already pointed that out. 4WD + traction control covers most real-world use. My last two trucks had limited-slip, but I opted for the ELocker this time, as it was included with the ORG.

 

[Yogi217]

So just to clarify, driving in 2wd on wet, maybe little slippery road or in 4wd high on snow/light ice, the LSD won't send my rear out sideways?

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[Adrianp89]

The truck is smarter than all of us. 4WD Auto + LSD. The e-locker you must engage and dis-engage... LSD just does it's thing when needed.

 

[Sascwatch]

I prefer a locker for ice or snow due to the fact that a limited slip is engaged at ALL speeds. On an icy highway with a good crosswind it doesn’t take much throttle for the rear end to slide out and go sideways.

I had this happen with my last truck, I was heading up north to go ice fishing with 1000lb+ of gear and people in the truck and we were trying to stay ahead of some freezing rain. While going up a decent hill at 70mph the truck downshifted and started going sideways, was pretty scary knowing that I was loaded and looking at the concrete barriers on the 401.

It is nice to not have to worry about engaging or disengaging the locker when road conditions required it, but for now I’ll take a locker over a lsd.

 

[SpeedyV]

The truck is smarter than all of us. 4WD Auto + LSD. The e-locker you must engage and dis-engage... LSD just does it's thing when needed.

This is a bit off-topic, but that's not completely true. Once you engage the ELocker, it will unlock at higher speeds (where it wouldn't be needed anyway) and automatically re-lock when you slow back down.

 

[2019REBEL]

This is a bit off-topic, but that's not completely true. Once you engage the ELocker, it will unlock at higher speeds (where it wouldn't be needed anyway) and automatically re-lock when you slow back down.

That's basically what I told him in post #2.