can someone explain to me the difference between limited slip and open diff axles?

title says it all, can someone explain to me the difference between limited slip and open diff axles? i'm trying to figure out the advantage of limited slip over stock and locked vs stock, i understand what lockers do but not so much the difference between limited slip and the stock open diffs in my 67.

 

A limited slip creates friction between the two axles to help drive both. When lack of traction overcomes that friction, like when turning a corner, the axles turn at different speeds. When that friction is not overcome you have drive to both axles regardless of tire traction.
An open differential has very little friction between the axles so when there is no traction at one wheel wheel that wheel will spin and not drive the vehicle.
A true locker locks both axles together regardless of tire traction. Autolockers do this typically when under power. Selectable lockers do this with driver input. ARB, Electrac, etc are selectable. Detroit No-Spin, Aussie, Lock-Rite are all auto lockers and require little to no input from the driver.
This is a very simplistic explanation but is it in a nutshell.


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Re: can someone explain to me the difference between limited slip and open diff axles

Thanks for the explanation!

 

Re: can someone explain to me the difference between limited slip and open diff axles

With full lockers you can get great traction. Check out this video. At 6:30 of this video shows you the kind of terrain you can go up. This picture was taken at the same spot as the video. It shows how high the wheels came off the ground.

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[video=youtube;4Yq2fi0idss]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yq2fi0idss&list=UUEujULl9-e25BLs8Arw6mvA&index=12&feature=plcp[/video]

 

Re: can someone explain to me the difference between limited slip and open diff axles

i think my mind is made up on what to do, and i shouldn't have a problem locking the front axle i'll just put manual locking hubs on it so i can drive it on the street with no problems.

 

Re: can someone explain to me the difference between limited slip and open diff axles

Locking hubs have nothing to do with limited slip or open diff axles. You can have them or not. Makes no difference.

 

Re: can someone explain to me the difference between limited slip and open diff axles

The problem arrises when you do need 4x4 on the road like when on hard pack snow or ice. If you have an auto locker in the front and even a limited slip to a lesser degree, you will have a difficult time keeping it on the road. Personally I like an open front in those conditions so either it's no traction device or a selectable locker in the front axle. A locked front axle isn't all that fun off road either if you actually like the ability to steer the Jeep. I use the front locker only in situations where I can't go without the extra traction boost and I'm going to guess that is some small fraction of 1% of the wheeling I do. The rear axle is a lot more forgiving and I probably use that locker maybe 10-20% of the time.

 

Re: can someone explain to me the difference between limited slip and open diff axles

i said i would use them with a locker, not open diffs or limited slip.