What is the best for diff lock? (Posi)

[Caydoncym]

Have a 2wd drive 68  f100 with a 390 and c6. Just wondering what I should use for a posi of some kind?

[Drew Pojedinec]

under 600hp = TruTrac
Over 600hp = Detroit Locker
Race car = Spool

[jayb]

Detroit Locker.

[NIsaacs]

If it is just a daily driver, I like the oem limited slip.

Nick

[Falcon67]

I run a trac-tech soft locker in the Falcon.  It's a DL with softer springs.  Very tough unit.  Lockers demand respect, so for a daily a stock type limited is probably plenty good.  If you plan to put it on the track and you like to spin the back tires, you will eat up a clutch type pretty quick unless you take great pains to make sure both tires get the same water.

[KMcCullah]

Who's money are we spending here? Your money.... ARB Air locker. (plus you will always have an air supply on board) My money..... Lincoln locker. 

[57 lima bean]

It's a truck.Get a locker.If you do dive it a lot,I'm with Falcon67,soft lock spring and you will hardly know its there.

[falcongeorge]

I run a nose heavy truck with 4.56s and a DL as a daily, its a real handful in the wet.I am in the PNW, so what I think of as "wet" other guys would probably call a monsoon, but when its raining hard, its a real handful. Unless you are going to drag race it, I would probably go with a clutch type limited slip, like NIsaacs said.

[WConley]

I'm with Drew.  For a street car with any DOT-legal tires, you cannot beat a torsen-style differential like a Tru-Trac.   It gives real-world traction under all driving conditions.  Even road racers love them.

For launching straight at the drags, a locker or a spool is the way to go. 

[Drew Pojedinec]

Right on Mr Conley.
In my 63.5 Galaxie, I didn't want anything overly aggresive...  heavy car with manual steering, I had a concern about the locker locking at inappropriate times, seeing how I believe in spirited driving, while retaining the street car usability (I drive the kids to guitar lessons and stuff in this car, and drive in all conditions often hundreds of miles away from home).
The trutrac is a fantastic piece of machinery.  It's 100% like driving an open differential until you really get on the throttle.  Haven't ever left a single tire stripe.

When it comes time to redo my truck's rear end, I wouldn't consider going with anything else.

[plovett]

I put a "Nascar takeout" Detroit Locker in my '67 Cougar.  I had never run a Detroit Locker before and was braced for all kinds of evil sounds and behavior based on the internet wisdom.

I was pleasantly surprised.  I thought it would be a bear to live with.  It turns out it's a pussy cat.  I occasionally get some noise making tight low speed turns.  Very rarely though.  It just flat out works great.  I love it, and it'll never wear out and likely never break.

Going to full throttle in a turn can be disconcerting because the car wants to straighten out (go to the outside of the turn), but that's not something I would do in my car if I weren't experimenting with the locker. 

I've never tried the True Trac.  It may have better manners.  I don't think they are as durable or fool-proof as a Detroit Locker though. 

My vote is for the Detroit Locker.  One and done!

JMO,

paulie

[e philpott]

I just built a 9 inch for a 56 Chevy 4 door wagon gasser straight axle car with a Tru-Trac , looks pretty darn beefy Paulie , I don't expect to see it come-back for any problems ....... , if your jerky on-off the gas the Locker will be a bad choice , sometimes lockers will act funny when you drive them in enough different situations , on the 56 Chevy the owner is handicapped with 30 percent use of his legs , he tried the Muncie M22 but he can't control his feet smooth enough to work the clutch consistently so a Turbo 400 went in and M22 out .... at this point I chose the Tru Trac over a DL ........ I still like my DL , but they are not for everybody

[jayb]

I don't know why Detroit Lockers get such a bad rap.  In 20 years of driving with them in a variety of different cars, I've only had one incident that could potentially be related to the Detroit Locker, and that was a little jiggle of the rear end coming loose on a high speed sweeping turn, in the rain.  It could also have just been the road.  I don't know anything about True-Tracs, but the problems with lockers are greatly exaggerated, as Paulie mentioned.  Its just no big deal to run one - Jay

[WConley]

I put an old-school Detroit Locker in my Galaxie years ago, and it wasn't so great on the street.  It would occasionally make a loud BANG and lurch the car to one side on launch.  (The new ones don't seem to do this as much, from what I hear...)  It also was pretty noisy on the sharper turns.

When it did hook up correctly the locker was dead-straight.  You could take the time to "settle" the unit by driving backward and forward a few feet prior to a launch, and that would work fine.

For a street car these days I think there are much better options.

[e philpott]

Jay , I had a high speed sweeping curve make my car jiggle (shake) with the DL but it wasn't in the rain , would have loved to of had a G0 Pro mounted under there when it happened

Eaton makes the Tru-Trac and DL , both are high quality that you expect from Eaton , here's a link to the Tru=trac if your unfamiliar with it

http://www.eaton.com/Eaton/ProductsServices/Vehicle/Differentials/detroit-truetrac/index.htm