Had a bit of snow here.... (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Jul 11, 2008
Threads
63
Messages
321
Location
London, UK & Lusaka, Zambia
My 3 year old measured it for me around 8-9 inches, which is a lot for here ! More importantly, gave me an opportunity to dry out all the diff locks and low range (only had it on the road for a couple of months)...

Everything worked flawlessly, but to be honest I didn't need to lock more than the centre, and even that was reassurance...

Presumably CDL locked is the way to go in these conditions ?

Here's a few pix:
sP2010346.jpg
sP2010348.jpg
sP2010349.jpg
 
I heard about you Londoners getting slammed with snow over the radio on my drive to work this morning; planes delayed and the underground suspended. Maybe you should affix a "TAXI" sign above the windscreen and let people experience reliable transportation.

Have fun with that 80!
 
We get a ton of snow here, and IMO, I like my truck unlocked on the road far better than locked. I notice a huge differance when taking corners in slick conditions.

Once Im in the ditch the lockers come out :)

Clint-
 
Yeah, it was definately fighting a little more on the corners, but in a predictable, grippy kind of way... no real experience driving on snow, however on the sand/dust tracks in Zambia, CDL locked is definately better as it keeps you facing forwards when potholes / corrugations cause loss of traction and tend to slew the car in a very alarming manner.
 
We had a ton of snow here in Seattle and Portland around Christmas and I got to do a lot of driving with the cruiser. I don't have a CDL switch, but the only time I went to low range (CDL locked), was for a very steep, snow covered, turning decent. Other than that, I felt the viscous coupler performed well at managing torque to the axles. It was WORK to get the tires slipping and cornering performance was very predictable. This being said, I have never driven an 80 with locked hi range in snow, so maybe they are even better.
 
global warming...!
 
viscous coupler? i didnt even know the 80 had a viscous coupler, if mine has one why does it need a cdl? or am i getting confused? educate me please...

jlbuk, havnt had much snow here yet, hoping to wake up in the morning and not be able to open the front door...
 
Not sure about the UK spec cruisers, but US cruisers from... 94-97 (or is it a year earlier?), do not have the ability to lock the center diff in 4 hi from the factory. You can easily add the switch since the harness is in the dash though. Since these trucks are full time 4 wheel drive, they use a viscous coupler to allow the front and rear axles to spin at different speeds on surfaces with good traction. Again, this could all be different if you have a part time 4 wheel drive rig, I know nothing about LC specs other an US ones.
 
hmm, i allways thought that with an all wheel drive vehicle a centre diff was used to allow the front and rear axles to spin at different speeds. this meaning the centre diff was "open" so if the front wheels lost traction the centre diff would prevent drive being sent to the rear wheels, hence the centre diff lock. hmm.. mine is permenant 4 wheel drive, i fitted the CDL switch a couple of weeks ago :)
 
Last edited:
well, think of the viscous coupling as a half-a$$ed locker.... :)
 
thats my understanding of a viscous coupler, similar to a limited slip diff, im quite sure uk cruisers dont have a viscous coupler.

so a centre viscous coupler isnt as effective as a locked centre diff?
 
Can't really compare the viscous coupler to a locked center diff. If you lock the center diff, you really shouldn't run the vehicle on pavement... you can, but you'll feel tire bite and put a lot of wear on the drive train. The viscous coupler allows the axles to spin at different speeds, but if one starts to slip/spin much faster than the other, torque is transferred to the slower spinning axle. If the center diff were truly "open" with no type of viscous coupler/limited slip, what would be the point? A single wheel losing traction at either axle would get all the torque... I would think this type of system would be worse than a 2 wheel drive vehicle.
 
I always thought any AWD cruiser had the VC (just the part timers that don't) - thus I believe UK spec do have the VC...
 
I always thought any AWD cruiser had the VC (just the part timers that don't) - thus I believe UK spec do have the VC...

I could not see any "full time" LC having no viscous coupler. You'd have less reliable traction than an open diff 2wd vehicle.

In slick conditions:

2wd open diff, effectively 1 wheel drive: when either driven wheel (2) slips, all torque stays at that wheel.

4wd full time, 3 open diffs, effectively 1 wheel drive: when any driven wheel slips (4), all torque stays at that wheel. You have double the chance to get a driven wheel slipping with this setup vs. 2wd open diff! yikes!

4wd full time, VC center and open F/R, effectively 2 wheel drive: when a wheel slips, torque is transferred to the opposite axle.

4wd locked center, open F/R, effectively 2 wheel drive: when a wheel slips torque remains the same to each axle.

Of these setups, only the 4wd with VC actively changes the amount of torque an axle sees. This is why I'd think packed snow / ice driving is probably safest without locking the center diff, what do you all think?
 
I could not see any "full time" LC having no viscous coupler. You'd have less reliable traction than an open diff 2wd vehicle.

The early JDM 80s have no viscous coupler. And it is full time 4wd.

I find in the snow (which I have driven in plenty) I like to have the centre locked. It gives more predictable handling. Its still very good with it open, but feels more "planted" locked. I never lock the front or rear diffs in snow unless I'm stuck.

The fun thing with the open centre, is that with it unlocked you can do e-brake turns in the snow just like in a front wheel drive car without any harm to the driveline. Getting a 5,000lb + truck sideways with the e-brake and the power on at the front wheels is a lark :eek: Don't try this at home kids (go to a friend's house:D)
 
The early JDM 80s have no viscous coupler. And it is full time 4wd.

I find in the snow (which I have driven in plenty) I like to have the centre locked. It gives more predictable handling. Its still very good with it open, but feels more "planted" locked. I never lock the front or rear diffs in snow unless I'm stuck.

The fun thing with the open centre, is that with it unlocked you can do e-brake turns in the snow just like in a front wheel drive car without any harm to the driveline. Getting a 5,000lb + truck sideways with the e-brake and the power on at the front wheels is a lark :eek: Don't try this at home kids (go to a friend's house:D)

Fair enough, I don't yet have the ability to lock mine in 4Hi, so my only comparison was to other pick up trucks with traditional part time 4 wheel drive systems. To be clear though, your 91 has a VC, right?
 
thats my understanding of a viscous coupler, similar to a limited slip diff, im quite sure uk cruisers dont have a viscous coupler.

so a centre viscous coupler isnt as effective as a locked centre diff?

You'll get us a bad name over here !

You truck has a VC. And have a look around tinternet and learn about VC's - lockable ones are quite nice to have on an AWD rig.
 
Fair enough, I don't yet have the ability to lock mine in 4Hi, so my only comparison was to other pick up trucks with traditional part time 4 wheel drive systems. To be clear though, your 91 has a VC, right?

No, mine doesn't have a VC. It is either totally open, or locked.

Edit: Don't try the e-brake thing if your truck has a VC either. I'm pretty sure something bad would happen:(

-Jason
 
Last edited:
thread jack...no more
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom