[its_woo]

http://www.fourwheeler.com/projectbuild/129_0605_2005_nissan_nismo_frontier

Whats up with this mod? I think it is probably a BAD idea, no?


Why did they put a switch in? We wouldnt be able to use the regular locker switch?

 

[Driver X]

i think it is so you can lock the diff in 4hi

 

[its_woo]

so there is a switch to lock the diff in 4LO, and a SEPERATE one to lock it in 4HI or 2WD. That sucks

 

[Driver X]

there was a post about this somewhere else either on here or on club frontier... but its just to lock the diff in 4hi or 4lo. the fronty's i wheel with only seem to lock in 4lo on the trails anyways, no need to lock in 4hi IMO

 

[stevet47]

Mud would be the only reason to lock in 4hi.

As far as I know I was the first person to do this to a Frontier (I worked with the guy who came up with the idea for the Titans to figure it all out), but have sense seen it as un-unnecessary an un-did the mod. Well, actually I un-did it because I had to in order to get a totally unrelated electrical problem warrantied my Nissan, but I never re-moded it, because it is not needed, for me anyway.

 

[d-rap]

I have read and been told about a long history of this mod in offroading circles. And obviously many aftermarket lockers can be engaged anytime. One of the techs at my dealer who's a big Toyota guy and an offroader complains about the new vehicles' restrictive lockers.

Driving offroad in the desert, as I do often, I sometimes wish I could engage my locker in 4-Hi. Maybe I'm running through an area that's a mix of embedded rocks and sand, a wash bottom for instance, where I can travel a a decent clip and don't want the low-gear traction of 4-Lo but am still getting slip and spin and losing traction as tires contact very loose sand.

Another situation would be a dirt road that's a mix of dirt and patchy snow and ice. No need or desire to be in Lo, but locked you avoid losing traction as one tire slips on ice and the other is on dry ground.

I would seriously consider this mod for these kinds of situations.

 

[Muzikman]

I'll stress this a lot.

You do not want to be locked and moving at more than a snails pace when on ice and packed snow. You might not be spinning tire, but the back end will break loose and depending on the speed, the turn and how much ice/packed snow, you might end up sideways.

 

[d-rap]

OK, I hear that, loud and clear.

But are there situations, such as the desert example I gave, where you might want to be locked in Hi?

 

[Muzikman]

Sure, as long as the locker can take the stress there are lots of times you might want to be locked in 4hi. In PA the that time would be in mud. There are many times when you have to keep momentum in mud, but you do not want to loose traction.

With this mod all you are doing is shorting out the solenoid which tells it to lock. The problem is, since you are bypassing the entire computer (which if you look in the service manual is pretty complex when it comes to the locker) you also bypass the dach lights and safeguards for it. If you flip that bypass switch, it's locked and it will stay locked until the diff either fails or you turn it off.

 

[PacoPico]

Sure, as long as the locker can take the stress there are lots of times you might want to be locked in 4hi.

Less torque multiplication in high range = less stress.

No problem there.

 

[Muzikman]

Tell that to the rear diffs that have been failing.

I agree with you, but the number of diff failures is shocking and they so far have all been M226's with lockers. Mine failed doing 20mph in a residential neighborhood.

 

[PacoPico]

The differential can't hear me, it's an inanimate object :drunken: