Eaton, Truetrac vs LS
 

Hey Guys,

Which is better for a street driven, stock tire. 2wd, 2.3, 5sp auto?

I'm looking for better traction in the rain/snow/ice this winter.

Thanks:smileford:

I assume you don't know much about the products since Eaton makes the Truetrac, which is a limited slip. lol

There are a few different types of limited slip differentials. The two most common are clutch based (like Ford's trac lock) and gear driven (Torsen or Truetrac).

A clutch based limited slip can be built to tighter specs with different clutch packs to be more or less aggressive. They will wear out over time. They will generally hit their traction limitations earlier than a gear driven limited slip I believe. A clutch based limited slip can be a bit unpredictable in my opinion, sometimes it will lock and spin both rear tires, other times it will only spin one tire and further wear on the clutch packs.

A gear driven limited slip does not wear out. They can be more aggressive. I don't have a significant amount of driving time with one, but they are much more favorable in general. They are more expensive, but you get what you pay for.

Any limited slip is basically a traction multiplier. Put one tire on dry pavement and the other on ice, and the majority of the power will take the easiest route still (ie spinning the tire on the ice). If the tire that is on ice has some resistance (sometimes braking helps), it can multiple that and send it to the other wheel for some traction hopefully. With one tire in the air, it has zero traction. Nothing to multiple. In other words, the wheel in the air will spin freely while the wheel on the ground may sit still.

Now eaton also makes an automatic locker (detroit), and an electronic locker. I wouldn't recommend a detroit locker for your use. An electronic locker is really for off-roading mostly. You only use it when you are getting stuck or have a good chance of getting stuck. Simply engaging the locker and driving around on snow/ice would be hell, or really fun. lol. Basically you would be sliding around every corner on slippery surfaces, and chirping tires/breaking axles on dry surfaces.

Basically, I would recommend a gear driven limited slip for your use. However you should understand that a limited slip in a rear wheel drive vehicle will cause over-steer on slippery conditions so you will probably need to modify your driving habits.

how about snow tires?
or for the price of adding limited slip how about buying a $500 winter beater instead.

Thanks for the info, I guess what I really was asking is which type would be better in terms of traction when merging/turning into traffic from a standstill (damn near got tagged by a speeding car) and service life.

Randy's Ring and Pinion is suggesting that a clutched LS would be a better because it can be rebuilt and the geared type has to replaced when worn. How many miles will a clutched unit last between rebuilds vs replacing the geared type?

Studded snow tires are on the list, that and the LS should keep me rolling this winter.

well theres any answer you may need, a locker would not be reccommend imo also cuz it is very aggressive. i love my limited slip. esp in the rain. i have to really have to get on the gas to get the rear end lose, unlike a open diff. you can one tire fire a open diff on dry np at all. As far as a gear driven or clutch driven i dont know alot about but what brent said makes sense and would benifit you to get a gear driven to last longer... good luck and keep us updated

A clutch based limited slip is okay, it is better than nothing. With 145k miles, the limited slip in my ranger was still fairly effective in snow. But in deep snow I got stuck spinning one tire while the other was standing still. You aren't making a ton of power with the 2.3L anyway, I'm sure a clutch based limited slip would serve you over 100k miles without too much trouble. The install will be expensive though anyway.

Either type of limited slip will be a big help in getting/keeping you moving.

Snow tires are a big help, so is keeping some weight secured over the rear axle. A few sand bags tied down in the center of the bed is always good. It also (of course) helps to keep some momentum whenever possible when you're driving a two wheel drive. Plan far enough ahead so you can slow down and keep moving instead of stopping and starting again.

well yea ofcourse i have a clutch limited slip(i think. is that stock ls for a ranger XLT 4x4 with a lsd) and it works great on road. a limited slip diff (lsd) is like a 8 on road but like a 1 off road. since your worried about onroad traction.

Thanks for the imput guys, I'm thinking the geared LS would be a better app + a longer service life.
will keep you posted after it gets installed next week