Open diff vs LSD

[fadetoblack188]

What are the pros and cons to both. I found out last night i have an open diff. Not to happy about it. I took it on the beach and it seemed to do alright. Just upsetting now knowing i dont have lsd.

So with an open diff.. the one rear wheel will never apply power? only 3 wheels will?

 

[jbr]

What are the pros and cons to both. I found out last night i have an open diff. Not to happy about it. I took it on the beach and it seemed to do alright. Just upsetting now knowing i dont have lsd.

So with an open diff.. the one rear wheel will never apply power? only 3 wheels will?

http://www.ramforum.com/showthread.php?t=47518

 

[jeepguy_1980]

What are the pros and cons to both. I found out last night i have an open diff. Not to happy about it. I took it on the beach and it seemed to do alright. Just upsetting now knowing i dont have lsd.

So with an open diff.. the one rear wheel will never apply power? only 3 wheels will?

How do you know you have an open differential? Jacking the truck off of the ground and spinning the tires is not an accurate indication in our trucks.

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[fadetoblack188]

^ build sheet.. Part number on sticker on rear

 

[jeepguy_1980]

To answer your original question. There aren't really any cons to the LSD, compared to an open diff. Unless you consider the cost of buying, additives when changing oil, and repair costs.

There are not any pros to the open diff, other than cost.

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[MiRamDriver]

As far as I know, 1500's don't have a LSD front end - so if you have an open rear and "4x4" you actually have 2 wheel drive instead of 3 wheel drive. lol

I can tell you that an open diff in the snow SUCKS and will make a big difference in more advanced off roading. I will not own a truck without it.

 

[lonewolf2873]

I'm missing something somewhere. I do not have LSD on my build sheet anywhere but with 3.55 gears I've yet to do straight hole shot, spinning tires around turns and such without leaving 2 solid rubber strips.
When exactly am I going to see downside of open 3.55?

 

[fadetoblack188]

As far as I know, 1500's don't have a LSD front end - so if you have an open rear and "4x4" you actually have 2 wheel drive instead of 3 wheel drive. lol

I can tell you that an open diff in the snow SUCKS and will make a big difference in more advanced off roading. I will not own a truck without it.

.. the four wheels will get power when needed. just not the same amount. Its not like only the back right tire gets power and the front right tire gets power.

 

[tsunamilogan05]

I thought the whole point of new vehicles losing solid axels(besides cutting weight to save on gas lol) and going with independent suspension up front and now the rear was adding allot of electric 4wds now was you should still get power to all the wheels (for some of us the front with 4wd) independently if not on an axel? So those with 4wd and an lsd have real 4wd and those without the lsd have 3 (still better than 2)

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[fadetoblack188]

its very annoying to see my button say "4WD LOCK" and in reality it locks nothing.

Atleast changed to wording

 

[DannyMK2]

I thought the whole point of new vehicles losing solid axels(besides cutting weight to save on gas lol) and going with independent suspension up front and now the rear was adding allot of electric 4wds now was you should still get power to all the wheels (for some of us the front with 4wd) independently if not on an axel? So those with 4wd and an lsd have real 4wd and those without the lsd have 3 (still better than 2)

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no, not at all. the whole point of ditching the soild axles was for a better ride.

if you have lsd and 4wd, 3 wheels spin. without lsd and 4wd, 2 wheels spin.

its very annoying to see my button say "4WD LOCK" and in reality it locks nothing.

Atleast changed to wording

it says 4wd lock because its locking the t-case in 4wd (and the front axle is always engaged) as opposed to 4wd auto, where the t-case engages the front axle as needed.

 

[fadetoblack188]

Yea I don't have the auto option

 

[earlzach]

Most 4x4s will perform as well SD each other in most off road needs. Only real aggressive off road needs will fair better with a lock up rear.
I have no regret whatsoever opting out of LSD for better truck life and smoother ride and any other old man benefits that come with it.

 

[NYCruiser]

better off installing front and rear lockers like my Rubicon had for offroad. That thing was like a tank on treads. Not sure if its doable with these Ram diffs.

 

[fadetoblack188]

i am not looking to go rock crawling.. just some beach driving and hunting trails that may have mud and snow and some uphill.

 

[DannyMK2]

better off installing front and rear lockers like my Rubicon had for offroad. That thing was like a tank on treads. Not sure if its doable with these Ram diffs.

that would be the power wagon.

 

[Brakelate]

I have no regret whatsoever opting out of LSD for better truck life and smoother ride and any other old man benefits that come with it.

A absence of a rear LSD will not / does not impact ride quality, truck life or anything else, other than cost as previously mentioned.

Lockers can be viewed as "extreme", and come with some drawbacks.

A Limited Slip Differential really has no drawbacks other than cost.

An Open Differential is just affordable.

They go in that order, top to bottom, in both terms of cost and effectiveness.

Folks can do a Internet Search on each, or I can explain all three here if needed to help folks understand each.

 

[DannyMK2]

i am not looking to go rock crawling.. just some beach driving and hunting trails that may have mud and snow and some uphill.

for most people lsd is not needed. its something thats nice to have, and sure, i wish my truck had it, but id say that 95% of the time i have no need for it, and the times that it would help, its nothing that engaging 4wd couldnt fix. for what your looking to do with your truck, your probably fine without it. if you threw a good set of a/t tires on, you probably wont even notice your missing it.

 

[NYCruiser]

I love when guys ask how to tell if they have it or not, and then get upset that they don't. Like, if it was that important, you would know it was missing. LOL

If you need to go to the build sheet to find out if you have it, you haven't been doing anything that needs it.

 

[earlzach]

for most people lsd is not needed. its something thats nice to have, and sure, i wish my truck had it, but id say that 95% of the time i have no need for it, and the times that it would help, its nothing that engaging 4wd couldnt fix. for what your looking to do with your truck, your probably fine without it. if you threw a good set of a/t tires on, you probably wont even notice your missing it.

Bingo.

Ive been owning Off road trucks since 1987 over a dozen. ALl had quality gearing.
This was the one time I said, Nope Dont want it dont need it! Going for teh savings. NOt even looking back.