Change to Limited Slip

[Mopar1973Man]

No.

 

Front axle is always an "open differential". Only the rear is optional of "open differential" or "limited slip". As for pulling power, it done on both wheels on that axle but when a tire loses traction it will continue to spin. Where a limited slip uses a clutch pack to lock the axle solid and give traction to the other tire possibly. It doesn't mean it can but that is the concept. 

 

In 4WD my truck pulls straight on all four tires. But since I use smaller / narrow tires my traction is better so the whole slip part is rare for me hence why "open differential" still works just fine. Now for guys with wide tires or duals now this is a whole another story where traction is lost easily and "limited slip" would be a good band-aid for this case. Guys will duals you basically taking 2,860 pounds dividing by 2 giving 1,430 pounds per dual set. Now since the contact patch is much wider and spread of weight of larger amount of cubic inches traction is lost really easy. 

 

No clutches...

 

Limited slip Dana 80... As you can see the clutches. 

14 minutes ago, Greenlee said:

I'm lost on this, sorry, the rear differential is one wheel pulling and the front is two wheel pulling? So in 4WD it's actually 3WD? 

This is another degree of education all by its self. Not dealing with ice or snow but possibly a 5th wheel way down the road would 35s be a good way for me to go with the manual 24 valve I plan on driving? I saw the thread on going from a 35 to another size tire, maybe I should stop and read what's going on to get a better understanding????? I plan on reading soon anyway

 

Towing and daily driving optimal you want 3.55 to 3.73 final gear ratio to the ground. So like in my case with the factory tire size is 265/ 75 R16 with 3.55 axle gears now change up to 245/75 R16 (the other factory tire size) now my final gear ratio to the ground is 3.69:1 which is darn close to 3.73 ratio. This puts me at a perfect 2,000 RPM's at 66 MPH in 5th gear on NV4500 transmission. At 85 MPH your twisting nearly a perfect 2,400 RPM's.

 

 

[Greenlee]

1 hour ago, Mopar1973Man said:

No. Makes the truck hydroplane more.

Didn't see this, I don't need 35s then with as much rain as we have here. I'm a little slow on the Differentials, I should know all of this but I can't relate to what your saying. It's alright, I'll do some reading on it all. Man, I think I could cause someone to start drinking at times.

[Mopar1973Man]

Being I travel 65,000 miles per year in all weather conditions from rain to snow. I've found more wide tire and lifted trucks losing traction and slowing way down (25 to 35 MPH) where I leave my cruise set and keep rolling right on around them. Like last winter I was able to travel 55 MPH on packed snow and rarely had to use 4WD. Even in downpour rain the only thing that slows me down is loss of vision because of the windshield being bombed by too much rain or snow. 

 

Surprising what just a mere inch of rubber change can do for stability or power. 

 

 

[Greenlee]

26 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Being I travel 65,000 miles per year in all weather conditions from rain to snow. I've found more wide tire and lifted trucks losing traction and slowing way down (25 to 35 MPH) where I leave my cruise set and keep rolling right on around them. Like last winter I was able to travel 55 MPH on packed snow and rarely had to use 4WD. Even in downpour rain the only thing that slows me down is loss of vision because of the windshield being bombed by too much rain or snow. 

 

Surprising what just a mere inch of rubber change can do for stability or power. 

 

 

Well it is, You guys are smart and know your business on this Forum. It makes me realize that a lot of engineering goes into every aspect of what we do on a daily basis. Like most I thought tires are tires, you pick a size and throw them on and get on your way. I need a new set but as far as brand or size I don't know. The Firestones on it now lasted 50k which shocked me. I never got that kind of mileage out of a set of tires. My wife never got more that 30k out of any set we ever bought. She got over 57k out of the original Goodyear tires on her Buick. Things have changed and I haven't stayed up with any of it since I had to retire. "The Lost Years". Now I'm shocked how tires are better than ever. I want to find a set that are quite and will run a long time. A tire that handles the elements and makes it even safer to drive. I've got my homework to do. You have added a lot of experience to this Forum along with all the other members. Thanks

[dripley]

49 minutes ago, Greenlee said:

Man, I think I could cause someone to start drinking at times.

We got that one already covered.

[Marcus2000monster]

I wasn't aware that I could get tires in a 265 85 17? 

[Greenlee]

42 minutes ago, dripley said:

We got that one already covered.

Great, I'm not the only one, good to hear

[Mopar1973Man]

11 hours ago, Greenlee said:

The Firestones on it now lasted 50k which shocked me. I never got that kind of mileage out of a set of tires. My wife never got more that 30k out of any set we ever bought. She got over 57k out of the original Goodyear tires on her Buick.

 

Now that changes the topic a bit. Like my experience with tire I was always the miser type looking for the sales and cutting cost figured the same thing. Tires are tires. Nope. So wrong I learned. As you start to reach back into the name brands like I found Hankook ATm have a harder compound and wear like iron. Where cheap tires are much softer compound and tend to wear quickly. There are two tires I tend to avoid now is the Cooper STT and the Toyo M/T being they are both made the same great tread pattern good for offroad use but extremely heavy because of the extra steel belting for protection offroad. You'll lose on average about -2 MPG for these tires. This what bought me back to A/T which was a good mix between road radial and something that could handle snow, mud and such. Still the compound of the rubber need to be hard enough to give long life. 

 

Back in the motorcycle days. I use to keep a set of R compound tires on hand (Racing Compound) typically lasted about 7k to 15k miles and then were spent. Extremely soft compound and excellent traction. When I finally gave up illegal canyon racing and street racing I changed over to touring tires. They are so darn hard of a rubber I had troubles changing tires by myself and typically sent the wheels in to be changed for me. 

 

@Greenlee I would suggest weighing out your truck and you'll see what I mean about axle weight and tire stance. Now measure out the contact patch and figure out your weight per square inch. Another way to look at it if you going to crawl up on a weaken roof typically you would take a sheet of plywood and slide up on the roof first. Then you can stand or kneel on the plywood without the risk of falling through. Again another example spreading your weight out to prevent falling through.  

 

Another tidbit. If you walk into any flooring store most will NOT warranty flooring against stiletto heels. Why? Even if you have a 120 pound woman which is not much weight at all but when you amplify the force of a 120 pound woman into a 1/8 inch square that makes that downward force somewhere 900 pounds of force in that tiny heel and it can shatter ceramic tile, poke holes in carpet, and even dent hardwood floors.