1 locker only , would it be front or back ???

[Datsunracer68]

If you had to pick front or back on a live axle 4wd which would it be and why ?? I would go front as most difficult rocks and ledges you need a locker to pull you over and not push you into it harder.

[nine2nine]

Front every time. The rear is most likely to have both wheels planted, whereas the front lift wheels all the time.

[South]

3 votes for front

[Aaron]

Fronts will also see more stable ground/rock/stuff before the rear, rears nearly always churning in crap already churned by the fronts.

[Roadsailing]

Front for rocks, rear for fun on dirt apparently.

[vet 180]

Rear all day long. 9 times out of 10 the rear is more loaded up with more weight on it and needs the most traction. The front generally has a lot less weight on it and therefore can not provide the same level of traction.

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[XFJET]

Depends, on live axle with zero traction control I would go rear locker
Why? Because my current live axle 4x4 (P38 rangie) with traction control only on the rear doe not struggle one bit going up most shit, I can feel the TC kicking in A LOT but it walks up anything. The front axle is connected to the rear via a viscous coupling diff where you need some slip to heat up the silicon in it to lock it up, very very few times it locked but when it did you can feel it, without locking it up the fronts have about 10% torque. I have disabled the TC and tried to go up the same hill and viscous coupling kicked in very quick and got all 4 wheels going and pulled me up the hill.

So without any sort of TC I would first go locker on the rear, if you do have any sort of TC then locker on the front, specially with IFS

[irsa76]

Locker in the rear, a front locker compromises steering to much. There's a reason most factory lockers are in the rear only, and in the case of twin lockers the rear must be engaged before the front.

[XFJET]

Locker in the rear, a front locker compromises steering to much. There's a reason most factory lockers are in the rear only, and in the case of twin lockers the rear must be engaged before the front.

usually you'd go lock the center, lock the rear and then lock the front then winch yourself out

[vet 180]

Locker in the rear, a front locker compromises steering to much. There's a reason most factory lockers are in the rear only, and in the case of twin lockers the rear must be engaged before the front.

This. Relying only on a front locker with nothing in the rear will suck the moment you put steering input into it.

I would also add that i would run a cheaper auto/mechanical locker in the rear, but would prefer a more expensive selectable locker in the front so you can disengage to get steering back. So if your on a budget can get into a rear locker cheaper. I would not run an mechanical locker on any auto hub equipped vehicle in the front.

The ONLY time I would consider front locker before rear is if the vehicle comes factory with a very good rear LSD and that LSD can nit be moved to the front.

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[irsa76]

usually you'd go lock the center, lock the rear and then lock the front then winch yourself out

Not all factory twin locked vehicles have center diffs. LC70s don't, and have twin lockers, but yes the generally accepted process is center then rear diff.
Personally I'm not really a fan of lockers, I find good LSD to be much better in 99% of usage. To the point I'd love to rip the factory locker out of my Challenger and fit the Mitsubishi hybrid LSD in the back. For my usage the locker is a waste of time. On the other hand, I use the lockers in the truck all the time.

[Slides]

Mechanical self locker rear, helical if you are soft (they are nicer on road if your weight distributionis ok) and want to feather the handbrake occasionally. Electric in the front after mech rear only if it is really nasty.

You need to consider the front:rear weight distribution and relative roll stiffness of each end if you are forced to follow the question strictly. For most dual cabs with rear leaves you are likely to get max tractive effort with rear first, as they will take the most weight off a rear wheel from the already lighter end.

[XFJET]

I like the Range Rover electronic gizmos compared to lockers, if you look at some L322's videos they are simply amazing off-road, they go up shit that most land cruisers and patrols with 3 diff lockers spin all four and "give it all she's got mate" while the rangie just uses electronic gizmos and slowy gets up without much fanfare

[KarenHusseinXF]

It might very well depend on the car, but the two very capable units that i've driven (one IFS, one solid axle) over many obstacles there was exactly 0 that you could get up with the front locker on that you couldn't also get up with just the rear locker on.

There was a small number of them that you could get up with just the rear locker on that you couldn't also get up with just the front locker on.

tldr: rear .

[burn is weird]

rear locker is far more effective 99% of the time unless you are reversing up steep slopes. you get my drift.