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LSD Equipped Gladiators Better Than Rubicon in Snow ?

49Gramps

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I seem to recall my '06 Rubicon had a limited slip in the rear along with the locker. Did they cancel that feature with the axle upgrades?
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JamesWyatt

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I don't really need people to tell me how great their Rubi is on snow. I don't feel stable. I have driven my brothers Sahara JLU with the factory LSD and it's a much more secure feeling.. Just to be sure it wasn't just the JLU vs Gladiator making a difference, I was able to trade my Gladiator with a buddy from work for 2 weeks who has a Rubi JLU and it felt mostly similar to my Gladiator. Granted there are now tire differences thrown into the mix but I would assume the same principle will apply on the Gladiators as did on the JLU's

Yes I could get there in the Rubis but I felt the LSD made the drive more secure and I felt more comfortable at higher speeds on the JLU.

Assuming the lingo for JL 4dr is JLU
I had a 2018 Power Wagon with 35” Toyo MTs, and in 4H unlocked in deep snow on dirt roads, the truck would break traction in the rear and take the rest of the truck with it into the ditch (driving very slow). Switching to 4L with locked front and rear, it would crawl out and drive like it was on dry pavement. The Power Wagon rear is LSD when unlocked, unlike the JT. I think if I had snow rated ATs on the Power Wagon, it would have been fine. Not sure what this means for your situation, though. Maybe the Jeep LSD works better in conjunction with the traction control than RAMs do.
 

JamesWyatt

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I don't think you can "add" LSD to a locking differential. They are two separate options for fixing the issue with an open differential.

Certainly, yes, both can be used with part-time 4x4 or 4 auto.
No, but you can buy a vehicle with locking diffs that is LSD when unlocked, the Power Wagon. But I wasn’t very impressed with the LSD performance on mine, at least not with 4H and mud tires in the snow.
 

ToJTornottoJT

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Wheelin98TJ

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I seem to recall my '06 Rubicon had a limited slip in the rear along with the locker. Did they cancel that feature with the axle upgrades?
You are correct, the TJ Rubi rear was a gear driven limited slip when unlocked.

That locker was made by TFS and that company is no longer around.
 

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WILDHOBO

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And the work around is the Tazer.
You can lock the rear in 4H with the rubicon without the Tazer. 4H, then off-road plus, then hold down traction control button until it beeps. Rear locker then works fine.

I also agree that tires are the differentiator. My rubicon works perfectly in feet of Colorado mountain snow. Both with original falken AT’s and now MT Baja Boss ATs. It’s virtually unstoppable. I’ve never needed lockers in deep snow, but do occasionally disable traction control.
 

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Unless you use a work around , the rubi can't be locked in 2wd
Jeep Gladiator LSD Equipped Gladiators Better Than Rubicon in Snow ? 20220325_170143


And the work around is the Tazer.
Don't need a Tazer to lock the rear in 4H.

This happened for the first time today with a Tazer. I've tried to do it before w no success. Unless someone else can replicate I think it just stayed stuck when coming out of 4H.
 
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MikeyK

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My 12 JKR was less than stellar in 2WD, always spinning one side coming up my driveway in any kind of snow (had to use 4WD).

My wife’s 12 JKU (sport) had LSD and she generally didn’t need 4WD in the same conditions.

I still loved my Rubicon, but “unfortunately” I had to give it up for my JT Willys (with LSD), which I just brought home on Wednesday!!!
???
 

WILDHOBO

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My 12 JKR was less than stellar in 2WD, always spinning one side coming up my driveway in any kind of snow (had to use 4WD).

My wife’s 12 JKU (sport) had LSD and she generally didn’t need 4WD in the same conditions.

I still loved my Rubicon, but “unfortunately” I had to give it up for my JT Willys (with LSD), which I just brought home on Wednesday!!!
???
Congrats. Have fun with it. Without pictures, there’s no proof.
 

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WILDHOBO

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Wheelin98TJ

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My 12 JKR was less than stellar in 2WD, always spinning one side coming up my driveway in any kind of snow (had to use 4WD).

My wife’s 12 JKU (sport) had LSD and she generally didn’t need 4WD in the same conditions.

I still loved my Rubicon, but “unfortunately” I had to give it up for my JT Willys (with LSD), which I just brought home on Wednesday!!!
???
If you lock just the rear, you usually don’t need 4wd. A locked rear vs a limited slip rear and both in 2wd, the locked rear will get further.

And also of big importance here is the tires. I had my open diff Gladiator in the UP a few weekends ago and had no trouble where a limited slip Ram needed 4wd. Difference was probably the tires.
 
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Jack D.

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tires are not the differentiator. I'm running Blizzaks which are the best, possibly second best to the Hakka R3's, winter tires avail without studs. Not a fan of 3 peak AT's, especially on hardpack.

What I don't get is how the full-time 4wd works with the Trac Lok LSD and Selec Trac working together.
 

MikeyK

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If you lock just the rear, you usually don’t need 4wd. A locked rear vs a limited slip rear and both in 2wd, the locked rear will get further.

And also of big importance here is the tires. I had my open diff Gladiator in the UP a few weekends ago and had no trouble where a limited slip Ram needed 4wd. Difference was probably the tires.
To the best of my knowledge, I could only lock the 2012 in 4LO.

Tires were BFG MT’s. It behaved better with the Falken AT’s, but again, it is “no mas” ?
 

JamesWyatt

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tires are not the differentiator. I'm running Blizzaks which are the best, possibly second best to the Hakka R3's, winter tires avail without studs. Not a fan of 3 peak AT's, especially on hardpack…
Important context keeps getting added bit by bit. I’m outta here — experience on dedicated snow tires is outside my “wheel”house :CWL: Was the LSD equipped Sahara running tank treads?
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