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I thought carefully of many places I could go to test out the effectiveness of the Powertrax No-Slip locker. A nearby trail called "The Pony Trail" came to mind, and on this trail is "The Pony Rock". The trail cuts across a rocky stream bed, and the Pony Rock lies right smack-dab in the middle of the trail. | |
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In the years that I've been attempting this solitary obstacle, I have never made it over without taking a bypass. My initial attempts were in a YJ with 2.5" ProComp, and 32" mud terrains. That was futile. My second attempts were in a 4.5" XJ with 32" mud terrains and a Detroit in the back. This came close, but I feel break-over angle was the problem. Finally, I tried in the TJ with 2" Old Man Emu, 31" tires, and a Powertrax No-Slip in the rear differential. | |
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Everything went smoothly at first. The rock was slick, and the Jeep walked right up my line becoming flexed out and off-camber. Suddenly, the rear-end slipped sideways down the rock as the passenger side rear struggled for traction on the slick vertical surface. This caused my line to change completely, and a new problem entered the equation. | |
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The Jeep was off-camber with its soft-top next to the remains of a long dead tree stem that still stands erect next to the rock. If the remains of the tree were going to get me, I wouldn't have been the first victim! The situation became more difficult but not yet hopeless as the TJ struggled for traction. The Dana35c groaned and my seat tasted soft as I anticipated the invetible <SNAP!> from the rear axle... a common occurance for the more persistant four-wheeler. | |
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Suddenly, with some tweaking of the line, and with a turn of the steering wheel, the TJ lifted its driver side front wheel into the sky as the back tires bit into the rock and lifted me to safety. When the front came down I knew that I had finally conquered the "Pony Rock". The Powertrax No-Slip, at that very moment, became well worth its price, and it made one Jeeper very happy. |
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The final word is, we are extremely pleased with the off-road strength and performance of this locker. It provides a 100% lock to both wheels, and provides excellent off-road traction, just as a locker should. On the road, while it isn't the "miracle" invisible locker that acts like spider-gears that I had dreamingly hoped for, it is very quiet and very well-mannered. After it was initially installed, I noticed it the most going around corners, and a stereotypical torque transfer when going from drive to coast, but it was very tolerable. |
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Every locker has a learning curve, and after one week of driving my TJ continuously, I hardly noticed the locker was there. Every now and then I hear a tire chirp when turning 90-degrees onto roads from stop signs, but that isn't bad. I've driven 5,000 miles with it since it was initially installed, and it feels even smoother and less noticable. This is due to a combination of "breaking it in" and just plain getting used to it. The Jeep is my daily driver, and I drive 40 miles to work and back every day. My better half drives it frequently and she is also very comfortable. The Powertrax No-Slip, I am convinced, is the most bang-per-buck, least compromise, easiest installing, 100% locking differential unit available for four-wheelers today. I will be recommending this locker to my friends. (unless of course they're alread locked.) If you have any more questions regarding this locker that I didn't cover in this article, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Many thanks to OK Auto, 4wd & Tire in Stewartsville, New Jersey for taking the time and man-power on a Saturday to install the locker. |
