LR3 / LR4 Air Lockers

[rayhyland]

OK, so this is kinda cool, we've managed to get our hands on the first set of ARB air lockers in the world for the LR3/LR4.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/editori ... Locker.jpg

We are putting them on our LR4 project truck. They don't affect the factory traction control systems at all. The onboard computer will just sense there is no wheel-spin, and proceed as normally. Plus you can disengage them at will, so you have total control, having full access to the TC, HDC, SC, etc in slippery terrain or at high-speed when things get squirrely.

When Tom Collins and I drove the TAT last month, we were really impressed by the stock LR4, but there were a couple of sections where it would be nice to be able to completely eliminate any wheel spin, especially in situations where you are in a technical and also somewhat unstable situation. (rock slides, old bridges, etc)

We should have these installed and tested before SEMA on our LR4 which is running 33's. Let me know if anyone has specific technical questions. And if you are coming to SEMA this year let me know, so I can let you check out the LR4 and also get you invited to the big Overlander party. We rent a huge house in Vegas for the SEMA party, it's a lot of fun.

Cheers

Ray

http://www.expeditionportal.com/compone ... d-lr4.html

[red90]

Cool. I've seen various places where the traction control completely fails. Deep packed snow is the worst I've seen.

[Strange Rover]

This is awesome, I love the LR4.
I hope to buy one down the road some day when I mature a little bit and lose interest in horsepower.

[scraig]

This is interesting. I was wondering if the diffs could be engaged manually with some sort of electronic override rather than a pneumatic switch? Also, I assume you have a separate on-board air system to the suspension system

[Crs]

I'm just guessing, but I think the idea is NOT to mess with the car's traction control and auto differentials. This system keeps things separate and, therefore, happy. I'm sure it's a different air pump to the suspension as tapping the EAS is also problematic (The EAS compressor is not designed to run for long periods of time. If it is running and detects no increase in pressure in the EAS (as would be the case if the air was diverted) then it assumes there is a leak, shuts down and throws a fault warning.) I would hope that an airlocker would allow on board air for tire inflation.

It sounds really neat, but, I wonder how useful it is. Most Roverlanders get by without additional lockers. A nice LR3/4 with TC and optional rear diff lock is going to be really good off road. I wonder just how much better it will be with the lockers? And will any minor improvement actually be worth the (probably) major price?

Still, interesting! :D

[rayhyland]

I'm just guessing, but I think the idea is NOT to mess with the car's traction control and auto differentials. This system keeps things separate and, therefore, happy. I'm sure it's a different air pump to the suspension as tapping the EAS is also problematic (The EAS compressor is not designed to run for long periods of time. If it is running and detects no increase in pressure in the EAS (as would be the case if the air was diverted) then it assumes there is a leak, shuts down and throws a fault warning.) I would hope that an airlocker would allow on board air for tire inflation.

It sounds really neat, but, I wonder how useful it is. Most Roverlanders get by without additional lockers. A nice LR3/4 with TC and optional rear diff lock is going to be really good off road. I wonder just how much better it will be with the lockers? And will any minor improvement actually be worth the (probably) major price?

Still, interesting! :D

It will add value in certain circumstances, how much remains to be seen. Stay tuned, I will let you know what we find out after we test it.