Brake Lock Differential (BLD) seems awesome to me!

[cab1024]

I got my first Jeep in February -- I've wanted one since I was a kid -- a '21 JLU Sport Altitude, and I've been 4-wheeling in it every weekend I could since then. Last weekend, a buddy and I did many of the Cleghorn Ridge Trail offshoots in SoCal. My Jeep made it through with only some rubbing on the plastic bumpers and one fender (in the Chute), whereas my buddy's LX470 had a little more trouble. I credit damn near all of my success to how incredibly capable the open-diff Sport Altitude is, with tons of credit to the BLD system that kicked in frequently on the trail and never waivered from getting me through an obstacle.

I found an article that I wanted to share that explain how it works so well -- and why you too should trust your Sport or Sahara to take on damn near anything, even without "Rubicon" emblazoned on the hood. Don't get me wrong ... I had calls into a local dealer to exchange my Altitude for a Rubicon once I started hitting more difficult trails, but after this trip I'll most likely keep the Sport and upgrade her or trade her in a few years down the road. There's also something to be said for having a more thrilling ride on a trail pushing your vehicle to its limits and making it through, rather than driving over everything with 37s and locked diffs like the obstacles weren't even there. Same philosophy goes for my Husky Svartpilen 401 vs a 700 or 900 cc bike...

Here's a great article: https://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com/2008/02/11/jeep-brake-traction-control-explained/

And if you want to see some video from the day, and the rescue, on Cleghorn -- check out the first video at the link below. This was a first cut, but there will be another version soon that's more polished. You can see the BLD kicking in on my first big climb about 1/3 of the way into the video.
https://www.youtube.com/c/ChuckBaldwinOutdoors/videos

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[JL MADDOG]

I like the feature as well and use it when needed out on the trail.

 

[John VonJeep]

Sometimes BLD just doesn’t do the job. I don’t know why, but on certain obstacles I just get wheelspin and No forward momentum.

Then I hit my rear locker and all is right with the world. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

All these electronic solutions sound good, but mechanical solutions are always better.

 

[Sean L]

The BLD is a good system, but I think my LSD reacts faster mechanically than the BLD up front does. And to echo what @John VonJeep said, neither the BLD or LSD is going to perform as well as a locked differential in certain situations.

That being said, I haven't met that situation yet here in NC. I'd need bigger rocks...

 

[EZPower]

Stupid question. I have a Willys 2020 with LSD. Does BLD come standard on all Jeeps? Or is it an added option?

 

[cab1024]

Stupid question. I have a Willys 2020 with LSD. Does BLD come standard on all Jeeps? Or is it an added option?

It comes standard on all Wranglers and is always working. You cannot turn it off.

 

[EZPower]

It comes standard on all Wranglers and is always working. You cannot turn it off.

So in 4H as i'm driving on snow, Rear LSD will activate, but in addition BLD will engage if the front tire will start spinning?

 

[cab1024]

So in 4H as i'm driving on snow, Rear LSD will activate, but in addition BLD will engage if the front tire will start spinning?

Correct.

 

[blnewt]

It's a good system vs. not having anything, and with open diffs it really can get you out of a jam in certain conditions.

 

[phageghost]

There's a saying that "it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slow." I think the same applies to pushing the capabilities of an offroad vehicle, at least until things go sideways. Saw a Youtube video of a guy driving his Crown Victoria around the slickrock in Moab -- my kind of guy.

 

[Shibadog]

Back when, most Jeeps had open diff’s, a very few had limited slip and lockers were strictly an aftermarket item for extreme stuff. Folks still managed to get where they wanted to go. ‘Course Jeeps had vinyl doors, rubber seats and floors as well-and heaters and radios were optional

 

[Heimkehr]

So in 4H as i'm driving on snow, Rear LSD will activate, but in addition BLD will engage if the front tire will start spinning?

The performance of the BLD feature in snow was middling, in my experience, so I wouldn't put too much faith in it.

I wasn't purposely using a heavy right foot. Just the opposite, actually: I was driving according to conditions, and was expecting a bit more assistance from the BLD tech than what I actually perceived was occurring, or not, during various reduced-traction events.

Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Sean L]

The performance of the BLD feature in snow was middling, in my experience, so I wouldn't put too much faith in it.

I wasn't purposely using a heavy right foot. Just the opposite, actually: I was driving according to conditions, and was expecting a bit more assistance from the BLD tech than what I actually perceived was occurring, or not, during various reduced-traction events.

Just something to keep in mind.

Traction control cuts throttle before the BLD can do much, so if that was still active then you're not getting unstuck easily.

 

[EZPower]

The performance of the BLD feature in snow was middling, in my experience, so I wouldn't put too much faith in it.

I wasn't purposely using a heavy right foot. Just the opposite, actually: I was driving according to conditions, and was expecting a bit more assistance from the BLD tech than what I actually perceived was occurring, or not, during various reduced-traction events.

Just something to keep in mind.

So over the years I had multiple 4WD vehicles. Liberty, Grand Cherokee, Disco 2. My Off Road so far has been during snow storms at night listening to Pink Floyd ( I know I'm showing my age). I find driving slow at night during snow storms is relaxing and fun for me. First winter in Wrangler, we didn't get that much snow. I will see next year how it does before I opt for locking Diffs in 4H.

 

[Heimkehr]

So over the years I had multiple 4WD vehicles. Liberty, Grand Cherokee, Disco 2. My Off Road so far has been during snow storms at night listening to Pink Floyd ( I know I'm showing my age). I find driving slow at night during snow storms is relaxing and fun for me.

I too like long walks on the beach driving at night in Winter. When I took that pic, it was daytime and I was [coincidentally] listening to The Division Bell.

Some years ago:
Eager to test the newly installed heated grips on my Suzuki, I ventured out just before darkness. A passing squall went through just as it was getting dark on the return leg. I made it home still upright, but I won't be doing that again, lol.

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