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What is the point of the limited slip differential?

trouphaz

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I got there LSD in my ‘19 JLU sport S and am disappointed in its performance in the snow. I was parking and my right rear wheel hit a patch of ice near the curb and I seemed to lose traction even though the left wheel was on dry pavement. I thought this should transfer power to the other wheel. Am I overestimating the value of the LSD? I had LSD on my 2007 Mini Cooper convertible and that thing never seemed to lose traction, even in snow and ice.
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SecondTJ

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Jeep’s clutch-based Trac-Lok has never been known for being good, they have a low torque bias compared to a gear/torsen based LSD.

Limited-slips are fine when there's not much traction loss, but they're almost worthless when one tire loses traction completely.
 

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I got there LSD in my ‘19 JLU sport S and am disappointed in its performance in the snow. I was parking and my right rear wheel hit a patch of ice near the curb and I seemed to lose traction even though the left wheel was on dry pavement. I thought this should transfer power to the other wheel. Am I overestimating the value of the LSD? I had LSD on my 2007 Mini Cooper convertible and that thing never seemed to lose traction, even in snow and ice.
Their sly reason for using the term "limited" versus "no" slip differential :).
 

Squibbles

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I got there LSD in my ‘19 JLU sport S and am disappointed in its performance in the snow. I was parking and my right rear wheel hit a patch of ice near the curb and I seemed to lose traction even though the left wheel was on dry pavement. I thought this should transfer power to the other wheel. Am I overestimating the value of the LSD? I had LSD on my 2007 Mini Cooper convertible and that thing never seemed to lose traction, even in snow and ice.
Your mini was also front wheel drive. I don’t know the bias on the Jeep limited slips. Honestly a limited slip isn’t as good as an open diff when hitting ice, if the diff is open and the tire on the ice spins you lose traction but if the tire with traction still has torque going to it you wind up sideways.
 

BrntWS6

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One of the reasons i got a sahara was to get the selec-trac option for Chicago winters. That would have been more suitable in the snow. Unfortunately i don't think they offer it in the sport.
 

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aldo98229

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Few things will get you traction over ice. Not even lockers.

Best you can do for ice conditions is get a good set of tires, arm yourself with the best hardware you can afford --including LSD, drive defensively, and hope for the best.
 
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trouphaz

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Few things will get you traction over ice. Not even lockers.

Best you can do for ice conditions is get a good set of tires, arm yourself with the best hardware you can afford --including LSD, drive defensively, and hope for the best.
in the case where one wheel is slipping, but the rest are on dry pavement, the other wheels won't be able to pull?
 

oceanblue2019

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I got there LSD in my ‘19 JLU sport S and am disappointed in its performance in the snow. I was parking and my right rear wheel hit a patch of ice near the curb and I seemed to lose traction even though the left wheel was on dry pavement. I thought this should transfer power to the other wheel. Am I overestimating the value of the LSD? I had LSD on my 2007 Mini Cooper convertible and that thing never seemed to lose traction, even in snow and ice.
Mini and other premium brands like BMW/Audi/Mercedes all have a pretty advanced differentials that are well beyond what Jeep offers in it's LSD. I think the Mini had a Haldex in the front, Audi likes torsens, and BMW/MB have their own derivatives. All of these actually sense loss of traction and properly divert power.

The Jeep LSD is just a cheap clutch setup that is 1980's technology and if you follow the other threads they are burning up left and right and failing - drain your fluid on a LSD diff and it's likely black from clutch wear.

I prefer lockers over a bad LSD. I prefer a great torsen over lockers.

They do make one for D44's.... wonder if it works in a Jeep.....

https://torsen.com/how-it-works/
 
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trouphaz

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Tap the brake while simultaneously applying a little throttle.
i'd need 1 more leg. i've got a manual transmission. but, in this case it wasn't any sort of problem, i was just surprised that the other wheel didn't pull more.
 

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trouphaz

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Mini and other premium brands like BMW/Audi/Mercedes all have a pretty advanced differentials that are well beyond what Jeep offers in it's LSD. I think the Mini had a Haldex in the front, Audi likes torsens, and BMW/MB have their own derivatives. All of these actually sense loss of traction and properly divert power.

The Jeep LSD is just a cheap clutch setup that is 1980's technology and if you follow the other threads they are burning up left and right and failing - drain your fluid on a LSD diff and it's likely black from clutch wear.

I prefer lockers over a bad LSD. I prefer a great torsen over lockers.

They do make one for D44's.... wonder if it works in a Jeep.....

https://torsen.com/how-it-works/
well that stinks. so, was the Jeep LSD a waste of money? from what i understand, i still got an upgraded rear axle out of it, but it sounds like the LSD itself wasn't worth the upgrade.
 

KnG818

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I got there LSD in my ‘19 JLU sport S and am disappointed in its performance in the snow. I was parking and my right rear wheel hit a patch of ice near the curb and I seemed to lose traction even though the left wheel was on dry pavement. I thought this should transfer power to the other wheel. Am I overestimating the value of the LSD? I had LSD on my 2007 Mini Cooper convertible and that thing never seemed to lose traction, even in snow and ice.
It's a LSD not 4HI

Your cooper was also 10X lighter and had the wheel base of a postage stamp.

...jus sayn
 
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lumberjack357

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well that stinks. so, was the Jeep LSD a waste of money? from what i understand, i still got an upgraded rear axle out of it, but it sounds like the LSD itself wasn't worth the upgrade.
You would have got the D44 either way bc you have a manual. The axle upgrade with LSD is on the auto.
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