Teraflex 2 Low

psrivats said:
You've probably explained this before, so sorry if I'm asking for repeat information. I still have trouble wrapping my head fully around what you said here. How is keeping the rear unlocked and front locked better than the vice versa for steering?
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With an open rear, the locked front is still steering one way or the other pulling the vehicle in the direction you want to go. When the rear is locked, there is no rear differential action, causing the vehicle to want to push forward. If you can, try it for yourself. On a stock Rubicon, the hoses can be disconnected to allow for a locked front and open rear. It's plainly clear what it actually happening, yet so many have it backwards. This undermines one of the purported benefits of 2 low.
 
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jjvw said:
With an open rear, the locked front is still steering one way or the other pulling the vehicle in the direction you want to go. When the rear is locked, there is no rear differential action, causing the vehicle to want to push forward. If you can, try it for yourself. On a stock Rubicon, the hoses can be disconnected to allow for a locked front and open rear. It's plainly clear what it actually happening, yet so many have it backwards. This undermines one of the purported benefits of 2 low.
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Thanks. I think I understand what you are saying. I've experienced the rear wanting to push the rig straight, but being stock I haven't tried the front only yet. Maybe I'll move the independent locker mod to the top portion of my "before spring/summer" list.
 
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B00mb00m said:
What modifications did you make? The only thing i could think of is reducing detent spring force.
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I reshaped the detente a little as it was really hard to shift it before hand. And would not quite stay in one of the gears. But it was years ago
 
I have full time lockers (Yukon Grizzly) front and rear in my stretched LJ on tons and 38s. I will say without hesitation that the Tera 2-Low helps greatly with turning. In 4-Low, the Jeep tries to plow forward when trying to make a tight turn. If I put it in 2-Low, it turns great. I think it is unnecessary for someone with selectable front and rear lockers, but if you have full time lockers front and rear, it helps greatly. Our other Jeep has selectable eaton e-lockers front and rear since 2008, and it turns fine. I would see no benefit to 2-Low in that Jeep.
 
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psrivats said:
You've probably explained this before, so sorry if I'm asking for repeat information. I still have trouble wrapping my head fully around what you said here. How is keeping the rear unlocked and front locked better than the vice versa for steering?
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I think he means he unlocks the front, not rear axle to regain steering response.

In the earlier post I was referring to someone who may have an automatic locker like a Detroit full-case locker up front. In this case the Tera-2-Lo makes sense to disengage the front axle and relieve pressure off the locker assembly when turning sharp off-road.

On a rear locker if you goose the throttle, you'll find that the jeep will actually kick around the turn faster.

RR
 
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RangerRick said:
I think he means he unlocks the front, not rear axle to regain steering response.

In the earlier post I was referring to someone who may have an automatic locker like a Detroit full-case locker up front. In this case the Tera-2-Lo makes sense to disengage the front axle and relieve pressure off the locker assembly when turning sharp off-road.

On a rear locker if you goose the throttle, you'll find that the jeep will actually kick around the turn faster.

RR
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No. I first unlock the rear if I need to turn.

Goosing the throttle can be a bad decision. I prefer the controlled method if I have it available.
 
I used to never run a select-able locker in the rear for simplicity sake. I always ran a Detroit full-case locker out back and an ARB up front. Disengage the ARB to turn sharp on a technical trail and goose the throttle the rear will actually help spin you around faster in the turn. I still had the Tera 2-Lo in the Rubicon Rock Track 241OR and would frequently run an entire trail without ever going into 4WD.

Trails I ran were like Dusy-Ershim North to South without ever going into 4WD. South to North to climb Thompson hill will require 4WD-Lo no matter what, not enough traction on the steep hill to do it in 2WD period.

I've done the entire Rubicon Trail some years when traction was really good both directions except part of Cadillac hill in 2WD using the Tera-2-Lo. It makes an amazing difference to have the control & torque of low range in 2WD for lots of different trails.

Also Swamp Lake trail North to South in 2WD the entire way. Going up the granite slabs at the mud lakes bypass South to North sometimes can be done in 2WD-Lo but you need very good traction again because it is so steep.

Lots of Moab trails have been done in 2WD using the 2-Lo but any major hard obstacle requires locking into 4WD-Lo usually. Especially on the real difficult trails.

Basically the Tera-2-Lo gives you options that I like for wheeling but you still need to be mindful of top speed so you don't blow out your planetary set.

Bottom line is: So I still recommend one if you want options with the stock TC.


Now I have both front & rear select-able lockers with no need for the 2-low, because I also have the AA Atlas-II twin stick gear driven HD TC. I can have any range drive I like, front or back.

** When I refer to goosing the throttle I mean just a slight bit of accelerator, not an out of control maniac stab that puts you in danger. On an automatic locker like a Detroit, it can help to ease you around obstacles at times. Other times just disengage it if you have a select-able locker in the rear but every situation is different so obviously the operator needs to read the situation by feel to know what's best at that moment. There are many times I leave my rear locker fully engaged and use the throttle to turn or spin around obstacles faster than I could ever do with the rear totally disengaged FWIW, again the driver has to have a feel for it.**
 
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jjvw said:
Bottom line is that the rear locker restricts the majority of the steering, not the front.
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I disagree. The front axle locked will be the axle that will most fight you when turning, not the rear axle. The rear axle may scrub, chirp and bark the tires a little but it is far less than what the front axle locked will impede when making a turn. It's physics 101 plain and simple.

RR
 
RangerRick said:
I disagree. The front axle locked will be the axle that will most fight you when turning, not the rear axle. The rear axle may scrub, chirp and bark the tires a little but it is far less than what the front axle locked will impede when making a turn. It's physics 101 plain and simple.

RR
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My Jeep must behave differently than yours.
 
RangerRick said:
I disagree. The front axle locked will be the axle that will most fight you when turning, not the rear axle. The rear axle may scrub, chirp and bark the tires a little but it is far less than what the front axle locked will impede when making a turn. It's physics 101 plain and simple.

RR
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did you watch the John Currie video I posted a few posts up?
 
freedom_in_4low said:
did you watch the John Currie video I posted a few posts up?
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I did watch it.
If you catch what he says at the very end, he says it's for his particular style and terrain of wheeling he finds it best for.
I would still run dual select-able lockers especially if you see wet rocks and mud which is totally different than the hard packed rock and granite or desert dry conditions John wheels I guess is what I am getting at. All conditions basically.

A lot of wheelers in the PNW or East coast have a lot of mud and or wet slick rocks, logs, mossy and mixed with mud, roots, dirt and other unidentifiable stuff lurking below the surface.
RR
 
How does terrain change the fact that a locked rear will try to push it's vehicle in a straight line, regardless of what the front is wanting to do? Wet, low traction conditions will only exacerbate this behavior. While a locked front, open rear will be pulled in whatever direction the front (locked) wheels are pointing?

If this is not accurate for a locked front, open rear, then explain the mechanism that will pull the vehicle in a straight line, despite where the turned front wheels want to do.
 
Rescue6 said:
I reshaped the detente a little as it was really hard to shift it before hand. And would not quite stay in one of the gears. But it was years ago
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So i was using 4HI in our snowstorm here and getting onto highway i popped out of 4HI... has anyone else had issues staying in detent? I haven't used it much after the 2-LOW and i did NOT like the feeling of going into neutral on the highway. The 2-to-4 shift has always been weird with the 2-LOW.
 
B00mb00m said:
So i was using 4HI in our snowstorm here and getting onto highway i popped out of 4HI... has anyone else had issues staying in detent? I haven't used it much after the 2-LOW and i did NOT like the feeling of going into neutral on the highway. The 2-to-4 shift has always been weird with the 2-LOW.
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Mine hasn’t popped out but it does feel a lot shittier than before...
 
Lou said:
Mine hasn’t popped out but it does feel a lot shittier than before...
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The 4hi detent is kind of mushy and I don't have a 4wd light working. Ordered a new TC switch. Hopefully once the 4wd light is illuminated I can use that to tell me im solidly in detent.
 
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