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Looking to purchase in next month and trying to understand difference between off road pack and Advanced Off road Pack. For the ORP, tires and a plug I get, but how important is the Electronic Diff?
would you prefer to have one package over the other or keep searching until one can be located w Both?
appreciate the advice,
We ordered ours and considered the electric rear diff essential. It makes a difference when towing and a huge difference climbing slippery and steep slopes. There are several off road videos on YouTube and the amount of wheel spin on the vehicles without it is very noticeable.
The other thing I thought about when spec’ing the truck for my wife and ensuring it had the off-road pack was, putting a locker in old school defenders or discos or what have you was no issue. Easy peasy install. But the idea of retrofitting an e-locker into this truck and making it talk with all the systems made me throw up in my mouth. I don’t think there’s anyway it could be done in the aftermarket without it being completely divorced of all the cool advanced off road software stuff so it became a “must have” for us
The other thing I thought about when spec’ing the truck for my wife and ensuring it had the off-road pack was, putting a locker in old school defenders or discos or what have you was no issue. Easy peasy install. But the idea of retrofitting an e-locker into this truck and making it talk with all the systems made me throw up in my mouth. I don’t think there’s anyway it could be done in the aftermarket without it being completely divorced of all the cool advanced off road software stuff so it became a “must have” for us
You are correct. This has been discussed for many years on the LR3 and LR4 forums. In 15 years nobody has come up with a way to add a rear locking differential to an LR3 or LR4 if it didn't come built with an OEM locker. No way to integrate an aftermarket mechanical locker with the terrain response software.
The other thing I thought about when spec’ing the truck for my wife and ensuring it had the off-road pack was, putting a locker in old school defenders or discos or what have you was no issue. Easy peasy install. But the idea of retrofitting an e-locker into this truck and making it talk with all the systems made me throw up in my mouth. I don’t think there’s anyway it could be done in the aftermarket without it being completely divorced of all the cool advanced off road software stuff so it became a “must have” for us
The LR4 and LR3s (discovery 3 and 4) used an on/off locking rear differential monitored and triggered by electronic logic and means. Not buying the rear locker upfront could be partially addressed by using a compressed air driven on/off locker triggered by the driver, which were available aftermarket several years after model launch.
The new Defender has clutched (partially on to full on) lockers in the center and rear which was pioneered in some of the smaller Rovers, using technology started in German suppliers to Audi and others. I found this clutched locker approach combined with the differential braking and evolved computer logic in the 2nd gen of the Evoque (2016) to be revolutionary -- IMO better at the time in sending power to the separate wheels than any other system at JLR or elsewhere. However, not being supported by good ground clearance or a low -speed transfer case, the utility was very limited. It was a good test bed, I suppose.
Now, the new Defender has taken that clutched and differential braking capability and added the variable air suspension and a low-range gearbox -- all are now available together. I agree it is likely this system cannot realistically and economically be changed post purchase.
So, anyone purchasing a new Defender should really make every effort to purchase the rear locker (electronic differential) upfront, to not feel pangs of regret in the future. The person who buys your Defender from you in 10 years, for use solely off-road, will appreciate it !
Last edited by TrioLRowner; Dec 10, 2020 at 12:10 PM.
Damn trio. If I could convince my wife to read that diatribe I totally would. It would absolutely validate my decision to push for the locker. I did it on anecdotal evidence but that analysis only further cements how solid of a call it was. Thanks for the insight!
When building a 2021 defender the electronic active differential is a zero cost item. Is that correct?
You can get it in the off road pack which also includes the plug socket and offroad tires that costs $1,550. But you can select it individually and it shows a zero cost on my screen.
Yeah, as others have reported that's a glitch in the online configurator for the 2021 Defender. You need to select the off-road pack first, then that box should be checked automatically. Checking that no-charge active rear diff box alone (without selecting the off-road pack as well) won't result in free rear lockers to be included in your build, sorry. Would be nice, though! 😉
When building a 2021 defender the electronic active differential is a zero cost item. Is that correct?
You can get it in the off road pack which also includes the plug socket and offroad tires that costs $1,550. But you can select it individually and it shows a zero cost on my screen.
I asked my salesperson this exact question. Here's the response
"Hello Nate,
Great question, the configurator can be confusing, because 0 cost options which are standard appear
to be elgible to be checked or unchecked when in the configurator. The electronic active differential
with torque vectoring by braking is standard in the Defender X. So yes to answer your question it does
have it as well with Terrain response 1 and 2 and All terrain progress Control!"
FYI I ordered an x-dynamic HSE with the towing package. If I have it, great. If not, hey, I've never once, in two years, used the locking differential feature on my Rubicon and I never used it on the G-wagon. I think I had that rig for 5 years. I'm just not that off-roady I guess
Electronic Diff Questions
