Have to admit, when I first started looking at Discos, I thought the CDL was in fact a front and rear locker.

But now I understand that the main benefit of the CDL is to allow my Disco to drive in full time 4wd without killing tires. But my search has still left me with questions.

So, then, what's the difference in a Disco with the CDL engaged, and another SUV that has part-time 4wd engaged? Or, what's the difference in my full time 4wd and another SUVs part time 4wd?

For instance, the CDL splits the torque evenly among the front and rear axles. What do other SUVs do? Is the torque not split?

The first time I tested my Disco at all, I knew it was more capable than any vehicle I've owned (Tacoma and Blazer). But what is it exactly that makes the Disco so badass?

 

wheel base and suspension help, radius arms allow for a lot of tire articulation

 

An unlocked center diff sends the torque to the path of least resistance. That means if your rear wheels have no traction and your center diff is unlocked all the power goes to the rear wheels and in an off road situation you sling mud everywhere and don't go very far. Lock the center diff (and the front and rears if you have lockers) and the torque will still go to the front axle and pull you through any obstacle that would have gotten you stuck without the CDL.

So, other SUVs with part time 4wd (no CDL) do not have the option to lock the center diff, so they are always susceptible to the above situation.

I don't think there's one specific thing that makes the Disco bad *** though. The CDL and full time 4x4 are huge factors, the 12-14" (or some ludicrous amount) of stock wheel travel helps. They're really just built to be brutal off road machines.

 

As far as I know. Some vehicles have a "CDL" that gets locked as soon as you put it in 4wd and many do not.

Not sure which vehicles though. All depends on their transfer case.

 

Alright, so....

1. When my Disco does not have the CDL locked, in terms of traction it is like most other vehicles when they are in part time 4wd.

2. When my Disco is locked in, it splits the torque between front and rear, which most 4wd vehicles do not. (now what about, say, a Tacoma TRD which has a factory rear LSD? Could it potentially transfer most or all of its torque to the rear LSD, leaving little or no torque for the front axle?)

3. However, once the CDL splits the Disco's torque between front and rear, all bets are off in terms of which tire gets the traction. So front left and rear right could each be getting 50% of the torque (while the other get 0%). Only an after market locker or LSD can help with this.

 

what about vehicles that have option of 4wd, 4hi, 4low. I believe 4low is locked c. d. After 2000 or 2002 most 4wd car come with option to have locket c.d. I drove 2002 trailblazer in 4low and all 4 tires pinned the same in the sand or snow.

 

Whats LSD? Im a DeadHead and ive never heard of a vehicle that comes with LSD...

 

1. When your Disco CDL is unlocked it is essentially a 1 wheel drive. With CDL locked it becomes a part time 4x4. If you have ever been in a late 70's full size truck with the full time 4x4 you can appreciate how smooth our transfer case is. They hopped tires going around corners with the CDL locked or not.

2. When your Disco is locked it splits torque 50/50, the same as all the rest of the trucks out there. The Tacoma TRD has an e-locker in the rear axle that gives it an advantage, 3 wheels HAVE to pull.

3. EXACTLY!!!!

Kudos to LR for such a smooth transfer case. I grew up in trucks running the New Process 203 case. They are strong and completely lacking in manners. They are noisy and produce that annoying wheel hop.

I hope this helps.

 

limeted slip differential... its one step up from an open diff and one step down from a locker..

open diffs will always send the power to the wheel with the least resistance aka the one with no traction

lockers make both wheels spin the same speed no matter what, sometimes at the cost of an axle shaft

LSD is in the middle, sends power to both wheels more of the time than an open diff, but if you get in a bad spot and one wheel gets jammed and stops suddenly while the other is still turning it wont snap an axle shaft like a locker would..

 

As people have already stated, one of the major factors in the off road prowess of the Disco is the superlative articulation. If your tires can get traction you will continue along. Without CDL, your 4x4 is potentially 1 wheel drive (assuming you have open diffs.) This does not matter if all 4 tires stay in contact with the ground and have equivalent traction. With the CDL locked, your 4x4 has potentially 2 wheel drive with 1 drive wheeel in the front and 1 in the rear. Again, not important if 3 tires stay in contact with the ground and have equivalent traction. For the sake of simplicity, if you have a locker in one of the diffs, you have 3 drive wheels and only need 1 or 2 wheels with traction. Now with dual lockers and CDL you have true 4 wheel drive where all 4 wheels will turn regardless of traction. NOW, throw traction control into the mix and lockers become less of a necessity for the average weekend wheeler. You can have CDL and 2 wheels in the air and still make good forward progress. Out of the box, Discos with CDLs are far more capable than many highly modified rigs.

In other vehicles, most older transfer cases are CDL locked. Many part time 4WD vehicles that are normally 2WD have the CDL locked. Most AWD transfer cases are not CDL equipped. Clear as mud right?