Not doubting that it helps. Curious to see how an LR3 built just like yours (sans locker) including the rear locker (I'm assuming yours has that) would do...particularly with you driving. In other words making the front locked diff the ONLY variable in the comparison.

...did you give 4ETC a chance to do its job on that hill?

(just trying to paint a picture in my mind here)

 

So in that specific instance I actually made the climb prior to Volkov doing it and did it pretty easily. But I have mores tire than he does these days, so I think more than anything that was a statement of new 33" Cooper STT Pros vs half worn 31.5" BFG KOs.

The hill wasn't very long but was fairly soft dirt with a bit of mud on top so the STTs got to dig in and keep me going. There was a turn at the top that needed to be taken wide to avoid dropping into a fairly deep rut on the down-hill side of the turn. Since I did it in one clean pull I didn't have any problem driving around the rut. Volkov started up the climb, slipped a bit, (pause while I make 'fail!' comment over radio) then engaged his locker and kept on going. As he approached the top where the turn was he stopped again to disengage the locker since turning with a fully locked front is tough.

That's where it went wrong. When he tried to get moving again he slipped sideways and fell into the rut which tipped him a little too far for comfort. I think his passenger front wheel was only about 2' in the air. Luckily I was able to take a different line to the top and act as an anchor so he could winch himself out of the rut. He barely winched a truck length - just enough to get out of the tippy spot, then he was able to keep going under his own power.

Here's a shot of Volkov conducting a lateral stability test.

 

Nah, a front locker could still be a huge help in certain situations. I was taking a training session/tour provided by Overland Experts at Vermont Overland Rally last fall and got myself in a situation where I was trying to climb an off-camber hill on my somewhat worn tires. There was a sharp 90 degree turn to the left at the top and the off-camber was falling off to the left as well.

I just couldn't get enough traction to get up the stupid thing and every time I gave it any gas, both rear wheels would go, but they would just push me sideways down the off-camber bank. Front wheels still didn't work together well enough to pull me up. Would have been ideal to shut the rear locker off and turn a front one on in that situation. :P

 

Yes, I've seen Volkov's in action in similar situations where truly locking the front gave him an advantage over me. I remember the first time I thought 'man, if only I had a front locker' - We were playing on a rock obstacle at Hollister OHV and a couple of the bigger rigs (Discos) went over it so I said what the heck, I'd try it. Lack of ground clearance got me high centered on my skids with only one front tire on the ground and the rears with little traction. I only needed another foot or so then the fronts would pick me up off the stuck but with only one front tire having any real grip the TC wouldn't divert enough power to it to drag me forward. I kept thinking if only I had a locker I could have clawed my way forward that last little bit and made it over without much trouble. Instead I kept trying it with different lines but eventually I only got over by using some speed to let my inertia carry me past the high point so both fronts could bite and keep me moving. Not the best way to do things although it worked.

 

Okay, y'all have convinced me...the advantage over 4ETC is more significant than I'd surmised.

Volkov....man that photo looks pretty scary! Especially with you "turning uphill."

 

Since Volkov is out at OE I'll again answer for him - he couldn't really turn downhill there. You can't see it from that angle but he's about 2" away from putting his driver's side sheetmetal into the side of that rut. Even better, once he dropped into the rut and got tippy he dropped the suspension back down to access (as seen in that pic) to lower his CG. So he was sitting a little higher when he first went in.

 

Good thinkin' on his part! The one time I was in a remotely similar situation (and waiting for winches to get hooked up while I was trapped in the car because of a stump outside my door) I'd completely forgot that I could lower the damn EAS and make myself feel a lot more comfortable. Doh!

 

So Overland Expo was awesome for starters. Second that picture of me on the hill turned out awesome, but it was a little bit scarier from the drivers seat.

Finally, the front air locker has been immensely helpful on numerous occasions. On a trip to Baja California, there were about 5 times that I lost forward momentum, and just activating the front locker allowed me to keep moving. The fancy traction control on these LR3s, although excellent are still bound by the laws of physics. They simply redirect the power from the tire with the least traction to the tire with the most traction. So with the HD package you still are limited to 3 tires moving the vehicle. Both on the rear and the tire with the best traction on the front axle. So a locker on the front still adds a complete tire to the traction equation. In this case from 3 to 4

 

In case anyone hasn't seen this...great video on how differentials work

 

Very cool! Makes is all seem so simple... In fact, I could go tear my diff apart and rebuild it right now.