BlackBeauty
Member
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2001
Hey everyone, I recently installed a Powertrax Lock-Rite locker, I know many people are interested in this unit (and one member had bad luck with one), so I will post a short review. My car puts out about 320hp/400tq to the wheels, and I had an open diff.
ORDERING: cheap and easy, $200 from Summit Racing
INSTALL: not as speedy as people make it sound. One member said it took him 30 minutes to install, well realistically at the 30 minute mark my step-dad and I were just getting done scraping the old gasket and silicon off of the rear diff. cover. It took us a couple hours, we worked nice 'n easy, and it's pretty straight-forward. It really does require only wrenches and a screwdriver. It seems that a lot of people on-line under-exaggerate install times for every car part, maybe because they are afraid others will think they are incompetent?
But for a couple of people who have never done this type of work before, a couple hours is a good amount of time to set aside. These cars are old, so a lot of things can get in the way.
CLICKING SOUND AROUND TURNS: First time backing down the driveway, as I turned it made a loud "thunk!" I wanted to drive back up the driveway and park it! But after that, no more loud scary sounds. As for the clicking sound around turns, I can't hear it at all during normal driving. My car is pretty loud anyway (3" Mease DP, Hooker catback without the tailpipes), so I would guess the people at Powertrax warn of the clicking sound because it may be heard on a stock car (or exhaust system that sounds close to stock quietness).
PERFORMANCE: Well, the car no longer goes sideways when I floor it. With the 275/60/15 BFG DR's on the car, it now spins the hell out of them while keeping the rear wheels directly behind the front. I guess this is a good safety measure for the street. However, I still can't get traction. I still haven't launched from a stop yet, for fear of unsatisfactory results. People on this board say that the 275/60/15 BFG DR's are good for mid-high 11's, but as noted above, my car doesn't even put out that kind of power, and the tires can't handle it even with the locker. Maybe I need suspension???
CONCLUSION: I've had the locker in for only about 100 miles, so far so good. I'm pretty sure only one member on this board has had a problem with a Powertrax unit (different model), but so many board members have read his threads that they are now worried about buying one. I wouldn't worry about one person's experience when many have been successful.
ORDERING: cheap and easy, $200 from Summit Racing
INSTALL: not as speedy as people make it sound. One member said it took him 30 minutes to install, well realistically at the 30 minute mark my step-dad and I were just getting done scraping the old gasket and silicon off of the rear diff. cover. It took us a couple hours, we worked nice 'n easy, and it's pretty straight-forward. It really does require only wrenches and a screwdriver. It seems that a lot of people on-line under-exaggerate install times for every car part, maybe because they are afraid others will think they are incompetent?
But for a couple of people who have never done this type of work before, a couple hours is a good amount of time to set aside. These cars are old, so a lot of things can get in the way.CLICKING SOUND AROUND TURNS: First time backing down the driveway, as I turned it made a loud "thunk!" I wanted to drive back up the driveway and park it! But after that, no more loud scary sounds. As for the clicking sound around turns, I can't hear it at all during normal driving. My car is pretty loud anyway (3" Mease DP, Hooker catback without the tailpipes), so I would guess the people at Powertrax warn of the clicking sound because it may be heard on a stock car (or exhaust system that sounds close to stock quietness).
PERFORMANCE: Well, the car no longer goes sideways when I floor it. With the 275/60/15 BFG DR's on the car, it now spins the hell out of them while keeping the rear wheels directly behind the front. I guess this is a good safety measure for the street. However, I still can't get traction. I still haven't launched from a stop yet, for fear of unsatisfactory results. People on this board say that the 275/60/15 BFG DR's are good for mid-high 11's, but as noted above, my car doesn't even put out that kind of power, and the tires can't handle it even with the locker. Maybe I need suspension???
CONCLUSION: I've had the locker in for only about 100 miles, so far so good. I'm pretty sure only one member on this board has had a problem with a Powertrax unit (different model), but so many board members have read his threads that they are now worried about buying one. I wouldn't worry about one person's experience when many have been successful.
