Open, Limited Slip or Locker Differential means....
Hey guys,
Okay so most of you know the difference and a small handful of you have no idea and yet some think they know but aren't exactly sure, well this post is for you.
As you might have guessed open differential means you have only one tire in the rear putting the power to the road. this is jokingly referred to as the one tire fire.
Open Differential (OD)
Basically applies torque from the engine to one tire. As soon as one tire is easier to turn (ice, mud, etc..) the tire with least resistance will spin. Now there is more technical stuff but this is basic stuff just to give you an idea and not meant to help you pass your ASE test...
Limited Slip Differential (LSD)
Next we will cover Limited Slip Differential (LSD) -(no not that LSD get your mind out of the gutter), limited slip applies torque to both tires evenly but now when you start to spin that tire that's in the mud the rear-end locks the differential, so you can hopefully get out of the mud,(or showing off spinning tires) then for all intentional purposed it then returns to a OD style. (again this is basic and there is more to it then this but I'm keeping it basic)
Detroit Locker (DL)
Last but not least the Detroit Locker is the best one you can have or get from the factory. The DL basically keeps both tires engaged at all times (save for around a corner, then if it did the inside tire spins slower then the outside tire and you would have all kinds of problems). The DL is the best differential you can have for snow. most state police cars get this rear. The DL is like the limited slip in every other way except one, and that its locked (both tires) when going straight, the limited slip when going straight and pull is even on both tires only puts torque to one tire and then locks up as needed for spinning then releases again.
So lets recap, open differential only puts power down to one tire at a time and its always to the one with least resistance.
Limited slip puts power down to one tire until a tire starts to slip then locks up both tires until torque is once again even between the two tires then goes back to one tire.
Detroit locker locks both tires up no matter what and has clutches to slow down the outside tire clutch plate (or speed up the inside tire clutch plates to match torque evenly. Although you will never have just one tire getting power with this differential it will always adjust for turning.
So there ya go, a BASIC idea what the difference is between the three differentials.
Yes there is way more technical stuff going on inside the rear but this isn't what this post was for, it was just a simple explanation about differentials.
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