I had posted this in a thread in the Jeep forum and did not get a reply, so I'll try it here, again.

I have been looking into line locks for turning assistance. I had planned on using two of them, one at each rear wheel. When I went to Farmington for the RCAA event, I was watching the competitors perform turns with them. It seems that many use only one lock, which locked both wheels and pivoted, dragging the outside wheel. It seemed pretty effective.

I know turning brakes that lock only one wheel work really well on sandrails. But I figured that was due to the rear weight bias providing extra traction for each tire. Obviously not the same weight bias as a Jeep or a yota.

I was hoping that someone with two line locks could try and pivot with one wheel locked. Then try it again with both and see if there is any difference in how quickly they pivot. Maybe try different surfaces also. ( not asking for much I know ) Or has anyone already done this and have an answer?

I would think that on hard surfaces it would be beneficial to have only one wheel locked while on softer terrain there would not be much difference. If there is minimal difference it will save the cost of a line lock!

Thanks


__________________
Craig

well my rig has a single line lock in the rear end, and it pivots fine. It will pivot VERY tight on the pavement or soft terrain. Two line locks are fine, but not nesecarry, IMO.

I have one on each side in back, seems to work good, lock one side, shift into front only, turn hard and it pivots on the locked tire. On loose stuff it will drag the tire some but still works good but better on harder surfaces. Both sides locked at the same time drags both tires a bit more but also works.

well, i dont have line locks,but i do have a VW turnig break in the rear. works wonders for climbing out of ruts,and pivoting on 1 wheel. also can use it to hold myself in the middle of a very steep hill,and not have to heal/toe the brake and gas :D you are runnin rear discs,right? not worth messing with,IMO,if youre not gonna run discs. i think the turning brake is alittle more versatile than line locks.we went w2heelinin the rain a couple weeks ago,and i never would have been able to turn and get around in the very slippery,sloppy stuff with my welded front end without it.

Originally posted by BigHG

I have been looking into line locks for turning assistance. I had planned on using two of them, one at each rear wheel. When I went to Farmington for the RCAA event, I was watching the competitors perform turns with them. It seems that many use only one lock, which locked both wheels and pivoted, dragging the outside wheel. It seemed pretty effective.



can't say for sure but i believe some could indeed have 2 line locks but with a spool or locker how would you know which wheel it was on ...

- jack

P.S. Morpheus, that was a good one!

This topic was also discussed in the REAR STEER thread.

May find some info there as well.

Use the search button.:D

yeah, morpheus...

BigHG, if you wanna run separate line locks for each rear wheel, I would suggest an ARB, that way you don't have to shift into low-front. I have a pinion brake, and a twin-sticked 205. If i lock the rear, and use 2 low-front, it works the same as lance's, very agile, even on dry rock... The only advantage to separate brakes would be if you use an arb, or OX locker i suppose...


Good Luck-

I might also add that an ARB with a cutting brake in the rear does NOT work as good as a twin stick/line lock (or cutting brake).

But if you have a transfer case that cannot unlock the rear end such as a Toyota or Suzuki, a cutting brake/ARB setup does work good enough. It just tends to push the front forward a lot more than being able to disconnect the rear wheels.

Good point Lance, but would you say that in competition the time it takes to stop and disengage the front, is worth the gain in agility??? You have been there...

Also, that pic of your dog is freakin me out man. Seriously scary...
Bet you don't get many burglars.

Originally posted by elf_cruiser
Good point Lance, but would you say that in competition the time it takes to stop and disengage the front, is worth the gain in agility??? You have been there...

Also, that pic of your dog is freakin me out man. Seriously scary...
Bet you don't get many burglars.

Ok, he's my experience as far as competitions go....

For the twin stick to be effective, you had better be quick. You've only got 4 seconds to stop, unlock the rear end, hit your brakes, hit the line lock, and go. Then once you're done making your turn, you gotta lock it back into 4wd, unlock the linelock and go. It takes practice. I had Kelly sit on the front lawn (neighbors think we are nuts :D ) and practice it over and over and over while I gave her the four second count till she got it right.

I constantly used my twin stick/line lock in the last CalROCS event. Couldn't have placed 2nd without it...

While working with Mike Shaffer in Farmington, his Samurai is unalbe to unlock the rear wheels. He only has a cutting brake, and a rear ARB. While we were able to make 98% of the turns we attempted, there were a few situations where if we could have unlocked the rear end we would not have had to taken the reverse point.

And as for Bailey (my dog), he might lick you to death, but that's about it. :p

cool, i will have to get a line lock, so i don't have to heel-toe it like i do now... but that makes me fell better about pinion brakes, cause i'm not losing anything by not having separate discs...

laters-

So Lance, do you encounter problems, in practice or competition,with the Tcase not engaging? I know that sometimes the Tcase will not engage without some movement.

I am running 14Bolt with detroit and disks tied to a twinsticked D300 with Jess's ebrake. If I had know before that you could just lock both wheels I would have gone the cheap road and welded that sumbitch up!

Lance, are you also running a lock to the front or are you relying on the rear lock to keep pressure off the rear brakes as you mash the brake pedal to lock the fronts?

Thanks for the input!

:D :D :D

i just got my atlas in and got to play with it a bit this weekend. if you have a stock e-brake that is all you need. i have a mico lever lock becuase i built rear disc's and used front calipers that don't have e-brakes. i hooked up my lever lock to lock both of my rear wheels at the same time and it piviots just fine. i see no reason to lock the wheels independantly. all you are doing is spending more $$$ for a second line lock. just my op.

Originally posted by mtndewmaniac
So Lance, do you encounter problems, in practice or competition,with the Tcase not engaging? I know that sometimes the Tcase will not engage without some movement.

No, my D300 shifts excellent (but I usually shift on the fly)... But I have delt with very stubborn Atlas tcases in several other rigs I have spotted for, etc.

Ok...I have ARB's and from what I read I don't need line lock with ARB just unlock, grab the transfer case brake and turn hard....got it wired to run linelock in the rear just haven't wired it in as I 'm not that good of a driver yet to need it or know when to use it....

Originally posted by high5
i just got my atlas in and got to play with it a bit this weekend. if you have a stock e-brake that is all you need. i have a mico lever lock becuase i built rear disc's and used front calipers that don't have e-brakes. i hooked up my lever lock to lock both of my rear wheels at the same time and it piviots just fine. i see no reason to lock the wheels independantly. all you are doing is spending more $$$ for a second line lock. just my op.

I've used mine both ways and there is a difference, locking one side will turn you a little tighter, for me, I've needed that little extra before and it was will worth the 30something bucks.