Maybe forgot to mention that the ABLS only works when its on L4 and when you turn the factory rear diff lock on combined, then you see the ABS signal starting to blink. It's been there since 1997 (1998), early Y61 models. You can't use factory rear diff lock nor the ABLS with H4 or H2. With that's said, it won't conflict with the auto lockers on H4. This is his patrol:
I don't see why doing high speeds is a problem to the auto lockers. Even though they spin quickly at high speeds, the various parts are all rotating as a unit and the differences in rotational speeds when encountering a curve will only be slight because curves taken at those speeds are only gradual. I know the group A tin top race cars all used to run Detroit Lockers which are just another form of auto locker and those cars used to do over 250k/h.
Thanks a lot, mate. I should dig more about front auto lockers and race cars. It's for a friend not me, I will never use hub lockers to begin with.
I've had my hubs locked and in H2 with the Lokker in the front diff. No problems. Up to 80k in H4 on sand and no problems. Mine are manual hubs.
Thanks for the feedback mate
The OP's advice is that the vehicle will be pushed to speeds up to 180kmh. Not many here can even say they've had a go in a GQ/U patrol at the horsepower and speeds the UAE residents prefer to muck about at in sand.mI don't think I'd trust that the transfer case won't throw a couple of revolutions and cause an undesirable partially locked hub on the steering axle at those speeds in sand.
Th OP's advice is also that the vehicle runs permanent hub flanges and ABLS which means: a) no unlocking of hubs and the auto locker will invertantly play it's part both driven and resistant modes, as in reverse application when redundant of drive in H2, and b) the electronic traction control will do nothing BUT interfere with the lockers intended function by braking the faster wheel which will cause the locker to switch sides in either drive or drag depending on the transfer selection whilst steering is being performed by the driver.
I'll stick with the advice I've given, being that the OP's intention is to apply the auto locker to the front axle.
Great comment, but I made you confused. It's my friend that's thinking about this setup with auto/manual hubs. I'm not thinking of front lockers as there are barely any rock crawling tracks in my region, only mud tracks in the wet season, so front lockers aren't necessary, and ABLS (which only works when on L4 and with factory rear diff lock on) can do the job with rear lockers, so they're not a problem (the Active Brake Limited Slip as Nissan call it, or BLSD on some other brands). You've got my idea, the idea of them engaging as you can make one wheel rotate faster especially on higher speeds as some wheels can be on air for milliseconds which make the auto locker engage and maybe even confuses the driver.
Patrols can reach 220-210 km/h stock on the petrol versions, most petrol engines can as they tend to have higher RPM breath without going wild on gigantic turbos
But he wants to change the permanent ones with the auto/manual hubs and install the auto lockers. I personally would climb something anytime even in the city like a kerb or something like today when it was very crowded, and climbed kerb to the next road (small kerb, like foot high, if caught by police they won't like it though lol).
Making it short, I think them engaging and disengaging at high speeds will snap something after a while, ABLS isn't an issue as it only works with L4 and rear diff lock. Thanks a lot for your time
From what I've read ABLS is just Nissan's name for traction control and from what I've seen traction control is nowhere near as good as a locker on sand. The traction control does absolutely nothing when a locker is fitted. It never applies the brake on the faster wheel because the faster wheel never turns fast enough to activate it. Have a read on Pradopoint. There is a thread there about guys fitting lockers due to dissatisfaction with the factory traction control and never again seeing the traction control light on the dash come on. There is some chatter there about the need to disable traction control when a locker is fitted but the guys who have tried it say that's absolute BS.
I tend to agree that free wheeling hubs are probably a step backwards from fixed hubs in the UAE environment so I wouldn't be looking to change what he has as far as hubs are concerned. The only benefits of free wheeling hubs is a pathetically small improvement in fuel economy and a small reduction in driveline NVH.
ABLS is Active Brake Limited Slip, it doesn't just brakes the faster wheel to send the torque to the other choked wheel, but also helps with stabilizing the vehicle while climbing a rock, especially with a manual trans that tends to be tricky. Plus it helps with hill incline and decline. It will never be as good as a true locker, but on L4 in low speed it can get the job done with the factory rear diff lock (it never works without rear diff lock + L4). You see the ABS signal blinking. My car has no traction control or what's called VDC. More details at 3rd min, it was called intelligent ABS before calling it ABLS (explained very briefly though):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igHgq_tW0v4
Here's explanation about Nissan's ABLS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1yZRbkiyhc
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Thank you all for the great comments and the time given. I'll send the feedback to my friend and I hope he saves more money for an eLocker instead if needed.
