Adding Elocker
- Thread starter D K
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First, are you absolutely sure you need one. I've done up to level 6-rated trails (10 being Rubicon-ish) with just ATRAC and deflating the tires. More experienced forum members have done even more aggressive trails than that with no locker. If you're absolutely positive you need one because you've been unable to go on a trail, I would consider an ARB air locker. Then you can dual purpose the compressor as on-board air for inflating your tires.
I definitely need one.
I had one of the first FJ's imported to North America and it had the elocker.
The kind of stuff I did (and do), absolutely needed the elocker.
I did the atrac mod and it was nice, but nothing beats manual (electronic) locking axle.
I wish it came with a center lock, rear lock, and a torsen front - but that's a topic for another discussion.
Thank you for your replies.
Jetboy
New member
All 4runners that have a center diff (limited) have a center diff lock. The rest have no center diff, so it's either locked or RWD.
I think the Trail is what you want if you want a rear locker. The price jump is likely cheaper than any other option to get you there. And you get crawl control and MTS - more control over the traction control system. I've found Crawl to have a useful function in making the traction control as aggressive as it is possible to make it. For low speed rock crawling it's a nice option that you can't replicate with either MTS or ATRAC. It would be nice if Toyota would add another MTS setting for "extreme" or something like that. For now - crawl control is the only setting I've found to work at very low speeds at making the traction control maximum on the aggressiveness scale. So that's something you won't get with the SR5. But a front locker would be even better!
My experience is that ATRAC works better than expected and each generation gets better. It will normally take you anywhere a stock height 4runner without armor will go and body damage will be the limiting factor. It works pretty well. For the trails that you'll need full armor/lift/tires/winch - the locker starts to be a more important part of the formula. At that point I think the level of modification is a good way to judge what model you need. If a rear locker is enough - I'd get the Trail. If you want both front and rear lockers or are going to swap axles to something stronger - then I'd go for an SR5. So I guess I'd say for anything stock ish - the sr5 is a great choice. For the mildly built options - Trail/TRD works well as a Goldilocks option in the middle. For hardcore builds - go for the SR5 again.
I think the Trail is what you want if you want a rear locker. The price jump is likely cheaper than any other option to get you there. And you get crawl control and MTS - more control over the traction control system. I've found Crawl to have a useful function in making the traction control as aggressive as it is possible to make it. For low speed rock crawling it's a nice option that you can't replicate with either MTS or ATRAC. It would be nice if Toyota would add another MTS setting for "extreme" or something like that. For now - crawl control is the only setting I've found to work at very low speeds at making the traction control maximum on the aggressiveness scale. So that's something you won't get with the SR5. But a front locker would be even better!
My experience is that ATRAC works better than expected and each generation gets better. It will normally take you anywhere a stock height 4runner without armor will go and body damage will be the limiting factor. It works pretty well. For the trails that you'll need full armor/lift/tires/winch - the locker starts to be a more important part of the formula. At that point I think the level of modification is a good way to judge what model you need. If a rear locker is enough - I'd get the Trail. If you want both front and rear lockers or are going to swap axles to something stronger - then I'd go for an SR5. So I guess I'd say for anything stock ish - the sr5 is a great choice. For the mildly built options - Trail/TRD works well as a Goldilocks option in the middle. For hardcore builds - go for the SR5 again.
