TEP features? Trail off-road settings

[TOYOTA 09]

Okay you guys who have many off road miles....I'm coming from a Tacoma 4x4 that just had 4 low and 4 high.....just picked up my 2015 trail edition premium and there are more bells and whistles than I can keep track of. I'm a little confused as to when to use what feature....

General driving in snow - 4 high or low (depending)...pretty much the same as my Tacoma.

But when would I need the rear locker in an offroad situation? And when And why would I use A Trac. OVER using the locker?

The crawl control seems pretty self explanatory...and it seems as iif it can only be used when the muti terrain select is on...true? Multi terrain select seems pretty straight forward too...


Anyone have any real world experience or advice?

 

[Jeremy556]

Need the rear locker when 2 wheels are off the ground or you lose traction and 2-3 wheels are just spinning. Usually, ATRAC works well enough that you don't need lockers and don't have to suffer the negative handling effects of lockers.

Generally, if you don't know why and when you need lockers, ATRAC will do everything you need, and be far less likely to break things if you don't know what you are doing.

 

[Jetboy]

From my experience atrac is about 75% of a locking differential. And is used on both front and rear. The rear locker is better for ultimate traction. The locker will limit the turning radius and for that reason I leave it off until atrac isn't enough. Except off road in snow. In snow off road the difference in kinetic and static friction is so great that it's worth having on all the time as the atrac relies on wheel slip to engage and by that point your probably stopped.

Also the locker only engages in 4lo at low speed.

Multi terrain select does a little to assist in throttle and atrac mapping but it's not all that important because it doesn't really do much.

 

[BobsTrail]

I think of Multi-Terrain as variable ATRAC and adjust it for the terrain to control the amount of wheel spin. Helps keeps you moving in loose sand or gives less slip for rocks.
Take it out and play with the settings. Sand/mud works in 4h, in 4L all settings are available.

 

[mo_mo]

Okay you guys who have many off road miles....I'm coming from a Tacoma 4x4 that just had 4 low and 4 high.....just picked up my 2015 trail edition premium and there are more bells and whistles than I can keep track of. I'm a little confused as to when to use what feature....

General driving in snow - 4 high or low (depending)...pretty much the same as my Tacoma.

But when would I need the rear locker in an offroad situation? And when And why would I use A Trac. OVER using the locker?

The crawl control seems pretty self explanatory...and it seems as iif it can only be used when the muti terrain select is on...true? Multi terrain select seems pretty straight forward too...


Anyone have any real world experience or advice?

So a few others have advised on the locker, multi-terrain select, and A-TRAC. Crawl Control and Multi-Terrain select cannot be used at the same time (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

Multi-Terrain Select is a tweak to A-TRAC and allows use of the sand (heavy wheel spin) setting in 4-hi. All others use more braking (less wheel spin) and can only be used in 4-low. I'm not sure if the sand setting works in 2-hi yet, as the system will tell you to shift into 4-hi, but the dash lights remain lit as though it is fully engaged when in 2-hi.

I'm not certain, but you might want to keep it in 4-hi and not 4-lo for most snow and ice driving to allow the whiz bang electronics to prevent slip and sliding as I think 4-lo will allow you do to more which could be dangerous on slick winter streets.

Here's an LC using crawl control to extract itself from some sand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRWBX-YxFfg&ab_channel=yankeexsniper
skip to just before the 4:00 mark where it extracts itself. There's a few other of these videos around demonstrating the various systems.

Sometimes you'll have to search for the LC or Prado versions that Toyota offers these features on as the 4Runner doesn't seem to have too many videos other than the Toyota sales pitch marketing vids.

 

[05Rrunner]

Okay you guys who have many off road miles....I'm coming from a Tacoma 4x4 that just had 4 low and 4 high.....just picked up my 2015 trail edition premium and there are more bells and whistles than I can keep track of. I'm a little confused as to when to use what feature....

General driving in snow - 4 high or low (depending)...pretty much the same as my Tacoma.

But when would I need the rear locker in an offroad situation? And when And why would I use A Trac. OVER using the locker?

The crawl control seems pretty self explanatory...and it seems as iif it can only be used when the muti terrain select is on...true? Multi terrain select seems pretty straight forward too...
Anyone have any real world experience or advice?

Best thing I would suggest Is read over your manual , take you truck somewhere by yourself and just take your time and try to use everything and understand whats going on. Get familiar with it when there is no pressure to perform. It's all pretty simple when you boil it down. Use your book as reference and go hands on testing.
Note : When i said "by yourself " was trying to say go alone without distractions like your woman or friends talking offering opions. can be in a dirt parking lot or somewhere equaly wimpy. If you read the book and try all features yourself you will know more than most. Of cource Never go wheeling alone At first.
Good luck

 

[off-road runner]

There is a learning curve and realizing it is half the battle. Proper use will help you enjoy the 4runner that much more. In the beginning VSC can really be a pain off road if you don't realize the need to disengage it. On our winter roads, 4HI is all you'll need. Locking the differential is a last resort for me. Here is a cheat sheet I used when I first got the trail.
https://www.google.com/url?q=http:/...ds-cse&usg=AFQjCNFAHK4TWYVM8zPneA7fiZ_Ty-gCig
Reading the manual is also a great idea.

 

[RockyMountainT4R]

... Usually, ATRAC works well enough that you don't need lockers and don't have to suffer the negative handling effects of lockers.

Generally, if you don't know why and when you need lockers, ATRAC will do everything you need, and be far less likely to break things if you don't know what you are doing.

I don't post much, but I can echo that A-Trac works! We participated in a couple of Cruise Moabs(Toyota event put on by Rising Sun, Denver area Toyota club) and A-Trac worked as a great traction device with less sideward, surprise movement than a locker. A-Trac conquered slick rock, sand, mud, etc.. Wonderful experience, expert, friendly instruction(Robbie Antoninson, Toyota Trail Teams driver and fantastic, patient teacher).

Other comments make sense as well. READ your owner's manual. Take your manual and go out, with another rig or two as insurance, start easy and build up your experience. Join a club, especially a Toyota Land Cruiser Association affiliated club. Check out IH8MUD.com for more info. on clubs. PS, I think this is the best 4Runner forum. We also had a Taco TRD Off Road. T4R's shorter wheel base makes it more fun stock for stock off road.

 

[TOYOTA 09]

Thanks guys...so the locker should be used as a last resort?

 

[Intruder]

Thanks guys...so the locker should be used as a last resort?

Well, definitely don't drive with the locker on all the time or when you get stuck it'll be pretty bad. Also if you're driving with the locker on in mud, snow, or ice and it's off camber the locker can pull you downwards. Best to leave everything off and only use ATRAC or the locker when you actually need them.

 

[Jetboy]

Thanks guys...so the locker should be used as a last resort?

For me it just depends on the situation. If I'm rock crawling I'll just leave it on unless I need to make a sharp turn. If I'm cruising fire roads - I'd leave it off until I get stuck. Rear lockers aren't nearly as obtrusive to driving as front lockers.

A lot of it is just a gut feel for whether you need it for the terrain your in or not. Experience will start to dictate when and where you use it. Sort of like when you engage 4hi or 4lo.

 

[4Rager]

The rear locker is better for ultimate traction. The locker will limit the turning radius and for that reason I leave it off until atrac isn't enough..

Is this the reason the manual says don't go over 5mph when the locker is engaged? Obviously the physics of turning with a locked diff put additional rotational stress on the axle, but going straight shouldn't make a difference. I usually turn it off after I clear the obstacle, but sometimes I forget and notice it's still on while I'm cruising along at 15mph (on dirt still). I'm assuming they're just saying that so you don't lock the diff then go rage on a desert course at high speed and break it.

 

[Jetboy]

Is this the reason the manual says don't go over 5mph when the locker is engaged? Obviously the physics of turning with a locked diff put additional rotational stress on the axle, but going straight shouldn't make a difference. I usually turn it off after I clear the obstacle, but sometimes I forget and notice it's still on while I'm cruising along at 15mph (on dirt still). I'm assuming they're just saying that so you don't lock the diff then go rage on a desert course at high speed and break it.

Turning where it will make a difference is at or near the steering lock - so pretty much always at low speeds. The Land Cruisers have a fantastic option that I'd love to have which brakes only the inside rear tire and skids it around corners to offer a very tight turning radius. A locker engaged is kind of the opposite and will make your turning radius wider. So if you're needing a very tight corner, it will significantly limit how tight the vehicle actually turns.

It think it has more to do with driving around forgetting it on. Having the locker engaged at higher speeds just isn't usually necessary. But it doesn't really hurt anything. It's not going to snap an axle shaft or something like that. That's a low speed, high torque problem. Many people mod them to allow you to use it at higher speeds. There are certain times that you might want it on in high speed scenarios - like mud at certain times. At some point if I start doing more serious offroad in my 4runner I'll mod it for activation in 2wd and at any speed.

There are lots of vehicles out there with welded rear diffs or spools that are locked all the time. Practically every serious drag racing car uses a spool in the rear. It wears tires faster and makes for a slight amount of increases chance of slipping out on corners, but it's really not all that noticeable. I've had a few daily drivers with detroit lockers in both ends and you could feel it sometimes, but not really a big deal. Certainly not the safety emergency that they are often made out to be. It's not really any different from driving in 4h where the front and back are locked together. It puts a little more wear on parts, but otherwise it's no big deal.

 

[4Rager]

Turning where it will make a difference is at or near the steering lock - so pretty much always at low speeds....

I guess I didn't really think about the fact that your turning radius won't be very extreme at speed, so that makes sense. And as you alluded to, there are certainly traction/grip advantages to locked rear diff in certain racing situations, which make limited-slip differentials very cool technology for road cars!