Powertrax No-Slip locker - REVIEWED

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Wed Sep 13, 2006 11:32 pm

As some of you know, I recently installed a Powertrax No-Slip rear locker for my KJ. There's been a lot of recent threads with opinions on various lockers. When I finally installed this one, I promised to post back on how I like it after I put it to the test.

Well, I've got one word for this locker:

TOTALLY AWESOME! (It's so good, one word wasn't enough!)

I was at Paragon last weekend for the Jeep Jamboree. I've been on some of those trails before. I also had the opportunity to drive behind a 2003 KJ with an open rear, and also a 2006 KJ with the computer controlled drivetrain.

I specifically took lines that the other KJ's struggled with, lines the open rear 2003 KJ couldn't make. Well, I walked up all those lines. Rocks, mud, sand. YOU NAME IT, and the Powertrax just walked rigth on up/through.

by purposefully getting the KJ off balance, I even managed to pull the rear wheel off the ground on a few occassions while someone behind me watched, as the airborn rear tire rotated at the same speed as the one with traction.

Really, this was the 2nd best $400 I have ever spend on the KJ next to my full Rusty's Coil lift.

The only time I had to back up and try again in a situation is when I got a rock wedged under the rear diff which lifted both rear tires. This was as a huge mud hole. So with both rears off the ground and limited grip up front, my forward momentum stopped. The good news: I was able to back up a few feet then go forward again and make it out of the mud hole. (The bad news is that I left my front license plate in the 3' hole! oops!)

Anyway, if you're on the fence about this thing, I say GET IT!!!

Next up: front locker! (not for a while!)

(Oh, and as for on-road manners, it's fine. Just keep a light throttle in hard turns to avoid jumping of the inside rear wheel. Unless, you want to do that ;-)

. I've always tried to do this anyway just to reduce the wear on my trac-lock clutches.

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Wed Sep 13, 2006 11:37 pm

Oh, one more thing. I definitely was able to wheel slower and easier becauase of the locker. I was able to crawl up loose rocky terrain and a slow and steady pace.

This must be better for my KJ than trying to climb a rocky and sandy hill with speed and momentum. I think we all know how that front diff tends to explode under those conditions!

kolesy · **Posted:** Wed Sep 13, 2006 11:55 pm

Awesome right up Adam! It helps since I am considering one of them. So the "POP" noise evryone talks about, how is that. Is it really loud, does it happen often?

moose · **Posted:** Thu Sep 14, 2006 12:07 am

And how did the '06 do?

OzLtd · **Posted:** Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:00 am

Yeah to both the above Q's....

I'd like to hear how the 06 electronic gizmo version went, and the poping noise, is it notciable ?

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Thu Sep 14, 2006 6:16 am

I've had the locker in for about 2 weeks and well over 500 miles. I've not had it pop once on the road. I can feel it's there on the road, I now understand the "slack" that the instructions refer to when on road, and also the understeer that is referenced. But it's all not bad and I bet my wife won't notice if/whne she drives the KJ.

Off road, it does pop more often -- WHICH I LIKED! I sounded like a Rubicon or other modified off road vehicle! I actually did enjoy hearing it work. Much like the entire driveline clunks when you're in 4lo and turning off road. That's how a part time (ie, locked) driveline part works.

The rear's popping comes from the locker unlocking usually. So if you're locked and creeping along, and then you turn under light throttle, it may unlock (if there's not traction issues) and that's the letting go of the teeth.

Oh, and the 06 did pretty well - very well actually. Joe seemed to be a decent driver. He had a Frankenlift and 31" tires (MTR's I think). He said that the traction system came on often and seemed to really help him. But it was a bit weaker when one rear wheel was off the ground, just not as weak as the open-rear 2003. And I don't think he was able to crawl up as slowly as I was. I think he had to use a bit more gas than I.

I can't stress enough how easily I walked up EVERYTHING. I was on red trails for two days. These were about level 4-5 trails with some very tough spots. Not the hardest I've done, but I had the easiest time going. Like I said earlier, I never had to back up and try anything again (except for that one time where the rear was completely off the ground). It was awesome!

alljeep · **Posted:** Thu Sep 14, 2006 7:44 am

Adam, did you have the factory limited slip rear differential before? If so, please compare or maybe rate how well the factory LSD does off road compared to your new setup.

i.e. on a scale of 1-10 for off road ability, an open diff is a ?, factory lsd is a ? and your new powertrax is a ?

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Thu Sep 14, 2006 7:49 am

My wife has the Powertrax in her KJ and she Hates it. She hates the sloppy feel of the "slack" and it pops loudly at strange times when you least expect it. As for off road, it works great but then so does my Quiet Auburn LS in my XJ. Overall I am really not all that thrilled with ours and because of it's mannerisms I don't fully trust it will last. I will eventually switch hers to a different locker/posi. I am glad to hear you like yours though so this is only Our opinion and not intended as anything else.

DaveKJ02 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:13 am

Quote:

I was on red trails for two days. These were about level 4-5 trails with some very tough spots. Not the hardest I've done, but I had the easiest time going. Like I said earlier, I never had to back up and try anything again (except for that one time where the rear was completely off the ground). It was awesome!

Really? Reds at Paragon? While following an open KJ? They hold NEUROC competitions on the red trails there. Maybe your trail map had your route in red. No freakin way any KJ could do the Paragon reds. I'd like to see some pics of that.

Eddo · **Joined:** Thu Jul 07, 2005 7:01 pm **Posts:** 1214

Great review Adam. I feel the exact same way about my powertrax. I just love it. There is some drive line slack that can get a little annoying, but it is something that is easy to live with. Plus the slack is really no worse than some older manual tranny's I've driven. My fiance drives the Jeep all the time and doesn't notice it. I've also had other people drive my Jeep and only a few have made a comment. However, for some people it is a little much. I guess a good rule of thumb would be, if you can live with a lift and some noisy MT/Rs then you probably won't mind the powertrax.

DarbyWalters · **Posted:** Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:48 am

Nice to hear the 2006 Traction Control/ESP worked offroad. People were knocking it before they even saw it work...I think the 2006's with a Detroit TruTrac in the front and rear would be a sweet setup. The traction control would actually make them work better by applying the brakes for us.

Don't know what the trails are like in Paragon, but my old 2002KJ with PowerTrax(Front) and DTT(Rear) on 32's with 2.5" of lift would surprise the bigger rigs with 33-35's all the time. The TrailReady front and rear bumpers gave me excellent approach/departure angles...well over 42 degrees at both ends. With no rear sway bar and the original Front Sway Bar Disco that a few of us had...custom made...I went everywhere. Of course I wasn't afraid to put a scratch or two in "The Goat"

Edwin · **Posted:** Thu Sep 14, 2006 11:35 am

DarbyWalters wrote:

Nice to hear the 2006 Traction Control/ESP worked offroad. People were knocking it before they even saw it work...I think the 2006's with a Detroit TruTrac in the front and rear would be a sweet setup. The traction control would actually make them work better by applying the brakes for us.

Don't know what the trails are like in Paragon, but my old 2002KJ with PowerTrax(Front) and DTT(Rear) on 32's with 2.5" of lift would surprise the bigger rigs with 33-35's all the time. The TrailReady front and rear bumpers gave me excellent approach/departure angles...well over 42 degrees at both ends. With no rear sway bar and the original Front Sway Bar Disco that a few of us had...custom made...I went everywhere. Of course I wasn't afraid to put a scratch or two in "The Goat"

Yea I heard U got b@lls when it comes to offroading! :lol:

Talon 1 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 14, 2006 12:27 pm

Maybe Adam meant blues? Paragon has a trail rate system of a color and then 1-3 with 3 being harder trails of the numbers of that color. Paragon has alot of rocks and is serious fun for all. Paragon`s ratings:

Green 1,2,3 - Stock and Lifted trails
Blue 1,2,3 - Modified (Lift and tires) only
Black 1,2,3 - Seriously lifted/modded
Red - Neuroc Events

Green 3`s are even a fun, albeit easier, trails for lifted.

As for the Power Trax, I totally agree with Adam. It is awesome. A HUGE difference. Don`t be discouraged by the "pop" sound some comment on. You don`t hear it that much honestly (at least I don`t). Even with that said, it`s worth it for the extra ability it gives you offroad. Like Adam, places where I had trouble in the past, I now cakewalked it. Took mine on some Blues I had done in past and it was nothing compared to before. Trust us, you`ll like it. BTW, I had an open Diff.

Mike

Skyjump136 · **Joined:** Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:50 pm **Posts:** 1633

Not to get too far off topic here...but does anyone have Detroit TrueTrac front and rear...how is it working for you? I just purchased the front, but I haven't decided what I'm going to do in the 8.25 yet. My Auburn LSD isn't working for $#%^ anymore.

Thanks in advance.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Thu Sep 14, 2006 1:35 pm

Love my powertrax. It does pop at weird times and squeals the tires alot, but I like it. Its cool to see people turn around and look when im pulling out at 1500rpms and my tires are squealing, must be all that low end torque. :lol:

Ive noticed that it locks alot more when pulling out with the general grabbers than it did with the goodyears. I guess that b/c the good years' tread was alot harder than the generals tread.

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Thu Sep 14, 2006 2:00 pm

First, let me clarify something quickly before you all put a big red S on my chest: I was on the Red trail ride for both days. THAT IS JEEP JAMBOREE USA's color rating. It was their hard intermediate trail rating.

The trails we did that I know of (we did a lot of stuff backwards and not even on the map/new trails) were: Turtle (uphill), Whompum, Good Bad Ugly (and some offshoot of that), Campground trail, Cherokee Ridge, both Blue Berry trails, Logging trail, Ridge Road, Muddy Pipeline Bypass (which is where I think I left my license plate). I tell you, this was my 3rd trip to paragon and I didn't think I'd enjoy the terrain as much as i did. It's a bigger park than I realized the first two times. I was impressed. I'm further impressed in seeing that many of the trails I was on were Greens! They were tough. But things like Turtle are just fun, even if they're not all that hard. Steep uphill climbs with large, loose rocks, with mountain on your left and cliff/drop off to your right. Pretty cool stuff.

The map is here:http://www.paragonap.com/p_trailmaps.htm

As for my ratings, I had a stock Trac-Loc before. It was noticeably better off road than an open diff. But if you pulled a rear tire off the ground, you were going to have trouble and need the parking brake and some momentum. I rate it a 4 on the Adam Scale of limited experience. An open rear would be a 1. The powertrax I rate a 9, with an adjustable rear being the only thing better. This rating refers ONLY to it's ability to drive on and off road. I have no idea if it's going to last as long as a Detroit locker, an ARB or anything else out there.

Robert Bradbury · **Joined:** Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:37 am **Posts:** 132

I'm still on the fence about my powertrax. Sure it works great but the poping is still too frequent after 3 months and some 1000 miles . You describe it as a poping noise whereas I would describe it as someone hitting the rear diff with a maul because I get the VERY loud pop and a noticeable understear to boot especially in a turn .

DaveKJ02 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 14, 2006 5:27 pm

If you did Turtle going up, I can see why your new locker put a smile on your face.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Thu Sep 14, 2006 6:25 pm

Imagine how bad the understeer is when pulling a boat in the rain and you must get speed up to make it up a hill and your in a turn. It downshifts and the torque makes the locker lock and you start drifting into the other lane with traffic coming!! :shock:

True story...

Robert Bradbury · **Joined:** Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:37 am **Posts:** 132

Jeepjeepster wrote:

Imagine how bad the understeer is when pulling a boat in the rain and you must get speed up to make it up a hill and your in a turn. It downshifts and the torque makes the locker lock and you start drifting into the other lane with traffic coming!! :shock:

True story...

I tow a 18 ft twin engine boat but haven't had that problem. On the highway I don't notice any problems, it's the in town driving and turning that causes me grief. Winter should be interesting.

Powertrax No-Slip locker - REVIEWED

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