VW Transporter 4 motion. Diff lock???

[aboynamedjim]

Hi all,

With the new tax changes on pickups, I believe the only 4x4 commercial vehicle with 5 seats is now a VW transporter T32 4motion. (Unless I'm wrong??)

Does anyone own one and would like to comment on them as stalking vehicles? Finding one with diff lock is as rare as hens teeth. Is diff lock absolutely necessary or with a decent set of tyres be sufficient for most scenarios???

Many thanks

 

[Pedro]

A good set of tyres is the most influential thing for many off road ventures and will be good for most scenarios. Absolutely a diff lock is good, but I suspect that most people wouldn't be venturing onto such challenging terrain where a diff lock would be necessary in a Transporter. Hence there ain't too many about with it I'd guess.

 

[.243ackley]

im running a t6.1 4 motion on 17" bf goodrich all terrains,never had an issue off road,,the diff option was gonna be €1k,only reason i didnt opt for it is ive had 3 4 motions since 2004 and never needed it,there has been a cpl of sticky spots but as i have a dsg i can activate the launch control and dump all the power in one go and power out,just make sure you do a regular haldex service

 

[aboynamedjim]

Brilliant, thank you kindly

 

[Loler UK]

I have a 6.1 lwb 4motion with diff lock, it was a very cheap optional extra and it's worth it's weight in gold. It also forces the haldex to engage permanent 4wd, other 4motions have to detect slip on the front wheels before the haldex engages

Great stalking vehicle especially once lifted, only by 35mm but it allows bigger tyres and better ground clearance.

I wouldn't dream of buying one without diff lock. I used to have one without and it's night and day. It only cost £300 as an optional extra when I ordered mine from the factory, absolute no brainer

 

[tackb]

i run a T32 4motion , but it's been fitted with air suspension. i can honestly say that it's absolutely fine for 99% of situations , frankly if you need the diff lock it's likely the T32 transporter isn't the correct motor for your off road requirements

i would urge you to look at the air suspension because it enables you to raise the car for off road use and then drop it again for normal roads and car parks etc

i run michelin cross climates and find them superb for my requirements

 

[phillips321]

I have a 6.1 lwb 4motion with diff lock, it was a very cheap optional extra and it's worth it's weight in gold. It also forces the haldex to engage permanent 4wd, other 4motions have to detect slip on the front wheels before the haldex engages

Great stalking vehicle especially once lifted, only by 35mm but it allows bigger tyres and better ground clearance.

I wouldn't dream of buying one without diff lock. I used to have one without and it's night and day. It only cost £300 as an optional extra when I ordered mine from the factory, absolute no brainer

@Loler UK fails to say that he gets cold and fitted a heater in his as well.

 

[Heym SR20]

I am not sure the 4 Motion needs a difflock in the centre. They use a Torsen style diff which automatically locks up if one wheel starts spinning, thus sending the power to the other wheels. It is all a development of the original Audi quattro system.

The traction control system also brakes a spinning wheel, which again shoves the power to the other wheels.

Good tyres and /or a set of chains and they will go pretty much anywhere. In terms of out right off road ability what will let them down is ground clearance / break over angles etc and wheel diameter.

Depends on where you want to go. Hard core off roading or cross a field after driving up a forestry track.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

The original Audi quattro system was part of my brief back in 1979 at Audi, they used a VW Iltis system that caused me issues getting the gearshift lever to operate all gears and still stay inside of the centre console side walls even with anticipated overtravel.
Der Quattro-Antrieb von Audi wurde durch das Allradantriebssystem des Iltis inspiriert: Roland Gumpert schlug seinem Vorgesetzten, Jörg Bensinger, damaliger Testleiter vor, das Antriebskonzept des Iltis auch für zivile Limousinen zu nutzen. Ferdinand Piëch billigte diese Überlegungen, Gumpert und Bensinger gelten seitdem als geistige Väter des Audi-Quattro.

 

[Loler UK]

I am not sure the 4 Motion needs a difflock in the centre. They use a Torsen style diff which automatically locks up if one wheel starts spinning, thus sending the power to the other wheels. It is all a development of the original Audi quattro system.

The traction control system also brakes a spinning wheel, which again shoves the power to the other wheels.

Good tyres and /or a set of chains and they will go pretty much anywhere. In terms of out right off road ability what will let them down is ground clearance / break over angles etc and wheel diameter.

Depends on where you want to go. Hard core off roading or cross a field after driving up a forestry track.

It's not in the centre it's in the rear axle

 

[tackb]

It's not in the centre it's in the rear axle

tell me , since you have a diff lock on yours does it cancel the traction control when it's locked as i could see the electronics getting confused maybe?

 

[Loler UK]

tell me , since you have a diff lock on yours does it cancel the traction control when it's locked as i could see the electronics getting confused maybe?

It alters the traction control yes. No it doesn't get confused. It's much better than relying on automatic fiddle brakes as all the power to the rear wheels gets utilised.

 

[tackb]

It alters the traction control yes. No it doesn't get confused. It's much better than relying on automatic fiddle brakes as all the power to the rear wheels gets utilised.

so i guess it switches off the independent traction on the rear as the axle is locked and keeps it on the front?

 

[Donkey Basher]

I’m not an expert on VWs but Freelander 2 has a Haldex unit at the rear too so is basically the same tech.

If I remember correctly the vehicle is ‘all wheel drive’ (not four wheel drive) meaning that the output from the gearbox is split front & rear with no central differential. Under normal use the front ‘axle’ is the one receiving 100% the drive from a PTU (front ‘diff’ if you like) & whilst the prop shaft to the rear ‘axle’ is driven there is a clutch - the Haldex unit, that is disengaged under normal condition & so the rear wheels are not driven. When one of the front wheels start to lose traction the traction control brakes it so power transfers to the other front wheel maintaining 50% drive to each wheel. When both front wheels lose traction, ie are rotating faster than the rear wheels, the Haldex clutch gets engaged so the drive is then equally split - 50% to the front ‘axle’ & 50% to the rear ‘axle’ as well. If one of the rear wheels starts to lose traction the traction control brakes that & drive goes to the other one until both are spinning at the same rate. The rear diff is still ‘open’ so traction is only as good as the traction control can achieve.

The diff lock is in the rear differential & when engaged locks both output shafts, ie both wheels get 25% of the drive & will turn at the same speed - the o5er 50% is still going to the front ‘axle’. Engaging it also locks the Haldex as unless that is locked there is no direct drive to the rear ‘axle’ unless traction is lost on both front wheels.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[doric_prince]

I have a Touareg with 4x motion, which has a low box and central and rear locking diff. I have to say I have never needed the diffs yet but appreciate this is a different system to haldex (i think).

 

[slider]

I used to have a vw Tiguan 4Motion, ith no different lock. It was amazing where it would go.

 

[tackb]

I have a Touareg with 4x motion, which has a low box and central and rear locking diff. I have to say I have never needed the diffs yet but appreciate this is a different system to haldex (i think).

don't think they made many with the low box and diff locks as off roaders were not their target audience ?

 

[tackb]

I used to have a vw Tiguan 4Motion, ith no different lock. It was amazing where it would go.

i think this is the crux of the op's question , what type of off road does he need to be able to do ?

if you try hard enough you can get anything stuck and the more off roady you make a vehicle the less useable on the road it becomes , always a compromise

 

[jthyttin]

They use a Torsen style diff which automatically locks up if one wheel starts spinning, thus sending the power to the other wheels.

Do you mean Torsen with extra components that lock, or that Torsen "locks"?

Torsen is basically a torque multiplier, and zero multiplied is still zero. So if one wheel slips (has zero traction / zero torque transferred through), the other wheel would not move in Torsen diff.

 

[jthyttin]

frankly if you need the diff lock it's likely the T32 transporter isn't the correct motor for your off road requirements

Locking diffs (or other solutions that simulate them) are actually much more needed in vehicles with independent suspension and short wheel travel. It's actually very easy to lose traction in uneven terrain with such a vehicle (compared to something with live axles and adequate wheel / suspension travel).