ok so my axles have welded difs front and rear so i would like to know jsut how much faster this eats up your tires on the road because i would love to leave them in as i know it helps greatly with traction but not if its going to kill my tires because i need to drive it everyday to school so if you know how much faster it will kill your tires it is greatly appreciated
cody

Yup. yer gonna go through tires pretty fast.

Also, you are gonna have a bad time steering with the front dif locked -- to the point of browning your drawers in any kind of fast and hard steering input at speed.  Nevermind the "Popeye" forearms you'll develop driving that way.

I owned a 4300 pound 4x4 military truck with lockers and no power steering.  It was very hard to drive on a flat surface when locked.  When driven offroad it was unstopable!  The big difference were the hydraulic lockers...

BTW, I sold the truck because it was kinda expensive to maintain...  especially keeping the lockers in good shape.

oh i can take the front in and out as i please but the rear is all time locked

Exactly ... front fully locked aint that bad (it aint a 4300 lb vehicle), and it's only "locked" when the hubs are enguaged.

As to tire wear ... I have a mini-spool in my 2dr. Now, it aint a DD, but I drove it quite a bit on the street (store runs, to the trail and back, etc), after 4000 miles I couldn't tell the difference between front and back wear (yup rear "chirps" but I think the lightweight just keeps the added wear from being too big a problem).

Just "my experiences" ... YMMV. On a DD, I probably wouldn't want weld/spool, but if ya got it, go with it.

BTW, A 2000lb vehicle and a 4000lb (or 6000lb) vehicle will have DRASTICALLY different experiences when it comes to welded/spooled diffs.

Tire wear hasen't really been a big issue with mine either....I personally thing the advantages FAR outweight the diss-avantages

Axles, not tire is what you should be worried about

Axles, not tire is what you should be worried about

running 31's here (and I mean BEATIN on it lately), no axle probs ... I think 33's and my foot might == breakage.

I do think I have a CV up front going, but both boots on that boy have been cracked, but now both torn, and I played in the mud once ...

So what y'all (sorry, I lived in Texas for a while) are saying is that you can weld or spool or detroit locker or what ever to the front, and not be locked as long as the hubs are disengaged? And what I understand is that you donot want the front to be locked for snow?  What if you put it in 4wd and only engage one hub, would that be ok for snow?
Thanks
Jeff

What if you put it in 4wd and only engage one hub, would that be ok for snow?
Thanks
Jeff

That seem to be the best idea, although I've never had a problem being locked in the front nd driving on the snow.  Just don't drive like a moron and get used to how your rig handles in the snow.  Empty parking lots are great for this.

Exactly ... front fully locked aint that bad (it aint a 4300 lb vehicle), and it's only "locked" when the hubs are enguaged.

OOPS!

Ya got me SnoFalls!

I forgot to mention that the truck (a Pinzgauer 710M) HAD NO LOCKING HUBS!

Comparing it to a truck (WITH locking hubs) while the front dif is locked is pretty stupid.

I'll sit in the back of the room and be quiet...

those pinzgauers are pretty formidable offroad

Nice toy for those with the cash to play with