Almost 100% sure of this now.......
Will be available from ADF.
Will be available from ADF.
Torq Master R160 Rear Locker is happening (merged thread)
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Hoping this will work with 2019's as well.
Currently for the R160 rear differential.
Also must be an open diff and not factory Limited slip.
not sure which diff is in a 2019 but the R160 is the most common in most Subarus.
https://www.torqmasters.com/products/brand/torq_locker/category/automatic_locker/type/4x4
Also must be an open diff and not factory Limited slip.
not sure which diff is in a 2019 but the R160 is the most common in most Subarus.
https://www.torqmasters.com/products/brand/torq_locker/category/automatic_locker/type/4x4
I had a Lock-right in the rear of an F250 4x4 pickup.
Same basic function.
I could barely hear it click in tight turns.
Worked great in that truck in sand or mud with a load of firewood.
A hard core off roader would/did explode them often.
I the case of a subaru, they should be great when one front and one rear are off the ground.
Same basic function.
I could barely hear it click in tight turns.
Worked great in that truck in sand or mud with a load of firewood.
A hard core off roader would/did explode them often.
I the case of a subaru, they should be great when one front and one rear are off the ground.
Yup, had a lock-right in a Suzuki Vitara and I had zero driveability issues, and off road it was a beast. I am currently Subaru shopping and this locker would be high on my list for mods. (The Outback in my profile is my wife’s, can’t mod that).
I have a knockoff Aussie in the front of my Jeep. Completely unnoticeable in 2wd ... UNLESS ... I'm on ice and one of the front wheels locks up trying to brake. Then the locker ratchets quite loudly. Otherwise it's great.
The only real complaint I have ever had about it is if I'm trying to climb something very slippery in 4LO that requires a lot of wheel speed; it only goes straight. Obviously in the rear, it wouldn't be a big deal.
The only real complaint I have ever had about it is if I'm trying to climb something very slippery in 4LO that requires a lot of wheel speed; it only goes straight. Obviously in the rear, it wouldn't be a big deal.
being said around $400 for the part. Not sure other extra components to go along with it or not.
I have a Lokka autolocker in the front of my Xterra and I beat it like it owes me money.
3+ years and it's been flawless.
Attachments
Rear Locker R160 - Torq Master - Great news for offroad subies
I have not seen this posted, but there have been several group testing this new product. It will become a reality for many fozie enthusiasts.
Installation:
Testing:
1.
2.
I have not seen this posted, but there have been several group testing this new product. It will become a reality for many fozie enthusiasts.
Installation:
Testing:
1.
2.
This is the holy grail for the Subaru off road community.
I installed the locker on my 18' M/T about 6,000 miles ago so I can give you some feedback.
The install was done in conjunction with a primitive racing lift which made sense as you mention. My first observation was that it is quieter than I expected. I anticipated the 'ratcheting' would be louder than it in fact is. The differential skid plate might help or hurt in that regard but since I don't have a reference for comparison I can't say other than I can only hear it if I am making a tight turn at low speed with the windows down. Windows up during normal driving it is silent except for an occasional thunk when unloading and releasing during certain tight turns under moderate to high throttle application.
The locker was installed shortly before an over 5,000 mile road trip this summer from Maryland to north western Montana. On the outbound trip which was mostly highway the locker was transparent and did not affect drivability. I believe this was as good a test in this regard as possible due to the car being heavily laden with gear and provisions for two and half weeks unsupported, roof top tent and family of three. I haven't pulled out the gauge to verify but a rough measurement with a stick shows no excess tire wear on the rear which indicates that the differential was releasing on the road as it should and thus should not have caused excess driveline stress.
For time / car access reasons I did have the diff installed by IAG performance, a subaru specific performance shop in my area. I trust that quality of installation and verification of lash and attention to detail may have contributed to the low noise.
The interesting part - my destination in Montana was the Flathead National Forest and several hundred (250-300) off road miles. Having driven 25,000 miles in mixed off road and snow conditions before the upgrades I had a good idea of the stock performance of the car which will be my basis for comparison.
To get to our first final destination required 60 miles of rough dirt / gravel road to an area south east of the Hungry Horse reservoir. Driving a consistent 35-45 mph on this portion I observed a significant change in vehicle dynamics from stock. In tight sweeping turns on the wet and somewhat slick dirt road I anticipated the rear end would slip a bit and for TC to activate. This is what I experienced previously in similar circumstances, however TC did not activate. I noted a distinct impression of the rear end tracking differently, as if the rear wheels did not follow the same arc as the front, which they probably were not. My assessment is that the rear diff was locking and the sensation of slip resulted from this. In my opinion this behavior is a significant upgrade from stock. Typically when TC activates I find it upsets the balance of the car and reduces predictability as the ECU applies brake and reduces throttle to bring the car 'back into line' but it does not account for what the driver intends or the road conditions. The result is that the car behaved very predictably, smoothly and maintained traction where I suspect it would not have otherwise.
In more challenging circumstances - steep mixed rock, dirt, mud and snow, again TC activated momentarily only a handful of times. With one side of the car on slick rock and the other on mud the traction was excellent. When TC activated it was due to quantities of fine rock causing either front or rear wheel spin. There were a few times the 'roads' were so steep I needed a running start to get enough momentum and rpm that the engine would not stall despite 100% throttle (altitude 6-7,000ft didn't help).
Other factors - Having the lift and underbody protection gave me some freedom to choose lines that favored traction over concern about ground clearance. Wheels and tires - 215/75R15 BFG K02's have great tread and enough sidewall that I could air down to 21/20 psi for improved traction. An estimated +/- 800lbs of people, provisions and gear added some rear weight bias.
As I (used to before COVID) commute by rail I don't use my car as a daily driver. We do weekly errands and road trips primarily so I can't assess the more typical daily driver impact of the locker. The long highway runs on the road trip did not seem to be adversely affected, and local errands likewise. I could imagine some interesting parking garage behavior due to the tight turns and slick surfaces but this would likely just be some nice wheel squeal.
Since the locker is a new product in the Subaru application, long term durability is unknown. Obviously I have the original stock unit that was taken out should something go terribly wrong, but based on my experience so far I don't anticipate this. In hand the torq master unit has a better finish than the stock differential and the heat treatment seemed harder and more uniform. The stock diff had polished gear faces after 25K mi, but rough finish elsewhere like they had been cast and machined. Whereas the torq master diff appeared to have been fully machined and then uniformly heat treated such that the parts had a 'sharper' and higher pitched sound indicative of higher brinnell number.
Hopefully this feedback is helpful to others, I will update if anything new comes up or if I have any issues.
Let me know if there are any questions.
LOL, Nice! Remind me not to hit you up for $2
@0D1USA Pictures of your Montana trip or it didn't happen.
You cannot write about an epic road trip and not post pictures! Thanks for the write up -- appreciate the details.
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