TRD: Sport Package VS TRD: Off Road Package

The LSD isn't a real LSD. It's not mechanical, it activates the brakes when it senses one wheel spinning more than the other. The Locker, is what it is. It locks the rear differential so both wheels spin at the exact same speed regardless of traction. Or lack thereof.

 

yeah but i just think the lsd would be a bit better dont you think since you dont want the tires spinning in the first place you want them to get traction, im not trying to argue just getting a better understanding, thank you for your input.

 

For trails/off road you do want them to be spinning. If you have a wheel up in the air, with LSD it'll just sit there spinning while the other one ont he ground sits there going "la la la sitting is fun." Eventually it'll move as it's 'limited' but as said above it's not true LSD it's controlled by the brake so even then it's not a great setup for it. It's also less predictable when the lsd will 'lock' and you can lurch forward esp if you got some throttle down.... bad thing to do on a trail. Unless you have a pre-runner where I just floor the crap out of it to start with. Baja ftw.

 

The 2009 trucks have the AUTO LSD - which is what you are referring to. It's operated via the braking system.

The 2008 and earlier TRD Sport trucks have the mechancial LSD which utilizes clutch paks in the rear diff to keep the wheels spinning together for traction. Once a certain torque load is reached on the drivetrain, the clutch paks release and the tires are no longer spinning together (hence the name - Limited slip).

 

The TRD locker is a fulltime locker. Which means....both rear wheels are locked together regardless of the terrain. You could have one rear wheel off the ground - and that other single wheel will still have 'drive' to move you forward.

With a Mechanical LSD - both wheels might be 'coupled' together until you come to that point where the one wheel comes off the ground. The LSD clutch paks can't continue to hold and your one wheel on the ground will become stationary (no drive) while the other wheel off the ground will start spinning (power goes to the path of least resistance). You are stuck.

I'm not exactly sure how the AUto LSD works.....but if one wheel is on the ground (like above) it'll be stationary (no drive). The other wheel will be spinning (again, path of least resistance). The Auto LSD will begin to pulsate the brakes on the spinning wheel to prevent it from spinning and possibly give you a potential to gain traction (in theory). Again - you are stuck.

Maybe someone else can explain the Auto LSD better - just thought I'd try to attempt to explain the differences.

 

yeah i just wanted to understand more, my last truck had the locking rear diff and it was fun, so when i press that little button with the truck spinning out it says auto lsd haha yeah i dont know what it does ive messed with it alittle and saw that both the back tires were spinning after i pressed that button but its not the same as the locking rear but oh well i have a 4x4 i dont do to much off roading but i do have to drive in snow so its nice to have, thank you guys for explaining it i appreciate it!

 

A sport will have to have the front-left and rear-right off the ground to get stuck anyways....so what's the deal, how often would that really happen if your carefull?

Therefore, since you drive your truck on the road 90% of the time, the LSD is better for an overall COMBINED use of the truck. -My opinion.

 

im a fan of both ive had both and they treated me great

 

What's the front-left & right-rear have anything to do with it?

What will happen is the front right & left rear are off the ground? Will it blow up instead?

And what about the front right and rear right - means you can't open your door.

 

That is incorrect from my findings. If you can source material to the otherwise, I'd be happy to eat my words. All years, as far as I know are auto LSD activated via the brakes.

The idea behind the Auto LSD is that if one wheel loses traction and start to spin freely, thus using all your drive power and robbing your one grounded drive wheel, it applies brakes to the spinning wheel stopping it from spinning and transferring that power to the grounded wheel.

 

^Janster is right. 05-08 Sport has a clutch pack mechanical LSD. Its always 'on' no matter 2wd or 4wd.

With VSC and TRAC on all 09's, the Sport had to drop the mech LSD. They (and all Tacomas) have Auto-LSD when VSC button is pushed in 2wd only. As said above, uses brakes on an open diff to mimic an LSD.

 

My source of findings is sitting in my driveway.

I have a 2007 TRD Sport with the limited slip diff (mechanical). It even says "Limited Slip diff" on my window sticker and "LSD oil only" sticker on my diff. The mechanical LSD was also offered on non-TRD trucks as an option.

 

Will this debate ever die??
It all depends on your driving style.

For me, locker. To make it even better, locker-mod...so I can have the rear end locked up in 2-wheel drive...now that is fun. But seriously, with the locker engaged I can wheel most terrain in 2-wheel drive, where most folks in 4-wheel drive with open diffs (2-wheel drive) would have a hard time.

 

Nuff said... But then again, I dont do much off-roading in south Florida...

I did want the 4X4, but couldnt get it with the X-SP package in the time-frame I needed. And when its all set and done, the X-SP (and other similar packages available in the south) makes the truck...period.

 

Want fries with that??

 

I like the off road model. I have a double cab and especially like the 5 foot bed considering that most of the time, I'm putting paint cans, tool boxes, etc. in there so I don't need a long bed. I must confess that i like the fake hood scoop on the sport model but I don't like the longer bed. I just got rid of a big truck (F250 x-cab) and wanted to downsize.

 

Look around.You may find someone who is willing to trade.

 

Me too! That's one of the reasons why I bought the SPORT. I also like the colored bumpers too.

It's funny - but several years back prior to the newer generations coming out...the 4Runner's had a 'non-functional' hood scoop that looked exactly like the ones we have now. There were sooo many people who wanted to put the 4Runner hoods on the tacomas (1st gens). If I remember - there was something about them that they wouldn't fit.

Toyota got the message ...and gave us the scoops also! I like the sporty look of 'em.

 

The only thing about the sport I actually like is the color coded body panels. However, I hate the fake hood scoop. So, locker & off-road it was for me For the record, I'd still love a WRX, I like scoops... just FUNCTIONAL ones