A-Trac or Locker

Which gives you the best traction? I always thought it would be the locker but the A-trac seems to be better at getting me up slippery hills.

I've also heard they can't both be activated at the same time. When I try though, both lights are on the dash. It looks like they're both activated?

 

lol i vote the last two
momentum has gotten me through all kinds of nasty stuff!

 

i would assume the locker would be the best
but idk

 

Like I said in the first post. Does anyone know if A-trac and the locker can be engaged at the same time?

 

I have used them at the same time never heard of them not working together

 

Yeah, I read on some forum (i think tundrasolutions) that they could be used together on the FJ Cruiser but that on the Tacoma TRD OR you had to choose one or the other. Must've been BS.

There's a loose dirt, rutted hill near my house that if I go up in 4wd lo, I get stuck. Once I'm stuck, the locker won't get me out but the A-trac will.

 

I went up a hill a rausch locked with a-trac on and I heard the a-trac kick in.

 

arb locker, lots of people very happy with it. ill be getting mine hopefully around beginning of march

 

I have none of those. Damn Texas packages. I wish I knew about them 5 years ago.

 

On the 09s and 2010s, the locker and A-Trac will function simultaneously up to a certain speed, 3 MPH I think. It is in the owner's manual.
Usually, I think using both is the best solution. A-Trac alone works great, but I have turned it off and used just the locker when in real wet spots. It sounds horrible and doesn't work as well when the of the wheels are in water and the brakes are wet.

 

right now, after my long travel, im gonna take that hill going 60

 

I'm sort of confused on the question here? Does A-Trac come with non-TRD? If you have the money for an ARB locker /s (as mentioned) there is non need for A-Trac, but if you dont have a locker A-Trac is great considering it is simulating a locker with ABS?!?? Please correct me if i am way off base.

 

I was cornfused on this last week. atrac was not available until 09 models with 4x4. did not matter if offroad, sport, or not.
Offroad models with lock diff - atrac and abs disabled when in 4 low and diff locked. ( someone on here has a mod to get around this) Mine turns into a tank when in this config, but diff lock not for on road use. Atrac for driving on shitty slippery roads - locking diff is not.

 

I saw that mod and was confused on that too. ha I thought it was for trucks without A-Trac? A-Trac only works when in 4lo and when below 3mph with locker engaged.? What is the point of the mod? sorry

 

To keep it simple, if you are planning to go trail/ mud stomping often, go with the locking diff. If you dont plan on leaving the pavement ( on purpose, anyway) go with lsd option instead of offroad package

 

I voted locker although I would love to have either of those on my truck. I don't know how the ATRAC works when you lift a wheel, but I know a locker will put power to both locked wheels!

 

In ATRAC, if a wheel comes off the ground, the abs starts grabbing that wheel which in turn transfers the power back to the wheel that is on the ground. Works beautifully at low speed. It can be argued that it's even better than a locker because it does not affect steering. It only works at crawl speed, but that's my speed anyway. With all the granite boulders on the trails around here, you'd destroy your truck in 5 minutes if you were going faster than 5 mph.

 

Haven't tried it myself, but just thinking about it, I wouldn't think it would let you have both activated at the same time. If your diff is locked and a-trac is on (assuming it's possible) and one of your rear wheels starts slipping a-trac is going to start braking that wheel, except in this case all you're gonna do is burn up your brakes as your diff is locked. For a-trac to work correctly it needs open diffs. Again, just thinking out loud here, haven't tried it on my truck. Read the manual once, but the traction control section is very vague.

Keep in mind also that the fancy traction control features STOP working if your brakes overheat. A locker won't do that.

 

Let me explain my opposite thinking. ATRAC would work fine with a locker because the ABS only kicks in when a wheel is slipping in comparison to the opposed wheel (not the whole axle slipping). A locker won't let the left wheel slip compared to the right or vice versa. Therefore, the locker effectively disables the ATRAC in the rear but the open axle in front would still allow it to work fine.

 

I'm still trying to work these different traction options out in my mind, but at this point I am thinking that A-Trac will help keep you going in the really bad stuff and that the locker will help get you re-going when even A-Trac won't keep you from bogging down. Any thoughts on my line of reasoning?