Engine and Transmission Tech

Looking at a car with a Detroit locker.
Primarily a drag car (552 BBF) but is streetable.
Has a Detroit locker. From what I read, this seems a bad idea for road use, especially in the wet.
Any experience?

Ivor

It'll click going around corners, but will be very positive when accelerating. Like any posi it will lose traction at the rear with both wheels at once rather than only one, but that point will be under considerably harder acceleration, especially if cornering.

Jim

The "Locker" is a great traction enhancer.
And Its just fine on the street once you understand how it works.
It's essentially a ratcheting system, hence the clicking on turns.
What this means is that the slower wheel gets all the power until it catches up with the faster wheel at which time they both get to share all the available power.
The biggest complaint is the noise, personally I like it. It sounds mechanical and "manly"
The other complaint is the power delivery. If it's a straight line no prob. If you're in a corner and get too heavy on the pedal, then all the power is going to the inside or slower wheel. The problem is that the inside wheel generally has the least traction so it goes up in smoke. If you keep your foot in it, the inside wheel will rapidly reach the speed of the outside wheel . Once this happens the shock will knock the outside wheel loose and around you go!
A smart driver can feel the inside wheel letting go and back off enough to let it catch up to the outside and steer the rear of the vehicle wherever he wants.
It's backwards to how you drive most traction devices.
It's a finesse thing.
It's just not the cool, current thing.

Cheers
Fred

Way better than driving a spool on the street.

Yeah, you can't unlock a spool by taking your foot off the gas.