Can someone shed some light on this? My buddy sent this to me saying the Xterra 4x4 is not true 4x4..more like 4x3.

A stock xterra has the option of a lsd in the rear, but it is weak. Neither of you have true 4wd, you would need lockers front and rear and in your case, center too. If he doesn't have a lsd, then he has 2wd, if he has the lsd he has 2.5wd, and if he has an aftermarket "real" locker, then he has 3wd.

Any thoughts?

I think your friend should check himself into rehab, for all those drugs he's been using...

If his argument is that a 4wd truck is not 4wd unless it has locked front and rear diffs than there are only two or three available true 4wd trucks on the planet. But it is true that 2wd is really only 1 rear wd and 4wd is really only front and rear two wheel drive by his definition.

In essence his argument has some merrit. If you are in 4lo without lockers and you lose traction to one tire the other tire will not rotate , thus rendering that axle useless. The front wheels will pull the vehicle but if you lose traction or a wheel leaves the ground there as well you will be stuck.

With lockers you will be able to keep traction at all wheels in the event of slippage or a wheel leaving the ground.

But to say that and X isn't a true 4wd truck because it lacks lockers is rediculous. The Mercedes G-Wagen , Hummer H1 (possibly H2) and the Jeep Rubicon (Does the new Tourag have them? I think so.)(I know toyota trucks have an electronic locker available but isn't it only front?) are probably the few domestically available vehicles with factroy installed front and rear lockers.

Considering how weak the LSD is, yes, the X is essentially a 2WD at best. One front and one rear wheel is free to spin and let all the power go nowhere.
The X DOES have a "locked" center diff in that there is NO diff at all in the transfer case. If it had an open diff in the center, it could theoretically be only 1WD.

Brent

and...what does this genius drive?

A 2wd 4runner of course. I've been ragging on him b/c he'll be calling me to pull his 30K 2wd out the muck when he's stuck!

4runners are pretty good trucks. too bad they've gotten so expensive.
ask him what he thinks of a 4runner's 4x4 system, apparently he thinks the xterra's 4x4 system is so inadaquate. other than the ability to drive on pavement, what advantage would a 4runner 4x4 have over the xterra? i'm not talking about numeric details such as gear ratios, measurements, etc. i mean pure and simple technological facts. on the trail, any 4wd without lockers will have the same disadvantages. the 4runners (if i remember correctly) dont have the option of the factory locking rear.

that's pretty much the weakness of a fulltime 4x4 system, found in the 4runner. luckily for them, fulltime 4x4's typically have factory installed parts to compensate, ie center lockers and lsds. if you want to compare bare bones to bare bones, a naked part-time system would out do a naked full-time on the trails.

That is my quote in your (leeschill) post, not your friend's. What is not said is the context of my quote, here is the original thread on yotatech.

Yup, that was my definition of a true 4wd, given the context of ScottSE's original question on yotatech. ScottSE was trying to say the xterra is 3wd, while the 4runner is 4wd and to prove a point I explained the merits of lockers. I think everyone here knows what 4wd means whether that involves lockers or not.

On the contrary, I think the xterra system is better than the new 4runners for off roading. The new 4runners may have all that fancy traction control stuff, but I'd rather have lockers.

Yeah the H1 (I think 2000 and after), G-Wagen and Rubicon are the only three vehicles that comes with a true triple locker system straight from the factory. The pre-96 or 97 Landcruisers, before they added the independent front suspension, also had 3 lockers. The H2 and Tourag only have rear lockers, but the front uses some sort of fancy traction stuff. The Prerunners only have a locker in the back also.

It's funny because in some artical I read, I think the Globe and Mail car section, one editor actually called the Rubicon's locker system primative and outdated. I guess most people now thinks that all the facy traction control is better than true lockers. But for real offroad stuff, lockers are the only way to go. All those fancy traction stuff often become confused in tough situations, another proof that computers can never outsmart their creators.

Oh yeah, BTW, I think LandRover totally screwed up the new RangeRover. Instead of keeping the solid axels, and adding some locker, they put independent suspension all around and added some fancy computer traction shit.

You aint sppse to be smoking that, you know..

Stock 4WD XTerra is capable of lots of things, but it wont outperform stock full time 4wd rig (decent one) driven by person with same amount of experience.

The H1 has Torsen differentials which are a little different than lockers, they apply a torque bias ratio bewteen the wheel that spins and the one that has traction. So a torque bias of 5:1 would send five times the torque to the wheel with traction. That's why if your hummer can't get traction they tell you to lightly press the brake to trick the torsen into sending power over to the wheel with friction. It's like a cross between a locker and an LSD.

Lockers split the torque 50/50 (ratio 1:1) between the two wheels, no matter what.

Our WRX is a stock full time 4WD...

You forgot the LR Discovery.........

Ian, i said "decent one"

Actually WRX isnt that bad (as you well know it can go lots of places where X can), its just aint got clearance high enough in its stock shape.

I owned a 93 xtra-cab Toyota with open diffs. It handle 36" of snow dumping in the mid 90s when I lived in West Virginia. I never got stuck. Personally I believe my X has more traction because of my front to rear weight ratio and the LSD even though some say it is weak. I buy a locker when your friend stops getting stuck.
Deal, Dan

Really

This is a quote from the Hummer's website:

Electronic locking/limited-slip rear differential Eaton's™ Electronic ELocker™ locks the rear output shafts forcing them to move in tandem. The result is outstanding traction in deep mud, in addition to enhanced capability climbing over large obstacles. Controlled by the touch of a button.

I thought this is a true locker because it said "locks the rear output shafts forcing them to move in tandem". It's also activated by a button. I think the torsen differential thing you are talking about is probably for the older H1s (back when it was just called Hummer, before the grocery version came out).

Huh? The Discovery doesn't have triple lockers does it? It only has a rear one as far as I know. Not even the Defenders come standard with triple lockers. Although I seriously think they should. But how much do you want to bet that the next generation Discos are going to be built like the current RangRovers? (i.e. "electronic shit" everything?)

I thought the H1s came with torsens too, but I looked at on at the dealer and it said electric locker on the hood. So, apparently, they used to come with torsens, but now have the electric lockers.

as i said, i'm comparing naked parttime to naked fulltime (no torson lockers, no fancy land rover technology). explain to me how a full time will outperform a part time. and explain "decent".

Decent - as in with more or less similar clearance.
As in - proper jeeps (i.e not including poop like liberty, which isnt full time anyway, if i remember correctly), runners, rovers & etc.

And i didnt say they would outperform. I said that part time wont outperform full time, thats it.

XTerra is one of best part-times out there, no doubt, and i like it as next guy, but i got Discovery (94) for comparition, and i wont say that X performs any better. Its comparing oranges and apples though - they are different engines (3.3v6, 3.9v8), different drivetrain, different everything. And no - my X isnt bare stock anymore, and yes - Disco at time was pretty much stock (and very shitty serviced stock i would say).

I am just trying to point out that there is no reason for blind love, thats it

Yes they will.

The reason Discos and Runners and outperform Stock Xterras is because they can lock their center differential, which makes a full time work like a part time. So that means a full time can only match a part time by trying to imitate a part time, part times are superior in offroad conditions.

But Discos and other SUVs designed with offroad in mind goes many steps further by adding electronic traction stuff to, again, imitate a part time system with lockers. The Defenders are also full time, as is the H1, and yes, they can all outperform an Xterra. But try taking a full time system with three open differentials and it'll perform no better than a two wheel drive offroad.

Give me an example of decent/proper/non-blindly-loved Jeep or whatever with a fully open fulltime drivetrain and NO ELECTRONIC ASSIST than can outperform a part time.

word.
no blind love here. i stand by my original opinion. part time vs. full time (no frills, no tech), if equipped w/ same tires, engine, tranny. THEORETICALLY part time will win.