Have you checked out our Subaru Wilderness Install video? We break down every step for the install, it's pretty easy with normal tools. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sVIpCBFyMdQ.html
Have been driving around a few weeks now with one in the rear in my Impreza. Went from open to spool to this. Works fantastic! Car is almost the same on pavement as a regular diff. The locker can't be heard. Only a few times I have felt/heard it "clunk" but nothing... nothing compared to my old Lock Right in my Jimny. That thing was horrible on pavement. Unpredictable. With this the car does not push/understeer as a spool. Spool made the car go from understeer to oversteer in blink of an eye. Off road. It just works. Like the spool. Theoretically it should not be as good because of the slight delay but so far I haven't noticed. Maybe I need to do some more rocks? The bad thing buying of one these is... that now I want one for the front too! It that possible? TorqMastersIndustries ?
It's a lot of work to put a TORQ Locker in the front of a Subaru, and we don't recommend it for on-road driving if you are only AWD - too much wear and tear on the front CV's. Customers have done it however.
been loving my torq locker in my SJ forester. looking forward to a little bit of snow melt so I can start hitting national forest trails. I have been to the local OHV park a couple times. it really is amazing on the rocks and the sandbox
Awesome video! I understand the locker ALWAYS locks when you apply throttle. I'm a bit worried when I drive on an uphill-turn that the locker would be fighting the turn. I have a Torq locker for my Subaru but I have not installed it yet.
The additional traction gained by a locker far outweighs any slight understeer it can add. We haven't had any Subaru customers remove their locker due to understeer. I would go ahead and install it and hit the trails, it's a game changer!
I don't have a Foz or OB - I have an Ascent - so, there is a weight difference (I'm a half ton or more heavier). I can say that the locker is barely noticeable on road after the first few thousand miles I put on it. And as for off-road, very worth it. If you watch my recent vids (August 2023-Sept 2023 publish dates) you will see other Subies spinning and locking opposite rear wheels on terrain where mine locked them together and clawed up things easily. The first thousand miles, the locker was a little louder. Note, I didn't say loud - it wasn't loud. More like a light "click click click click" on turns, like in Torq-Masters' video. Every now and then, in slow maneuvering in a parking lot with tightly turned wheels (eg, backing up and going forward with the wheels sharply turned), it would make one or two characteristic clunks of the old school lockers, but that stopped happening after a few thousand miles as well. If you do silly adventures like I do, I think you'll love it. 🤩 This winter, I will be testing it out in the snow and on ice - I expect, even weighing in at as much as 6,000 pounds (2,721 kg), my Ascent should be well behaved.
We always had to put studded tires on our Toyota AWD vehicles, but we just use Michelin Cross Climate tires for year round driving. We get 5-7 feet of snow every winter. We also live 5 miles up in the mountains from town and 25 miles from the city. We have to plow and maintain our private road ourselves. The county road to our road is usually the last one to get plowed, so it can be difficult at times to get into the city. When we bought both of our Subie’s we drove on the factory tires until they wore out. I must admit that we have to put our Subie’s into Xmode just to get up our road and into our garage. I would like to know if the rear lockers cause the tires to wear out more quickly. We have a Lot of “S” curves between our house and town. Subie’s tend to go through tires quicker than any other vehicle we’ve ever owned and it seems like the rear locker’s would eat up tires more quickly because when going around curves the inside tire is spinning faster than the outside tire.
@Doc1855 the TORQ Locker has no noticeable affect on tire wear. With a TORQ Locker your rear wheels will spin at different speeds and prevent scrubbing. You turn left and right so the wear will be even.
@@TorqMastersIndustries Sweet! On your website, the TL-VA225 shows Subaru Wilderness trims..does that mean it's the same part for both Outback and Forester Wilderness? Cheers
@@canadoescalling1800 Subaru doesn't have 2023 parts data up on their website yet. One easy thing to check, is the differential oil drain on the diff cover or the housing? The VA2-Type (our newest locker) has the drain on the housing.
The Subaru drivetrain drives 1 front tire and 1 rear tire. If you lift a tire all the torque will go to the tire in the air and you will loose forward momentum - but not with a locker! Same with a slipping tire. Subaru has a traction control system that tries to combat this but it's not as reliable or predictable as a locker.
Same reason most cars come with open differentials. Cost. They're fairly expensive, and will increase the overall price of the vehicle. Full time AWD just means that the system never shuts off. The vehicle is always trying to send power to all four wheels, even when there's plenty of traction to be had. Part time AWD systems primarily drive only the front or rear axle, and only send power to the other axle when low traction situations are encountered.
Glad to see this getting tested with the later models. Is there any interference with the brake torque vectoring system? What interaction/awareness does this system have with the locker, if any? Have you noticed the front end torque also improving by proxy of having more power in the drive train overall now that less is being lost through rear wheel spin? I saw the noise test video on the older subaru models making turns in a quiet, dry parking lot with a camera inside and outside. I'd be interested to see a repeat of that test on this car.
Is there any interference with the brake torque vectoring system? - Unknown, haven't noticed the brake torque vectoring system What interaction/awareness does this system have with the locker, if any? - Unknown Have you noticed the front end torque also improving by proxy of having more power in the drive train overall now that less is being lost through rear wheel spin? - Yes I saw the noise test video on the older subaru models making turns in a quiet, dry parking lot with a camera inside and outside. I'd be interested to see a repeat of that test on this car. - We will take that under consideration, but it is rather pointless, the locker is nearly silent, the cameras can't pick up any ratcheting noise.
@@TorqMastersIndustries Thanks. Looks like a great product. Is there a front locker in the works for the outback wilderness? Would that even be practical?
@@TorqMastersIndustries What is a reasonable installation cost for this locker? Or, how many labor hours should this take an average mechanic? Should I expect any automotive mechanic to be able to do this installation properly?
My concern with putting in the Torq-locker on my new Subaru Forester Wilderness is that it will void my warranty as a third-party unapproved enhancement. Any experience,with this.
We can't comment on Subaru's warranty, that's their call, not ours. If there ever was a warranty issue you could remove the locker prior to bringing it in for drive train specific service work.
Cool video! Exactly what I was wondering! One more thing I wanted to know is how does effect the fuel consumption? And tyre wear over time on regular conditions ?
I am at 9,000+ miles on my locker, cross country and off-roading, in a much heavier (than an Outback) Ascent that's very sensitive to anything that impacts fuel economy. I haven't noticed any negative impact at all.
Great - we will have a detailed install video up soon. Thanks! Tires are 245/70/17 Milestar Patagonia MT/R. We also have a 2" ADF lift kit. Raceline wheels.
What octane rating do you use? Meaning, are you still using regular gas, post lift and rear locker? or would it be more advantageous to use 91 octane? Also, is there a build sheet on this OB Wilderness? Liked the video, and subscribed to your channel.
@@corajokinen253 Right. I just figured there was something jotted down on virtual paper, a website of some sorts. Either way, thank you for answering my question. 👍
Octane is going to be dependent on engine design and ECU tuning. The rest of a vehicle's drivetrain shouldn't have any impact on fuel requirements. Octane's main use is for preventing engine knock.
It's what's called a lunchbox locker. It engages when you apply torque to the driveshaft via acceleration or engine braking. Under no throttle or light throttle it slips or "ratchets". Ratcheting in tight turns is what makes the clicking noise she was looking for in this video.
The real reason, sadly? Because virtually no one would buy them. My last Subie was a manual (OB 6MT). They dropped the manuals from the OB, Foz and Crosstrek because sales have been horrible since the late 2,000's. For the Gen 4 Outback, with 800,000 sold, under a thousand were sold with a manual transmission.
Any kind of condition you expect the locker will stay engaged and won't click (where a wheel doesn't have the necessary Torqe to turn the locker)? I'm asking as it can lead to lose of Traction to the rear end.. I noticed it only on a tight roundabout on wet surface..
The harder you are on the throttle the less likely the locker will ratchet and instead send 50/50 torque to both rear tires. The wheels don't turn the locker, the torque applied via the driveshaft turns the locker. Traction is a different conversation. Traction depends on tire tread and road surface. A bald tire on a wet surface can break loose, loose traction, when enough throttle is applied, with or without a locker. With a locker you are less likely to loose traction because torque is applied to both rear tires instead of just one with an open differential.
@@TorqMastersIndustriesI just had a torq masters 160 type installed on my outback wilderness. Is it normal to always hear a slight clicking sound at low speed and low speed during turns?
This is cool. I really want one but need to decide which Subaru I want to stick with. I’d love to see videos of trying to get it stuck in some deep snow, mud or hard trails to see the limits.
I got stuck in mud. It helped power me through, spinning both rear wheels the entire time I tried extricating, right up until the successful attempt. Without it, I don't think I would have gotten out without a lot more digging and airing down. I am loving mine in my Ascent. If you do crazy stuff like me, I think you will too. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pElU8wQJ4-E.html
How do these handle on a Subaru Ascent? Does the weight of the Ascent affect the locker's ability or longevity? Also, does it increase any strain on the Ascent's overall AWD and CVT systems? I'm about to have Rallitek install one on our 2023 Subaru Ascent.
How do these handle on a Subaru Ascent? - Great, just like in the video here Does the weight of the Ascent affect the locker's ability or longevity? - no, not one bit Also, does it increase any strain on the Ascent's overall AWD and CVT systems? - no, it helps I'm about to have Rallitek install one on our 2023 Subaru Ascent. - They are a great company to work with and very experienced installers!
@weatherornotsubaru, I can confirm everything @@corajokinen253 says above. I've got 10,000 miles on my locker right now, in my Ascent, and I just beat the utter heck out of it all over Utah, Nevada and Colorado.
The torque locker is not related to x mode or the sliding control, but the combination is much more effective. In my experience, if my Forester stands on a sharp slope on hard rocks or sand or a pile of stones and I activate X mode, both wheels move very easily, the rear lock locks, the front wheels are less spin the wheels and the vehicle moves more easily, the locker must move to lock or unlock, the X mode helps and the locking is a multiplier the power on difficult uphills at intersections on sharp slopes according to my experience on offroad trails the combination of the 4×4 systems of the Subaru Forester with the Locker create a really good off-road machine, I suggest you add a cooler for the gearbox oil with a thermostat and wish there was a low transmission in the gearbox . It is sorely lacking in harsh conditions. But even without low gearbox transfercase, the Forester can reach a very large variety of trails that before the Torq locker I would have been afraid to approach.
I know this is marketed towards the oof road people, but will this behave well in a 2017 WRX with manual trans and with stock open rear diff? Or do I need something tuned for a street car? Like will it play nice with the DSC/VSD or whatever its called that these cars come with that uses the rear brakes to control the open diff behavior?
You can certainly install one of our lockers if the fitment matches our offerings. It looks like you have a 5 Bolt style rear differential. We have heard from track racing guys that they don't like the additional backlash the locker adds, but you adjust your driving style to account for this. Traction control is not affected by the locker because there is no wheel slippage sensed by the system.
How long do these lockers last? And if they’re really that good, why is the manufacturer not offering it? Just curious. Looking to upgrade my 2012 3.6 OB
We have customers with well over 100k miles on their Subaru TORQ lockers as of now. We offer a 4 year warranty. Many OEM's offer rear locking differentials such as Jeep, Ford, Dodge, etc. Subaru does not offer a rear locking differential option so we have developed now a 3rd TORQ locker for Subaru models. It's a great aftermarket upgrade.
because... normally no one would add a locker on an AWD system, it doesn't really make sense. Why don't u just buy a 4WD ? but things get interesting.. ( I am a subaru crosstrek owner), subaru owners want to break the limit of AWD system, so this upgrade market comes out. AWD + locker vs. 4WD, it's not a good or bad issue, but it' s interesting and lots of fun.
@@Cp9axx a Subaru with AWD and a 4X4 Jeep for example still both have open differentials. With an open differential if you lift a wheel all the torque goes to the tire in the air, not the tire on the ground and you loose momentum. With a locker you get 50/50 torque to both rear tires and can continue on the trail.
It depends. A front locker in a 4wd vehicle is not engaged in 2wd. A rear locker in a AWD vehicle like the Subaru is engaged all the time but it doesn't have 100% torque to the rear differential. A rear locker in a 2WD or 4WD vehicle is always engaged. This style of locker allows for wheel speed differentiation and it does this by ratcheting.
We have a Subaru TORQ Locker that will fit your R160 1Bolt differential, part number TL-R1601B. That's a different model than what's in the video, but same mechanical principal, just a different size.
I'll take my 1984 Subaru GL wagon I had in Alaska with Armstrong Norsman studded tires and do all that and more. I was rolling subies when these people were in diapers.
The 84 Subaru GL wagon is an amazing wagon. My friends and I were recently judging cars at a Subie Festival and picked A GL wagon as a winner in the off-road build class. But, there's nothing wrong with each of us loving our own model and year Subarus for our own reasons. 😉 I love when others enjoy their Subies as much as I enjoy mine, even if it's not a Subie I'd choose to own. Sharing the #SubieLove. Anyway, wishing you many more years of happy adventures with your GL!!!
