Ken Cooke
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Location: Riverside, CA
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Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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Going for a drive with Ivan Stewart at Tom Severin's Safety Clinic
Tom Severin traveling the Mission Impossible Trail just outside of Santa Ines
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TMW
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Location: Bakersfield, CA
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Interesting, I was thinking of doing some of the off road clinics during the next year or so.
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David K
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If you need an assistant TW, let me know! I am well versed in the Toyota traction systems, as well.
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Ken Cooke
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David K
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That's correct, the Toyota A-TRAC ('Active Traction Control') system is killer...
Without the cost $$$ of adding a front locker (the Off Road TRD Tacoma already has a rear locker), or the negatives of using lockers (difficult
steering on hard/rocky surfaces, as lockers try and move you straight), specially with a front locker!
The A-TRAC gives you true 4 wheel drive and not just one in front and one in the rear, and both being tires with the least traction.
With the maneuverability of open differentials for tight trail steering, A-TRAC senses wheel spin on any tire... once a tire spins at a greater rate
than the other on that axle (such as on ice, mud, sand, or if in the air), the system applies brake pressure just enough to match the rotation to the
'good' traction tire, so power is divided evenly instead of mostly wasted to the spinning tire. With power back to the traction tire, you move ahead.
A-TRAC works anytime you are in low range and have pressed the A-TRAC switch.
You also have a true locking differential on the rear and can use it with A-TRAC on or off, so you can have the benefit of halting any slip on the
front tires.
In high range 4WD there is TRAC ('Traction Control') which is ant automatic limited slip differential on the front and back... not an auto locking
syatem like A-TRAC, but a 'spin reducer' so more power can be shared to the tires with traction.
My first experience with TRAC was when I took it onto the dry sand beach and didn't need to deflate the tires for the first time, to not get stuck.
Climbing is amazing as well and did almost as good as my truck with a locker in low range.
My first experience with A-TRAC was when I turned TRAC off and soon got stuck in the sand (tires at street pressure)... to verify it was the TRAC
system and just not some other condition allowing me to drive about BajaRob's house at Bahia Santa Maria... Once stuck, I put the truck in L4 and
turned on the A-TRAC... without deflating or getting out of the truck... I gave it some gas and drove out of my stuck... put it back in H4 with TRAC
back on and continued to drive with ease on the bottomless sand.
My truck was not loaded down on that Dec. 2009 trip... and when I tried on a future trip, heavily loaded, I did need to also lower the tires for the
deep sand when we went out to Shell Island to camp.
There have been other times when doing some crazy four wheeling and getting high centered climbing a steep, rutted grade with both back tires off the
ground, and one frot tire not well contacted... facing up... and I turned on the A-TRAC and it pulled my truck out of the ruts... So, with just one
good contact tire (front), the A-TRAC saved the day.
I would say only a vehicle with both front and rear lockers (like a Jeep Rubicon) has more traction than a Toyota with A-TRAC... without spending any
more money than what you can get on a factory stock vehicle.
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Ken Cooke
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From what you're saying - David K, A-Trac sounds like a good, affordable option that fills the bill when the going gets rough.
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David K
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
From what you're saying - David K, A-Trac sounds like a good, affordable option that fills the bill when the going gets rough.
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Right, and it is STANDARD equipment on the Off Road TRD 4WD Tacoma and many other Toyota and Lexus 4WD models.
Use it any time you would be on a trail that has limited traction conditions where you would use lockers on other vehicles.
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