INTRODUCTION ‘The objective of differential gearing in most wheeled vehicles is to transmit power (torque) from the engine to the drive axles and to permit wheels to run ahead or lag behind as required to make turns or overcome obstructions without causing tre scutfing or steering difcuttes. Conventional Differential ‘The conventional differential (also called ‘open’ or “standard” differential) divides power at the ring gear equally between the two axle half shafts. As long as the vehicle has equal traction under both wheels, the conventional differential performs its function efficiently and economically. However. the conventionalaitferentil can be lability to a vehicle that must rave through mu, loose ain, gravel orheavy snow ifone whee! loses traction and starts spin cue fo cssimiar ground coetfcients e.g loose drtunder one wheel, pavement under the other tho vehicle becomes immable. The ving toraue and tractive efor is limited by the bly of he sipping whee! 12 absorb torque atthe ground. Damage to driveline components can result if a vehicle is operated under poor traction conditions. Axle gear failures can occur iflubricantis forced out ofthe differential gears. Shock loading can result the vehicle suddenly regains traction while the whee!s are spinning, Tire cutting and scuffing can also occur. ‘Traction Control Over the years, axle designers have experimented with various methods of achieving traction control, with varying degrees of success, namely + eliminating the differential — but creating major steering and tire scuffing problems; + manually locking the differential - but encouraging problems of driver misuse; + providing a “clutch pack’ limited-slip differential ~ but experiencing constant wear, contamination, short life, chatter etc + providing a gear type limited-slia differential without friction plates or springs; + providing an automatic postive-lockingiuniocking differential (e.g., NOSPIN differential to afford maximum possible traction with differentiation. NoSPIN Differential ‘The NoSPIN positive-locking dtferentialis designed todeliver 100 percent of the available power to both rive wheels, yet"unlock” 8 required to allow wheel speed differentiation... automatically. NoSPIN differentials improve traction, increase productivity and reduce maintenance costs inof-highway wheeled vehicles used in forestry, construction, mining, farming and military applications; and in on-highway vehicles such as tow trucks, school buses, fire and emergency vehicles, snow plows, ready mix trucks, public utility vehicles, refuse packers, four wheel drive and pickup trucks. MAXIMUM TRACTION WITH NoSPIN DIFFERENTIALS Question: The amount ofraction available to agiven vehicle depends on: 1. the amount of torque coming from the engine and trans- mission and available at the input shaft (drive pinion) of the axle 2. the axle gear ratio (ring and pinion ratio} 3. the diameter of the tires 4. the amount of torque the driving wheels can generate at the ground before slipping, which depends on the amount of friction between each drive wheel and the ground; and the weight on the drive wheels 5. the type of differentials Exampl Assume 1, 2, 3 and 4 are known for a particular vehicle. One \whool on hard ground ean gonorate up to 700 ft. bc. of torque aithe ground before slipping, butthe other wheel,on snow, can only generate 100 ft. bs. of torque. How much traction is available with a standard ditferential vs, a NoSPIN differential? ‘Answer: Standard ditferentia Hard groune: Snow 100 fs. 100 fs. 2001. bs. each wheel transmits the same amount of torque, limited by the capacity of the wheel on snow. NoSPIN/Detroit Locker differential Hard groune: 706 8 Ibs Snow a 100 te, war, 800 ft. Ibs. - the maximum amount of traction availabe inthis example.‘THE NoSPIN DIFFERENTIAL EQUIPPED VEHICLE Over the past 50 years, the optimum NoSPIN differential has, been successfully utlized by a variety of on/off road vehicie axle manufacturers, Traditional applications are Medium Heavy Truck, Construction, Mining, Forestry, Agricultural, Military and Specialty Vehicles, To ensure successful application of our product, Tractech Engineering requires approval for each new vehicle/axie application. The following guidelines are examples of success: ful NoSPIN differential applications: + 6 x 4 (tandem-drive axle) Trucks Primary location ~ forward rear. Both rear axles for maximum mobilty if used 75% of-1086. + 4x4 Off-Road Vehicles Farm tractors (articulated & rigid) front axle. Also rear axle for maximum traction. (Consult Tractech Engineering) + Farm Tractors (straight frame with front-wheel-drive) ~ front axle only (cannot be used in rear axle with individual whee! brakes), + Loader ~ One axle only, either front or rear. + Trencher ~ One or both axles. + Front drive axles of Light Trucks While successful in specialty vehicles, this application must be reviewed and approved by Tractech Engineering, ltis important when considering the use ofa traction device to review key vehicle parameters ie., loading, geometry, power requirements, duty cycles (milesshours) etc. The following marginal applications must be reviewed with Tractech Engineering and our Differential Applica- tion Approval Form No. 7003 is required. Successful field testing must be performed by the customer prior to pro- iction approval by Tractech, Examples are: + Transit Busses - NoSPIN should not be used when operated in cities where sharp turns are required continu ally changing lanes, as in leaving bus stops to avoid parked vehicies. ‘Transit busses utilized in non city operations are an accept- able application. School busses have also proven to be another successtul application for NoSPIN. + Yard Tractors (Spotters) + Light-duty Pickup Trucks — Equipped with fith wheels to pull “gooseneck” trailers in pickup and delivery opera- tions unless equipped with automatic transmission. + Small Fork Lift Trucks — with shor wheelbase and high tum angle capability ullized inside buildings on smooth surfaces, + Highway Tractore — with lesa than 120" wheelbase. (Gee page 4 for details) ACAUTION: ‘ANY INCREASE IN THE SIZE OF THE VEHICLE’S ENGINE, TIRES, WEIGHT, ETC., MAY PROHIBIT USE OF A NoSPIN DIFFERENTIAL IN A HERETOFORE APPROVED APPLI- CATION. ANY SUCH MODIFICATION SHOULD BE RE- VIEWED BY TRACTECH ENGINEERING BEFORE CON- TINUING TO USE THE PRODUCT. ‘THE NoSPIN DIFFERENTIAL DOES NOT INCREASE THE LOAD-CARRYING CAPACITY OR PAYLOAD RATING OF ‘THE VEHICLE OR VEHICLE COMBINATION. Model Lists + eter only to approved Tractech model lists when ordering or specifying NoSPIN cifferentials. Copies are available by writing to the Marketing Dept Vehicle Performance + The performance of a vehicle equipped with a NoSPIN ifferential 's somewhat different from that of a vehicle equipped with a conventional differential For example: \When turning acomer, the soundof component cisengage- ment and re-engagement may be audibie, andthe transfer of driving torque from both wheels to one wheel may be noticeable, When going from drive (acceleration) to coast (decelera- tion) in a turn, a 'metallic” sound may be heard as torque flow is reversed (inside wheel engaged during acceleration: outside wheel engaged during deceleration). ‘These characteristics are normal because of backlash designed into the NoSPIN differential, which is ofa fixed amount (1 to 2 inches of rotation at the tire tread). Backlash or slack between the driving and driven clutch teeth is an inherent part of the NoSPIN and necessary to permit automatic operation when diving in forward and Feverse, The total backlash in the driveline is increased by the amount of the reduction between the ring gear and pinion. If tho ring goar-pinion ratio ie 5 to 1, the total backlash in the driveline with the NoSPIN would be about 30°. This in turns increased by clearances between plane- tary gear, sliding splines and the ring and pinion gear. We feel thatthe total driveline slack can amount fo as much as ‘4th tur of the driveline without being abnormal, but if it exceeds 1/4 turn, other parts in the drivetrain could be checked. Further clarification of operational and perform- ‘ance characteristics is available through Technical Bulletin No. 81-1044. A copy is available by writing to our Marketing Department. + Anything that improperly causes a difference in individual wheel speeds, such as mismatched tire diameters due to differences in tire wear or tire pressure, or unbalanced loading of the vehicie (especially cargo vehicies, or ve- hicles operated on a side slope) can cause the NoSPIN differential to deliver power to only one side of the vehicle ‘and thus cause steering problems.