Very similar. Brake Lock Differentials is an improved electronic version of LSD. BLD can actually lock a wheel that it thinks is off the ground in order to route power to the other wheel on the ground. The FDI version will allow that wheel to spin some, but still applies brakes to the wheel in the air to
Agreed. But, as you mention, they are different systems. At least in their aggression.
Just because marketing puts them in different places in their advertising web site, does not mean they are used exclusivly (ESP & BLD).
Agreed to an extent. The separate placement on the website doesn't necessarily mean anything, but when they use the words "exclusive feature" it had better mean something. Otherwise they are treading on false advertisement.
FDI vs. FDI low gearing using the same transmission and same transmission gear ratios. The difference is only the axle ratio: 6.12 for the CVT2 and 8.13 for the CVT2L. This gives the crawl ratios of 14.37 and 19.1.
Fully agreed here. But my point is, Jeep said there is a lower gearing in the FDII vs. the FDI. However they achieved it, they weren't lying. Likewise, they say there is a difference between BLD's and TC....without proof to the contrary, I tend to believe they aren't lying here either.
BLD shoud not activate when all 4 wheels are on the ground (i.e. everyday driving).
Says who? That would be a lousy system. What if one wheel is in mud/snow/ice, while the other wheel is on dry land. The BLD's won't operate because there isn't a wheel in the air?
Again, I believe the determining factor here is wheel slippage. I suspect BLD reacts faster and more aggressively than TC. This could be detrimental in everyday driving, which may explain why TC is the standard, and BLD is the added feature.
FDII > FDI. No one can argue that. What I (and I think JeepJim) argue is how much better. How useful are those extra things in true off-road conditions? No one has done A/B comparisons of FDI/FDII that has shown a FDI not able to drive somewhere a FDII has.
I'd be interested in seeing a real comparison too. "Better" can mean very little until someone puts an accurate measurement on it. However, I suspect that there is a significant improvement.
I also suspect that the word value can be added to the equation. How much does the off-road group cost vs. FDI? As long as FDII is better to the extent of the additional charges...can we object?
There are accounts/pictures/videos already of FDI MK's with at least 1 wheel off the ground and the vehicle making forward progress.
Provided the ground that the 3 remaining wheels are in contact with is dry, wouldn't any 4WD vehicle be able to do this? Perhaps not as efficiently, but you still have another axle demanding and using power. I believe the problem occurs when the ground is slippery and a wheel is lifted.
