Can You Run A Mini Spool On The Street

I have a 28 coupe with 9 inch , car should weight less than 2000 lbs. , I will be running skinny bias ply tires . Can I get away with running a mini spool ?

 

You can,. if you dont drive that far or that often. Most tires are not the the same size. One tire will wear out faster than the other. If you just do some occasional street and strip driven it will be fine.

 

My Challenger had a spool in it and I drove it every day for two years till I sold it. Drove fine to me.

Just learn to slide the *** end around the corners so the tires wear evenly!

 

Had a locked rear end in my '49 Olds almost 50 years ago. Got tired of breaking axles after the third one. Went back to open.

 

I guess I'm Old..............why would you want to run a spool on the street????

I tried a lot of stupid things in my life, and being a drag racer for some 15 years didn't help.
I bought a Camaro (ex drag car) with some 400+hp.........it had a spool.......I drove it on the street for almost an hour before I took it home, and put an Eaton carrier in it.

If you live where it doesn't rain and are only going to drive it in a straight line, or if you car has less than 100hp....then I'd say go for it. If you answer no to any of these questions then take out a LARGE life insurance policy (I'll pay) as long as I'm the only beneficiary.

In a light car with a spool;
1. You will wear the bias ply tires to shreds going around corners
2. If you drive over loose pavement at any speed other than 10mph you will
spin the car out
3. The noise of the bias ply tires going around corners will drive you crazy
4. It is ILLEGAL in almost every State in this great Nation
5. If you take a cruise through twisty mountain roads for 30 minutes you will
think you have driven the complete NASCAR Dayton 500 race
6 It is just stupid...............but I guess stupid is as stupid does

Sorry if I offended anyone..............but to do this is insane IMHO

 

You must be getting old.

 

I agree w/A chopped coupe, Ran welded spiders in my street fighter '55 with 5.37's and a 283, it was fun, but I was wild in the streets, and the gears were about used up when I got it, so it was only a month or so, sure hauled *** with that gear!

 

I think Texas is pretty well known for it's sudden down pours. Just need to put a sign on the back that says: "Sprint Car Driver In Training" and he will be just fine

 

Do it. I've been running a spooled rear for 7 years and have driven from Mexico to Mokan to Paso ( and almost every where in between). I haven't run into any of the horror stories that everyone tells you about. The only thing I've noticed is it kills you parallel parking turning radius.
I run a 9" and haven't broken an axle yet, Have blown apart some pumpkins though. More my fault than the spools.

 

I drove one for years as a daily driver, albiet, I was younger and more aggressive when I drove. I would think the narrow tire would have issue and it would be harder on them than on the wide dot street slicks I wore out every two months. Smart? No. Fun? Yes. Expensive tire bills? Yes. Happy wife? No. Ignorant? Yes!

 

I ran an electro-locker {welded spiders} for years in the mid 60's in my 427 powered 57 Ford. Its annoying as hell, but doable. I also had 17 left side axles as the junk yard would only sell them in pairs, so plan on having some spares. Cut a piece of garden hose the length of the housing on the broken side, tack enough rods together to reach the broken stub, tack axle stub & remove with rods. You'll need to know that!

 

In a light car with a spool;
1. You will wear the bias ply tires to shreds going around corners- So will the bad *** burn outs you'll be doing
2. If you drive over loose pavement at any speed other than 10mph you will
spin the car out- Donuts are always fun
3. The noise of the bias ply tires going around corners will drive you crazy- If you can't deal with tire chirp buy a Honda
4. It is ILLEGAL in almost every State in this great Nation- So's the rest of the car
5. If you take a cruise through twisty mountain roads for 30 minutes you will
think you have driven the complete NASCAR Dayton 500 race- Fun
6 It is just stupid...............but I guess stupid is as stupid does- But stupid is in the eye of the beholder

 

"chirp...chirp...chirp...as you make a tight turn on pavement. Takes some clumps of gr*** out when turning on a lawn.

I don't think breaking 9" Ford axles will be an issue unless you run real wide, sticky tires and abuse the **** ot of it.

I've run welded spiders and spools on dirt and asphalt race tracks quite a bit....even in the rain they are "controllable". Might not be quite as predictable as most "normal cars", but then again would you expect a 2000 pound Model A hot rod to be like normal cars?

 

I wouldn't do it, but its your $$. Don't expect to pull into a spot or around a corner without a little more room.

 

Oh yeah, it pushes the front end, so plan on, like everyone else said, wider turning radius. Or shorter if you steer with you right foot.....

 

I would say this proves that people are different, and what works for you, may not work for me. Do it if you want to.

 

To take a corner with a mini spool:

1. grab second gear.

2. floor it.

3. Pop the clutch

4. Countersteer to correct as pedestians jump into the hedges.

5 ...Now practice parallel parking with only half your original turning radius

 

after you learn to gas it in the turns so you break em loose, you won't have to listen to the chirp-chirp in tight corners. the rest is ********. I've run them on several daily drivers and ran locked rears before that.
that said it's not for everyone. if you have lawn chairs and cry baby dolls in the trunk it might not be for you

 

The biggest problem I see with the set-up your suggesting is the fact that a car that light and with skinny tires on the front it's gonna push 'em through corners. The other issues you can deal with if you want to, but if theirs not enough weight over those front tires it can be a real ***** to turn in a driveway or parking lot if it's the least bit wet or if dirt/sand has blown on the pavement. You'll turn the wheel and it'll just go straight.

 

I wouldn't do it...you will bust half shafts and get pissed off with the "adverse" handling well quickly......it is ******** to do it but the disadvantages on the street are bigger than the advantages

 

BE EASY PLEASE!!!---> What exactly is a "spool"?? How is it different than limited slip/POSI?? and why would you have 17 LEFT side axles I am "thinking" a spool is a locked up rearend?!?!? Maybe it's NOT but wouldn't you sometimes break a left axle also why just right side ones??? I AM NOT being sarcastic! I'm trying to understand... Thanks, Ken

 

A spool is a solid carrier used in place of a posi unit or open differential carrier in a rearend housing. Having both axles connect solidly together, making them one live alxe. A mini spool is used when removing the spidergears and sidegears out of a posi, limited slip, or open carrier. It is a solid piece with splines for the axles which the center pin holds in place, to achieve the same result, better traction.
There is absolutely no slipping to aid in turning, hence the reason for broken axles.

 

When you pull the diff out to install the mini spool and go to reinstall it, don't forget to reset the proper preload into the side adjustments so the crown gear doesn't deflect under load and ruin the gears!
9"ers have to be pulled completely apart to install a mini spool as there's no access window like a Chevy diff.

Here in the TRAILER PARK (LoL) I would drill 1/8 holes down thru the caps and the adjusters before dis***embly as a guide for re***embly. One per cap out near the edge and don't mix up the sides when you pull it apart!
Sneak up on the adjustment from one side to the other until your bit fits right thru the holes and the adjustment of lash and preload are right back where it was before you pulled the thing apart. No paint, dial indicators or luck involved.

Yeah, I KNOW...it'll blow up because the holes compromise the structural integrity of the housing...
Someone forgot to tell my 9"ers I guess because we pounded the pee out of them and none ever failed...but to tell the truth I didn't give a **** if it did anyway. It was just used junk that I was working with so in an hour and a half you were back on the road.

If your setup cost you real bucks to have custom built, then I would go to a proper differential shop and get a real locker or posi ***embly.

 

Me and a friend ran a mini spool in a little V8 S10 we built to run around our little town and scare the hell out of people. Man, that thing was a blast, and like several others have said, just pin it going around corners and get the tires broke loose and learn to countersteer! We never broke anything, but then again after that ***** was out of the drive it never did get the tires hooked up around corners or in first and second in a straight line run so it's all good.

 

A spool is in --PLACE-- of a normal set of gears right? O.K. I get that. So why would the guy have a bunch of "left side axles"??? Why would one side not break and one side would?? AGAIN don't take this as "so why the hell not" type of sarcasm. I am just trying to understand it, and I know it sounds like I am being a smart ***,... BUT I AM N O T!!!!

 

So have I...in race cars. In fact, I just rewelded the spiders in the Dana rear under my vintage Modified. But street cars don't have staggered rear tires nor do they only turn left. Also, mini-spools aren't the strongest part on the planet. I broke a couple on a Hobby Stock with about 300 hp running staggered street tires on an asphalt track... I'd never run a mini or full spool on the street. Beyond anything else, it just isn't safe.

Were it me wanting a locking rear end for the street, I'd buy a used Detroit Locker from Roush Racing, the NASCAR team. I've seen them with 500 racing miles or so on his site for a couple of hundred dollars. Here's the link:

http://www.roushracing.com/usedraceparts/default.htm

Jan

 

Right hand turns are tighter and pose more strain on the outside axle as it is trying to push the car around the turn. The inside axle is just draggin and spinning. The open diff and posi diffs allowed slipping to reduce the strain on the axles and tires and bearings, etc...

I agree the safest bet would be a locker or posi unit for a streetcar.

 

one of my friends has a 2200 pound car with 10 inch wide tires, a 7.5 s-10 rear, and a mini spool. he hasn't broken an axle yet and if you go slow in tight corners you won't hardly hear the squeaking.

 

got it!!!!!! so is there a "full size spool????" since we are talking about a --MINI-- spool??? and if so what is the difference between them? MAN I LOVE THE H.A.M.B.!!!!! 4 years of high school autoshop never taught me what I know in 2 years of THE HAMB!!!!!...Ken

 

there is a mini spool that just replaces the spider gears, then there is a full spool that replaces the complete carrier. the full spool is obviously stronger.