Who has ran a spool on a steet car, give me the pros and cons, It will not be a daily driver, just occasional use and some track time.
Spool on the street real hard on axle flanges. You have only one real choice drive it like a dirt tracker, and hope you don't get traction.
I ran one for about 10 years and there are 2 issues that you have to deal with; 1.) you will notice tire scrubbage and accellerated tire wear 2.) be aware that it is much easier to slide the rear of the car, dry or wet. I personally think a spool is perfect. It is definate. You know that you have 100% traction. Be wary of the nay-sayers. You will notice that they will have a negative opinion but have never have experienced one. I have been defending a spool for years and I'm getting tired of it. If you have never run a spool on the street please keep your mouth shut! BloodyKnuckles
I ran a locker for years, It's a little more forgiving. They are not fun in the rain, Kinda wants the car to go straight all the time.
Is that why you cant keep a rearend in your Dodge Truck? Just kidding... If anybody on here knows anything about this stuff it is definately BloodyKnuckles!
Yeah you will get increased tire wear but some things are just worth doing. I also got caught in the rain with it twice when running full slicks. I just limped it home with no problems. Scared the shit out of the wife tho.
As mentioned can be interesting to drive in the rain at much speed. The other thing to keep in mind depending on what tire you have and where you are driving is that as you are taking off from a stop and turning it can squeel the tire and if a cop is within ear range they may want to write you. If the exhaust is loud enough they wont hear it but it has happened with a couple of guys I know.
A buddy had a (Gasp!) pro street '55 Chevy narrowed and tubbed with a spool and I drove it several times and yes, very pronouced driving more so then a good posi. The thing I remember was in tight turns the inide tire would "hop" or something and was scary as shit initially but once I got used to it not so bad, could have been the ladder bars combined with a heavy car. Fun? Holy shit dude, I wore those times of driving it as a badge of honor issued from the "BAD M F Club!"
sorry guys, but what do you mean for a spool? is it a locked diff? Please enlight me....altough my tech english is pretty good i miss a few terms still. Thanx
Occasionally it can be interesting, but I'm more for a limited slip. But then I come from a road racing background and not drag racing.
The spool locks both axles together so that they rotate at the same speed. In a straight line this is not a problem but when turning the two tires are trying to at a different rate so it slides or pushes one side.
Plenty of street miles here resulting in one firmly formed opinion- Way too many pucker moments for a rain or shine street car in an urban setting. If your local traffic is a little more relaxed or you can avoid the rain entirely, probably not an issue. Worst case scenario is wet 2 lane blacktop and turns. Remember when people talk about the acceptability of something like this, the setting is everything. As settings get more urban, it's less about driver skill and more about coping with traffic that's not hindered by spools. good luck PS- used lockers are cheap
I like a locker myself but they also have that cool factor as well when driving them at low speeds and turning without the trickness of the spool.
Spools are scary when it comes down to evasive driving. Especially in the city streets. To many shitty drivers out there. One quick move to get out of the way and your car might end up on it's roof top. I'm not knockin down the spools or the guy's that are pro on them. Just giving you my 2 cents.
Maybe I'm getting old, but I've had four drag race cars, all with spools................that is great and on the strip I wouldn't be caught without one. The last car I bought and restored was a 68 Camaro.....ex drag car......with 5:13 gears, M22, and spool. Driving on the street was just crazy, I'm not into slidding the car around corners (I race a Spec Miata to do that) and in the rain it was insane. It's one thing to think you are bullet proof, but there are other people driving our lovely roads................all it takes is one mistake on a wet or slippery surface and you can get in trouble faster than a blink of an eye. SAFETY is my concern now, maybe 40 years ago I just didn't care. Oh yes, when I restored the 68 Z I took the spool out and sold it..........but kept the 5:13's. IMHO
I have a steel spool used for two years in a dirt car laying in my garage floor. The axle splines are worn more than 3/4 down from accel and deccel. I can't see how they would live on they street if they don't live very well on the dirt. Observation.
I you do decide to run a spool on the street, tack weld the bearing retainer to the axle because I have seen the whole axle pull out of the bearing and housing with the drum, wheel and tire still attached.
I love a spool, it teaches the car to talk to you, and the car mostly says, "Drive me harder",.............. dirty talk. Ive had bad luck in the rain though. I think to really cut up a spool is a must, specialy for when its time to make the doughnuts.
I ran one under my BBC model A, never had any issues Tires barked going around the back side of the Sonic, but that was kinda cool.
My Chevy II was a race car when I got it and had a 9" with a spool. After I made it street legal I drove it around with the spool for a while. It wasn't too bad, but I never drove it in the rain either. Just make sure you are going straight before you nail the throttle, if not, the car will swap ends pretty quick....I know! I ended up changing the rear gears, at that time I went to a Detroit Locker.
There are several things not mentioned here and they greatly affect the way a spool behaves on the street, one is how wide the rearend is , a narrower one will scrub less allowing an esier turn and tire width, a narrower tire has less surface, thus less traction and will scrub less and last the overall wheel base, the shorter the car or truck the easier it will be to turn.
I ran my truck with the spider gears welded on the nine inch. It made for a wider turning radius, making it harder to park. It also sent the truck what ever direction the rear end was facing when you mashed the gas. I pulled out to pass on a 2 lane road and almost ended up in the ditch. We swapped it out for a limited slip and I've been much happier. A spool may work better in a lighter car where its easier to drag the outside wheel around corners.
This has been my experience too. I run an 86" wheelbase street/strip car (Morris Minor) with a narrow rear and 12" street tires. Also, my car only weighs 2250 with me in it - that probably helps. I run hardened NHRA approved Dutchman axles (24 years with no drama). I just tiptoe it around town. Have been caught in the rain, but again, just idling around. Tire pressures MUST be exactly equal, or it gets interesting in a hurry (if one tire is even slightly bigger, the car wants to go the other way). I think the focal point here is "light" street driving. If you're really gonna drive it, a conventional rear makes sense (there's a limited slip in my daily driver). My hot rod and I are both from the Lunatic Fringe school, so consider the source... Scotty
spool on the street is mean on tires, and fun in the rain . We did that back when we did alot of 4X4 work. It will wear out a set of tires quickly.
Run bias ply tires. They "slip" more than radials when turning. Which might help not breaking an axle or something.
The Jalopy Journal
