My experience with this has been on a very OT '84 Toyota 4Runner running anywhere from 31x10.50 to 36x12.50 tires, and in a Jeep Cherokee with 31x10.50 tires. Obviously these are built for off road, but they also serve as daily drivers (well at least the Toyota used to be...before the second rollover ), but I have always liked welded (or spooled) rear ends. I ran an automatic locker for 20 miles once and hated it. With a solid differential you have much more predictability in my experience. There is no guessing if you are going to break both tires loose, or just spin the inside tire around a corner. You always know what is going to happen. As far as comments of losing control under hard acceleration...that should be a no brainer...just keep your foot out of the gas. In the vehicles I have had them on there was never enough power to spin the tires at road speed, so this was not really an issue. I have also heard comments of understeer, which I have never experienced with this type of a setup, even on the Jeep which has pretty even weight distribution. The more weight distribution a vehicle has towards the back the more noticable tire wear and chirping (only at low speeds in tight corners) will be. But still, I would say at worst this will knock 25% off of the life of a rear tire, and the low speed chirping / scrubbing has never been much of an issue. So I say run it...rain or shine, every day.
Spool is ok on the street with small tires really no problem. I prefer to run a Dan Press gold track or one of those products on the street. you can get them cheap on egay or the racing websites. They are awesome and are bullet proof. Look them up. IMHO it is the way to go.
Been driving with a spool in my daily driver for four years....I wouldn't have it any other way. It's predictable, reliable, and a blast to steer with the throttle!! Only negative - sounds really nasty in tight parking situations
lincoln locker here(spider gears welded with a lincoln for the young guys). 8 3/4 mopar (very long axle shafts), 120" wheelbase, 28x12.5 ET Streets. Never had a problem except for crabbing a little when parking. it will get a spool and new gear when the falcon g***er gets to that point
Amen Brother....I have ran one for years, had no problems..other than chewed up tires, and thats to be expected
You could put a mini-spool in it, cheaper, or if your really cheap, and don't care about the carrier, you could put some duct tape over the ring and pinion and weld the spiders to the cage with some nickel rod and an old stick welder. Narrow tires are a plus with a locked rear on the street. Get some good axles or run a Dana 60. Go for it.
As you should be able to tell from all the posts here, there are plenty of people who choose to run a spool on the street, and there are just as many good reasons not to do it. If you're starting your build, why deal with the h***les when modern technology is available? Do yourself a favor, before you spend any time or money, look into a PowerTrax differential, or better yet, a Detroit TruTrac. The TruTrac is as good as a spool when going straight, and works better than a limited slip when you need to turn. It works all the time, and has no clutch packs to wear out, ever. Your tires and axles will last longer too. Don't take my work for it, just do a little web research. The bottom line is, it will make any street/strip car more fun, predictable, and reliable to drive in any situation over a spool, at the track or on the street.
The Trutrac is a fine piece. It is a gear driven limited-slip differential. Performs well (I ran one for about 4 years). It is not rebuildable like a clutch type. If put under too much torque it will have a tendency to slip. When it slips under high torque it's an aweful, almost hard ratcheting sound. Also when in this situation it puts a lot of strain on the axle shafts. It is a good limited-slip. It costs twice, if not close to three times as much as a spool. It is not as definate as a spool. It is much easier on the tires than a spool. But what it really comes down to is it is still a limited-slip. BTW...KScooter, have you run a TruTrac or a spool? ******Knuckles
Prices range from $450-$590 for the TruTrac and up to $190 for a full spool. Hope this helps. ******Knuckles
I drove my elcamino that way for a while .****ed on turns ,Launched great I later swapped for a posi.More enjoyable .Went from a 410 down to 323 . i decided cruising was more fun.
i do in my rides it drags the front tires some times cant turn super tight run a full spool and 31 /35 spline axles ive had no problems ..
I have run a spool on the street and so have several of my friends. Its puts a ton of strain on the rear suspension and axles. One guy still runs a spool but has broken two sets of axles in his 9" 33 Spline 8.8" ford with Strange Axles - Broke at the end of the splines 31 Spline 9" Ford with Bears Axles - Broke at the outer bearing 31 Spline 8.8" Ford with stock axles - Broke at the outer bearing 8.75" Mopar with Moser Axles - Broke at the end of the splines 35 Spline Dana 60 Semi Floater with PEM axles - Broke at the outer bearing We still have a few axles at the shop from the broken rear ends. If you drive it on the street, its just a matter of time before an axle lets go from metal fatigue. Run a good diff of some sort.
Right then, just as i tought. Thanx! I've actually been thinkin about weldin the gears to get better traction so im really intrested in hearing pros and cons. Keep the comments comin!
We call the welded rear end ***embly a "Lincoln Locker" for obvious reasons and have seen a few cars run hard but know this, when they break and they will break, all Hell breaks loose! Think about it........
Right now, I'm running a TruTrac in a 3100 lbs. street/strip car. It runs mid-11's in the quarter. I've been running the TruTrac for about 3 years now, with zero issues. I do a decent burnout, and with good traction, the car pulls the front wheels a couple inches off the ground on a foot-brake, 2000+ rpm launch. I've even launched it a couple times with the transbrake with no problems. I don't have any direct experience with a spool. I ran a beefed up posi before the TruTrac, which I had to rebuild twice during the 20 years I've been racing. I know plenty of people at the track running a spool though, and while they're great for going straight down the strip, none of them have been very happy with it when driving on the street, or even pushing their car through the staging lanes if they have to turn at all. If I did it again, I'd consider a Detroit Locker, since I do more racing than street driving with the car, but I've never had (or heard of) the issues with TruTrac chatter or losing drive to one of the wheels as someone mentioned in an earlier post. I'm very happy with mine, and it works quietly and perfectly, without any maintenance or special care. Either way, unless it's an all out, 100% drag strip car, I'd go with some kind if differential over a spool every time.
ran a spool in my o/t cutl*** i didnt mind the hopping around turns but the stock axles just not up to the task my only concern was it rains way to f#ckin much here makes it kinda sketchy if it weren t for the weather i would slap some decent axles in it and drive
I run a spool with Moser axles in a 9" under a off topic truck. No problems gets hairy in the rain, but fun. Every body stares at you when trying to back in a tight spot.
Everyone has an opinion, and some have no clue. If you want/need to spool for your track time, then go for it. It will have some quirks on the street, but if you have any clue how to drive and handle the car you built to drive, then there will be nothing to worry about. You will be aware that it is back there and when and if you do get caught in the rain, just drive accordingly. I have run spools on the street for years, in everything from V8 vega to low 11 second 55 chevy pick up truck and not one time did I ever think about wanting to take the spool out because of how it worked on the street. As a street strip car with limited street use, it will be perfectly fine. ENJOY!!
thats my take on it as well my willys had a spool in it when i got it.......it was fun to drive on the street , and wasnt any problem driving it. one day though an axle let loose, and it turned on a dime. wasnt that hard to save, but why take chances. i swapped it out for a currie ratheting type (ford 9 inch) rear end. easy to drive in any condition, and is basically a spool when you are on it. if you drive them enough , an axle is gonna break. carry an aaa card, lol skull
________________________________________________________________ I did some research on this, I never got to finish project, had to sell it. But here is the info I got....the two companies I spoke with both said the same thing, do not run a spool on the street, too muck shock and vibrations driving on the street. I told them the driving would pretty much be in a straight line, with nowhere the number of tight turns you might need to do at the track, like in and out of staging, in and out of your pit area, and just driving through the pits sometimes is like a road course. I was curious to hear their response.... they said if I were careful and indeed drove mostly straight it would be OK but try and keep the trips under 50 miles at a clip, I guess because of heat. Like I said, I never got to finish the project....I hope this helps a bit. I think now I'd probably use a 35 or 40 spline detroit locker with good axels....I think it is a good and safe compromise......
Had one before in a ****py 10 bolt, stock axles never broke. Dunlop 255s wore okay. It was a cheap posi for me. Most everyone I new had one on the streets you could tell cause they sqeaked the tires coming out of a parking space. Some guys would over pack stock clutch posi carriers too kinda does the same thing. Spools arent very cool on a turn with front runners if you over gas it. They tend to keep you going straight unless you slow down and start all over. lol! Just try it, if you dont like it get a posi.
We run them on the dirt track here in Bako and have had no issues ever with breakage. I have messed around on the street with the car and barking of the tires is ever present. Have heard horror stories of fellow racers taking their spooled 31 spline 9'' dirt cars out and doing burnouts to find axles snapping off but the spools stayed intact lol. Goldtracks or floaters are better imho for dual purpose its like traction control on the dirt track at times. Same would equate on the street would it not?-Weeks
_________________________________________________________________ A broken axle is the concern, if that breaks under power on a p***, you make an instant turn, with no warning, the same with just going down the highway, if it snaps you could be into another car or a pedestrian.
I ran a spool in a similar car w/84" wheelbase. - If this is for your AWB Falcon, go ahead. Neat car, by the way. A short wheelbase car with more than 50% of it's weight on the rear is probably the the worst case, but it's probably not much worse than this one. I had 2 rears, a 4.56 with a locker and a 5.43 with a spool. running the spool was different from the locker in two ways, tight turns squealed the rear inside tire and required more steering lock, and if you stood on the throttle coming out of a turn before you were perfectly straight you went straight in the direction you were pointing. Make sure your rear tires are EXACTLY the same diameter or they will be trying to turn the car at all times and causing drag and tire wear. Drag racers measure the cir***ference of their slicks after mounting, at running pressure, before installing them on the car. If they are not within 1/4" on cir***ference one or both tires get demounted and swapped for others until they match. I did find that with slicks my car behaved better than with street tires. I think the wrinkle of the sidewalls of the slicks made them more forgiving in tight turns. A comment about broken axles - Strange engineering does not recommend race axles on the street because the alloy and heat treat is not ideal for the flexing stress outboard of the wheel bearing and they break, with or without spool. Has little to do with power, it's the weight and wheel offset. They sell street axles for that purpose, or they offer special wheel bearings with oversize IDs for axles with larger diameters at the bearing to stop breakage there. For small ford ends they have the Super Mustang bearing that looks like a Mopar bearing. I've had 2 other detroit lockers, both in pickup trucks. In my 69 chevy 3/4 ton I like it fine, but I learned how to drive it and deal with it's quirks. I put one in a 89GMC 1 ton crew cab and hated it so much I took it out. The combination of engine trans and rear caused the locker to stay locked when making tight turns in parking lots, and the heavy truck kept the rear tires well planted. as soon as you turned the wheel, it was like locking the parking brake, you had to step on the gas to keep moving, and the tires protested and the truck lurched like you were driving drunk. All this in a bus sized vehicle with a large turning radius that was difficult to maneuver in a parking lot anyway. After three months of trying to deal with it I took it out and put an open rear in it until I could find something else to put in. I think the 69 was OK because it was lighter on the rear tires than the I ton. Tip - lockers require that power be applied (slightly) BEFORE turning to unlock. If you are coasting through a curve it will probably not unlock, that's why they have a reputation for being scary on wet offramps, and that's why they act funny in parking lots sometimes.
The Jalopy Journal
