Another "Spool on the Street" question
 

So...I ordered 33 spline axles for my 12 bolt and was going to go with the strange 33 spline posi. Summit wants $624 for it. Jegs only $469, but Summit won't match that because Jegs doesn't have it in stock.

My car is a 4000lb lemans, 95% street, and right now a spool seems like a great idea because of the fact that its WAY cheaper!. The car will see rain here and there as well. So come at me, would I be a fool to cheap out on this considering it is a real street car? Auburn or Eatons do not interest me as I always hear stories about one wheel locking up on turns causing spinouts.

any and all advice is welcomed.

A friend of mine used to run a spool on the street. That ended up being one of the reasons he sold the car. It is not street friendly. I have had an Eaton in mine since about 1974, and I have never noticed any difficulty with it at all. It is true that any posi will handle differently when you break it loose going around a corner, but you learn how to deal with it. I doubt there's many circumstances I have not encountered in 37 years of driving this car, 47 if you count the time with the stock posi.

thanks for your input.
main reason I am considering it is the shear price of the 33 spline posi. $624 for a frickin posi!! geese louise!:eek:

You need to stop listening to whoever told you ^^^^ that.

A spool will be 1000x worse about that on the street than any posi would ever be.

And like OMT,I've known way too many guys who wanted to be "Joe Badass" and ran spools in their street cars,only to get sick of them in like 2.2 seconds after actually driving them on the street for more than a few miles @ a pop.

But I'm sure you'll get guys that'll swear they aint all that bad to live with.

If your heart is set on the Strange diff and Jegs will sell you one for $469.00,order it from them,why bother w/Summit and pay more.

Odds are it's not in stock @ Jeg's because it's way easier for Jeg's to just get Strange to drop ship the diff from their warehouse,and that's why they sell it cheaper than Summit does,that way they (Jeg's) dont have to physically warehouse the part and such.

BTW,I'd bet $$$$ that those Strange posi diffs are likely just reboxed Eaton and/or Auburn posi units from the look of things.

I know I prefer the Eaton posi's myself. 2¢

I would expect a 33 spline Eaton diff to be a little more $$$ as SOP though.

Moser has the 33 spline Eatons for like $550.00 on their website,in both 3 & 4 series carriers,so likely that's where I'd get my diff.

FWIW

Bret P.

Some times saving money doesn't save money. Do it right the first time.

X100:D

"Auburn or Eatons do not interest me as I always hear stories about one wheel locking up on turns causing spinouts."

????

I avoid the Aurburn cone type posi's, have seen quite a few crack the cones in high HP applications.

The Eaton units are tough. I broke two factory posi's back around 2001 in two runs. Installed an Eaton unit and it's still working fine.

We have an Eaton posi in a 12 bolt diff behind a 505 that pushes my friends car to 9.90's at 136mph, fine now for about 10 years of abuse behind 2 engines all running high 10's or quicker.....Cliff

posi/limited slips can be noisy around turns on dry serfaces, some clunking/racheting is experienced, also tire squeal can be a problem.

In snow or wet weather it can be much worse. I have had posi's that shove the car forward on ice when the wheels are turned left or right

spools are all that but worse

also with posi or spool your tires must be same diameter!!! not same pressure but same diameter. pretty important witha posi cause otherwise you can wear it out. with a spool, if you get on it the car can become unstable and get sideways in a hurry

Gots the Dana60 4-pinion Posi. Heaviest Diff to run the 1/4mile.
Lightweight Dana60 Spool would be unbearable on the street.

If you have noise when cornering with an clutch type posi, you aren't using the right friction modifier in the gear lube. Personally, I've never had this issue and I have had an Eaton posi in use for about a dozen years now (signature car). One trick is that a guy can throw away the preload springs inside the diff. There are shims available to "tune" the clutch pack and tighten things up without the need for the springs. They are there to help if you have one tire off in the mud or snow, but at the track with equal traction at both wheels, they just don't do anything.

Call Tom's differentials for some advice on an Eaton assembly or the componants to put one together. http://www.tomsdifferentials.com/catalog.asp?pg=3
Go for some heat treated 10/17s and see if he can machine the posi case to accept the larger diameter 33 spline axles.
As was mantioned earlier, It's well worth the cost to do it right the first time!

Andrew, personally I'd stay away from a spool on the street. You would not enjoy the car anymore on the street. The posi is the better way to go. Don't do what I did. My street car got more and more race stuff on it to the point of not enjoying it anymore. That's what turns out to be the waste of money over the years. My street car now has my ram air 3 motor back in. Looking to have fun on the street again.

Your tires will wear out quick. And in rainy/wet road conditions you will not be happy with a spool.

Eaton posi. Or a locker...

i have put exactly 30 miles on my gto with a spool, street only. i went with it because its just a part i dont ever want to think about again, (hopefully) if i had the cash i would buy a http://www.wavetrac.net/ i dont notice it at all until i pull into the driveway, feels like its binding and bucking. too early to tell if i am going to hate it. FWIW. - RB

Yep, samething here it works perfectly til u turn ,lol.. Ryan I love it for the track ,but its not near as fun anymore on the street!

I get my stuff from Quick performance in Iowa.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GM-Ch...Q5fAccessories

http://www.quickperformance.com/

One of my buddies in his 85 IROC just put in and pulled out a mini spool until he found a posi for it. And he's pretty bold on what he drives.

Have a spool in my Catalina. Love it at the track; hate it on the street.
If my Cat was strictly street I'd run an open rear end before I went with a spool.

Just my 2 cents

Jim

X2

all these guys hit it right on. I have a spool in my 71 Olds that is %95 track
and little street. It is a pain in the axx on the street. ya you do "learn" to drive it.

I did drive to Byron drag way once, 100 miles each way. It was all interstate except
about 20 miles. Not bad then but in town , wide turns like a semi .

I got caught in the rain with it once also, not fun on a road with crown and curves.
45-50 mph go into a curve... you ever hit black ice before?

I would rather have a one wheel wonder than a spool for a street car.

Thank you for all the help guys!! I guess I will stick with the posi idea regardless of price.

I need a 4 series one because I have 4.11 4 series gears. I wonder if I can get the 3 series posi and shim it to fit 4 series gears?

(I think you can only do that in the other order, am I right:confused:)

I've had 3:90's with a spool in my car for the last 5 years. I can tell you spools suck for everything but going down the track. I just put 4:30's in with a locker and that is what made me realize how bad the spool was.
But another thing to think about, if you have a posi type differential and break an axle, won't the car be easier to control than with a spool?