Using spool on the street

[stage1scott]

This is the first posi unit i've ever exploded.I've broke axles before and I thought thats what it was till I pulled the cover.This stick car is hard on parts,think I need to go to an auto with a brake.

NO WAY_stick with the triple pedals! I am going right past all the posi/locker bs out there and putting a spool in the sublime Fairlane. As Ilive in SoCal where it only rains 5 days a year and I don't drive that car all that much anyhow, the spool was the only way to go.

[MR P-BODY]

I drove a spool on the street for years and found it to be pretty easy
except when making turn arounds that were tighter(tires are sliding
the whole turn... as for the rain.. it was fine.. the tires were the weak
link in the rain.... but over all I could control it very easy due to knowing
what it was going to do

[Hemi Joel]

I have a Detroit Locker in my 9" rear from quick performance(98 Trans am). I dont really care for the noise and clunkyness of it. Yes, it will withstand a pounding. But if you drive on the street the "popping" noise from the locker(in turns) gets old quick.
If I had to do it again I would have got a spool...

If you can't stand the little bit of crap that a Detroit locker Gives you, you will hate a spool. They are both compromises, And you need to decide how much grief you are willing to put up with for the traction and the durability.

[TheEngineWorks.com]

Don't understand some of the issues some seem to have with a spool on the streets, never noticed it to be a problem at all, and we're talking about years of driving on the streets, with thousands of miles of driving, in a number of cars over the last 30+ years..

[yellomalibu]

I went to the track last night to make a few passes in my 94 camaro to work the bugs out before DW.It's a 6 speed car with moser 12 bolt rear.It's best pass was a 7.10 1/8 mile track.Long story short it blew the spider gears out of the posi on my 5th pass and don't need this happening on DW,I leave the line at 5500-6000 rpm's depending on how well it's hooking and don't think a clutch posi is ever gonna hold up.So I am thinking of spooling the rear and was wondering how it will act on the street.

I guess you already got your spool, but I was going to say, with a 12 bolt, get a Moroso Brute Strength. It's an eaton style posi (completely rebuild-able) , but much beefier than standard diffs. They only come in 4 series, which means 3.73 or numerically higher gears.

I had a spool in the Chevelle until recently, and I grew to hate driving it on the street - mostly because it felt like I was going to rip the new bushings out of the suspension pieces or crack something. If you aren't going straight, something or another is always in a bind.
I had the spool in the car for 12+ years, so it felt normal... until I put a open diff in the car recently for cruising... man, it's so much easier, quieter, and smoother to drive now.

Also - in the lower pic, it looks like the pin the spider gears spin on is quite galled. They get that way from doing one wheeled burnouts. If both wheels are spinning at the same speed, the gear doesn't spin on the pin at all. One wheel burnout, galled spider gear, overheated or seized... pow.

[squirrel]

I have a Detroit Locker in my 9" rear from quick performance(98 Trans am). I dont really care for the noise and clunkyness of it. Yes, it will withstand a pounding. But if you drive on the street the "popping" noise from the locker(in turns) gets old quick.

I hardly ever notice noise, just occasionally some clicking. Hasn't got old yet, after 15 years and 80k miles

I suppose you can get used to anything, if you want to

[BBO Javelin]

Car is hardly driven on street anymore so spool seems the way to go,just long drive on DW.It's still a full weight car even still has a/c.It needs some weight removed from it and a cage put in,cause I'll be limited to a 11.50 on DW.

[LAGNAF]

Car is hardly driven on street anymore so spool seems the way to go,just long drive on DW.It's still a full weight car even still has a/c.It needs some weight removed from it and a cage put in,cause I'll be limited to a 11.50 on DW.

Don't tell Bob you don't drive it all the time!

[c2xejk]

What about a helical gear limited-slip differential?

[BBO Javelin]

What about a helical gear limited-slip differential?

I thought about a Detroit true trak but didn't know anything about them or how stong they are.

[TheSilverBuick]

I thought about a Detroit true trak but didn't know anything about them or how stong they are.

CDMBill told me to get one so I assume they're strong because he likes top notch stuff. It's what I'm ordering.

[kyhunter89]

I have a tru-trac. I know 4000# truck has been 8's with one. Just off hand some may have been faster. Like driving an open diff at speed and only thing, I feel my truck "slide" a little taking off while turning.

[CDMBill]

I've gone 10's with the Tru-track (helical gear) set-up, stick and automatic. For Drag Week the last few years I used a locker as I couldn't get a 35 spline axle Tru-trac carrier. Strange makes one now. Stupid heavy with decent power, 800 ft/lbs.

I've done the spool on the street thing and I don't care for it. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

[62Duece]

spool in my beater 78 malibu around 8000 miles, on 275 street tires and drag radials. I love it, only annoying turning tight in a parking lot , the tires chatter bad. I've autocrossed it at KC Goodguys in 2011, it was a drift fest. Drove the balls off it 3 times and never hit a cone.

[quick 52]

running a tru trac and seem to work fine was in the 1.4's sunday with a 3900 pound truck.