Ok, I have a 83 t/a which i will be putting a stroker in (not sure what stroke yet) with a built tranny. Either way it will most likely easily grenade a stock 10 bolt. What i want to know is: 1. What is the best ring and pinion company/product for strength? 2. "" "" for a limited slip or similar 2 wheel traction? 3. When putting 28 spline axels in, i have to order the axels and the posi unit in 28 splines for a 7.5" ten bolt, right? What fits for the limited slip? (part of q #2 i suppose) 4. How much hp/torque can this handle? numbers if possible, drives me crazy when people use the phrase "unless it has serious horse power" because serious horse power to me is different then a funny car racer. Will most likely run dot drag radials (nitto probably) is a street car but dont care about noise really... Yes i read the article on this in the tech section, didnt help much with my specific q's. Im against putting in a different rear end unless i absoultely *** damned have to. Cant justify spending 2K on a new rear for a street car at 8$ a hr

1 ring and pinion isn't the weak link, so any will work about as well as others, but i'd give the edge to richmond

2 depends on what you want to do with it and what you mean by best, without more info i'd say a spool is the strongest longest lasting. you'd want to avoid the cone type posi units.

3 if you have a 7.5 ten boltthen that would be what you'd want to order parts for

4 432hp and 397 tq is the max

No WAY EDE>>>

A friend of mine had same combo..

He had 439hp and 402 tq

Then my cousins>uncles>brother in law heard of a guy in his home town with the same combo who had 492hp and 457 tq

better check your figures..... LOLOLOLOLOL

Thanks for the help! Is that the stock torque ratings?! I always thought the ring and pinion was the weak link because of its small size. For daily driver use for the diff, spool is not the best on tread life when cornering either (what ive heard) and paralell parking would be nearly impossible. If I replace the axels with strange 28 spline axels and a auburn limited slip diff for 28 spline 7.5" rears, what would the torque rating be then assumeing i didthe thick rear end cover and welded up the axel tubes etc... ? Thanks for the help again!!!!

There aren't any ratings or pre-determined failure values. Making a rear end last has more to do with driving style and application of power. Some guys with 500hp have made 10 bolts last while others with V6 cars trash the same rear. Clutch drops, powershifts, slicks and hard launches kill these rears not power alone.

so if im nice to it and beat on it only occasionally, it should last a while, ill have in the 400's for both torque and hp. the most damage is done in the launch correct? so if i launch fairly soft then kill it say on the high way there wont be that much stress correct? I am planning on drag radials so we will see.....

1. Just about any gear set will do fine. Richmond is good but I've also seen Motive gears do well.

2. You're not going to find a full spool for the 7.5" and the only mini spool is for 26 spline axles. The most popular posi is Auburn but it's also one of the more expensive ones.

3. To use 28 spline axles, you will need a 28 spline carrier. Posi, open etc. The series of carrier will depend on what gear ratio you want to use.

4. Difficult to answer. As mentioned above, a V6 can break them on the street but I've also used a tiny 10 bolt to run low 11's with 1.6x 60' times.

I'm *NOT* disputing this statement, but find it interesting that a guy at a drivetrain shop told me just the opposite last week. He said that the relatively small ring gear made the 10-bolt weak (and said the 9-bolt was almost as bad).

Actually, he told me to especially stay away from the 9-bolt (too late, the one I bought from a tgo member is sitting in the garage). Even though he thinks I'm nuts, he said he'd rebuild/set up the 9-bolt for me if I brought him the parts (which I'll probably do).

Is there another "weak link" in the 10-bolt? Inferior design?

that's very odd. I have had countless 10 bolts (no joke here at ALL) and I have had richmond gears and stockers. new posi units all I can say is the 10 bolt rear is pure junk! I bought complete used ones had them set up by well known shops. and even got to the point of seting them up my self (since they always broke I firgured I would learn) the only thing I did not do is the solid spacer sleave and rear cover

I have set up a few 9 bolts and out of them all the 9 bolt has never broken. had to shim the posi on most of them (used of course) but, they have taken far more abuse and have never let me down. I was ripping up 10 bolts like tires. kinda funny that your guy says they are just as bad. hum well I'll buy yours if he gets you into something better (12 bolt)

It's funny, one of the guys I was talking to that owns a local speed shop said something similar to what Section162's guy said. Still, I'm going to stick with my 9 bolt because I can hardly afford the rebuild (replacing pretty much everything), let alone the cost of a 12 bolt/9".

the weak link in a 7.5 ten bolt is the samll size of everything allowing it to deflect. stop the deflection and it'll live a lot longer. deflection breaks a lot of other parts and you never see it or think about it. the cone posi is a real weak link, if you have one.

so what do you guys reccomend for stopping deflection? I know you need to weld the axel tubes and throw on a good diff cover, what else? Also, what kind of posi diff do you guys reccomend? I have a open 7.5" 3.23 rear. How streetable is a mini spool, I have been they aren't. period. Too hard to drive around etc. Would it be useful to weld some metal onto my rear, like some square tubing (not sure what the word is.... square metal stock maybe?) to strenghthen it up a bit? I think it would definetly be useful to the gm owners if we can get these rears strong enough to handle atleast some abuse consistantly. I dont know how you guys feel but it gets frustrating when how to's say you want to look for a strong part to use this, but gives no examples. oh well just me rambling.... :-D

mini spool isn't streetable at all, nor is any spool. about all you can do is run the good cover, maybe some axle braces ,but i never have or know anyone who did and weld the tubes. it'll help alot too if the tires slip just a bit instead of getting a full bite right from the start. never seen it done but it might help to weld a brace along the front side of the rear. i'd use something like 4"x.25 flat stock on edge copped to fit the center and tapered to the backing plates

When I broke my 10 bolt 3/4 of the teeth came off the pinion along with almost 1/2 of the ring gear's teeth.

I'd say a good support cover will help the most. I'm welding my tubes as well (hey, it's virtually free, what can it hurt?).
Also, a zytanium cross shaft couldn't hurt, 'specially for the price, ($30 or so...)
the solid crush sleeve sounds good, if you're changing gears, if not, then you probably don't want to have to remove the sleeve and replace it, and re-shim it etc..)

I don't think the zytanium cross pin is still available.

I just say save for a 12 bolt. My friend has broken four 10 bolts in his 2001 Z28, and I know another guy who broke one with a V6 Firebird. Right now a 12 bolt is #1 on my list after seeing the catastrophic failure that ocurred in my rear end.

a couple of thousand dollars isnt really an option for me though.... Where can i get a cheap 12 bolt for near the cost of building my 10 bolt? Even if i replaced my ring and pinion 3-4-maybe 5 times it still would be compareable in price from what ive heard.... idk, i could just be uneducated. What are the other alternatives prices?

You're right, you could probably fix several 10 bolts for the cost of one 12 bolt. I hated breaking mine though, a pain in the *** to get it towed since the wheels may not even turn in some instances. Also, you may be VERY far from home the next time it breaks, etc. I replaced my pinion/ring gear this time, but I'm trying to save for a 12 bolt first and foremost now because I do not want to be in a situation with a broken rear again.

I think year one still has them, at $31 per,
http://www.yearone.com/serverfiles/h...7AQ290&Style=3


made by powertrax, so there might be other sources to get it. Powertrax's website is pretty hurtin', so that part number D66 isn't too useful...