My first pass in the 12's and something gave out in the 9 bolt. Still managed another dozen passes. Even drove a couple hundred to get home. Noisey as hell, sounds like a busted pinion or spider gear. I'll know later when I tear it apart. Who runs what as an upgrade and at what power levels?

Where abouts do you live?

What tires/suspension do you have? I have a built 9 bolt awaiting my 383

Just west of Barrie.
BW Posi from a 86 Trans Am.
3.70 gear.
Spohn LCA relocation brackets.
Boxed OEM LCAs.
Comp TA Drag Radials 255/50/16.
Are you selling or wondering if your 9 bolt is going to last?

wow, i would think if your running 12's you would wont something a bit more beefier, maybe a moser or something like that, if not parts are hard to find for the 9 bolt, i dont really know how you could beef it up though, i have a 9 bolt for sale though the posi is slipping so if your looking for something to try and build up let me know.

i broke my rear in a mid high 13 second ride 9 bolts can handle some abuse but some just blow...same as a 10 bolt

lol im surprised your 9 bolt got into the 12s. the 9 bolts were stronger than the 10 bolts and thats why they stuck them behind the 350 TPI and sum of the 305 TPI's....

there are NO hop up parts for the 9 bolt. only thing is a girdle cover.... they sell STOCK 9 bolt parts... like posi's and axels but there are no stronger than stock... just stock replacements... and u cant rebuilt the stock 9bolt posi... u just replace the whole thing. still a 9 bolt shouldnt last long in a 13s car, let alone 12's. i would swap in a 10bolt, with an auburn posi, moser axels, raytech installation kit, and cast aluminum deefy stud gurdle... they are rated to 400hp then (at the wheels) or u have to get a moser 12 bolt setup or a fabbed 9"....

my 4th gen stock 10 bolt is holding up on my car.. many low 1.7 60 foots on the low 13 second motor and now 7 passes on the 400whp 11 second 383. they can hold in auto cars if you launch them right and smoothly. also keep the gear down, 3.42's have thicker teeth than the 3.73-4.10's

As far as axel's go, I'm sure Strange and probably a lot of others will make axel's for ya. But as you see they aren't really the problem. Although I did have one axel misteriously break just turning a corner in town!

I believe a well set up 9 bolt should hold up in the 12's. Especially with a girdle. That's my next step along with re-setting up my posi. I went through mine a few months back and machined the cones and tightened it up. I'm going to re-shim the posi now that the cones and housing have had a chance to wear into each other.

I'm running a T5 and 200 shot of nitrous and haven't yet (knock on wood) had any problems. I don't launch real hard as my 2.0 60' times indicate. But my best 1/8 mile time is 7.98 @ 93, so that should equal at least mid 12's 1/4 mile.

I think with a 9 bolt, and all "stock" driveline components for that matter, the trick is not to have stress spikes in the pass. Now the whole event of drag racing is a "stress spike" so to speak, but keeping the torque just under the limit for the entire pass should net the lowest times with the longest driveline component life. Heck the T5 shouldn't be holding up for me. Maybe I'm just lucky or maybe it'll blow next time out. Push it to the limit, but not past and I think it'll survive in the 12's.

Check these guys out...

JT Parts

This is where I bought all my 9 bolt stuff. Awesome prices and guys to deal with.

Thanks for the input everybody.
I see I have several options.
The most economical would be a rebuild of the 9 bolt. I've found a few distributors for ring and pinion sets (thanks Demon355) as well as rebuild kits with all the good stuff. That should come in well under a grand.
I can get myself a 4th gen 10 bolt like Orr has done although there are a few fitment details I'd need to work out.
And there's always a Moser.($$)
My thinking is that a well prepped 9 bolt should stand up to what I can give it. At 106 mph trap speed there's still a lot of ET left in it. Calculations say about 350 rwhp. My existing (or non existing now ) 9 bolt has over 100 000 miles on it and about 50 1/4 mile passes with slicks. It was bound to give up.
I've picked up a mint condition 86 Camaro that I'll be swapping my speed parts into during the off season. Maybe that'll be the time for the Moser.
In the meantime I have to decide whether rebuilding what I have will end up being a waste of money should it blow up too or that it'll last the season and give me a chance to lay down a few more 12 second passes.
I'm not one for subtle launches. I like to use all of the 3500 stall and a fresh set of slicks should drop the 60' into the low 1.7's.
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And as a matter of interest, the pinion shed two teeth. One of them will make a nice key fob!
It shows an excellent contact patch too.

Not sure if this will help and I haven't dealt with them but they seem to have alot of parts for the 9 bolt.
http://www.9bolt.com/

9bolt.com is expensive. JT parts is uber awesome for pricing and customer service. I talked to Jeremy enough times over the phone and I live in Canada. If you decide to rebuild the 9 bolt, go with JT parts and ask for Jeremy.

seems that the only thing on the 9 bolt is the 3.70 gears... is that it? where do i have to look?

Click Here

Overhaul kits.

Thanks everyone.

"I'm not one for subtle launches. I like to use all of the 3500 stall and a fresh set of slicks should drop the 60' into the low 1.7's"

Yeah me either, not by choice anyway! Just can't seem to get lower than 2's and high 1.9's to date. But I'm not killing it either. When I go back through the rear end and have a more confidance and experiance, I'll see what she'll do. Remember, I'm runnning a 3.27 gear and T5. Hard to get it to launch super hard.

This may be interesting.
I've used a spare ring and pinion I've had laying around for a few years and installed it in my 9 bolt housing.
This ratio is 3.27:1.
I know this one won't last forever although it is properly set up.
I heading back to the track to see if 12's are possible with these gears.
Last time I had massive wheel spin with the Comp TA drag radials. Maybe this will make a difference in that regard.
Might call a tow truck in advance.