Transmissions and DrivetrainNeed help with your trans? Problems with your axle?
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hey thinking of putting a mini spool in my 10 bolt anyone ran one yet if so give me the lowdown ,the pros and the cons ,i know not a real sturdy piece but i refuse to weld it like some jackass ,just looking to hear of anyones experience with a mini spool 26 spline axles and so forth and i know it a weak piece but you gotta crawl before you walk right thanks bigzeke355cid92bird
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Mini spool is designed for dirt track racing where tire slip is expected. It's not recommended to use a mini spool on the street or dragstrip.
A properly welded up diff will be stronger than a mini spool. I ran a welded up 10 bolt for a season. I was also using aftermarket 28 spline axles and it was only driven at the dragstrip.
Save your money and buy a good posi and 28 spline axles instead.
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Any type of spool or welded rear end is very dangerous on the street. You take the chance of killing yourself or someone else by using one on the street. They are for racing ONLY.
If you don't plan on using it on the street then the mini spool will work in a mild application.
this car is purely a strip car im very aware of the chirping when turning and ive 2 different sets of opinions either weld it it which ive been told is totally useless after a while or go with a spool and keep your fingers crossed however , eventually this car will have a 12 bolt under it but for now im not gonna stick a lot of money inthis little 7.5 /26 spline axles ,but i want the car to be somewhat competitive until i can afford 1200.00 unit from moser or someone ,will this set up last just a little while and why is a weld job better than a spool big zeke355cid92bird----------------------
It's not better than a spool. It's better than a mini spool.
A mini spool simply replaces the side gears and spiders so that there's no differential action. The mini spool has to fit inside an open carrier. The 7.5" diff has a very small carrier so the mini spool is even smaller.
Welding up the diff, if properly done, welds the side gears and spider gears to the carrier making it all one big piece of steel. When my gears were welded up, they were welded with a high nickel rod and when completed, you could barely see the teeth of the gears. Gears were welded to gears the gears were welded to the carrier.
You still need to install c-clips and the center pin to hold the axles out against the c-clips and welded up or with a mini spool, the carrier can still break. Welded up gives a bit more reinforcement to the carrier.
I run a full spool in my 9" but it's also a track only car.
I put a mini spool in my 84. been in there for about a year. I drive it on the street all the time but last week I happened to be on the enterstate in the rain and wound up down an embankment and in a fence. Don't drive it on the street ever. Other than that I haven't had any breakage and I'm runnin a 475HP stroker in mine.
Any type of spool or welded rear end is very dangerous on the street. You take the chance of killing yourself or someone else by using one on the street. They are for racing ONLY.
I know this is old, but exactly why is this? I keep seeing people saying that spool isn't for street but they never offer any reasons why it isn't.
because theres no give when going around corners the rear end of the car wants to go straight at all times. You have to be really careful i have one in my street strip car but it only sees the road like mybe a short trip once a month or so.
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It's all in the name. Why is it called a differential? When turning in either direction, the inside wheel turns less than an outside wheel. This is called a differential. All production car diffs allow differential action by allowing the outside wheel to turn faster than the inside wheel. Even a posi allows this as do many aftermarket locking diffs.
However, with a spool or mini spool, the axles physically are locked together. In a turn, both wheels are still trying to turn at the same speed. Since they can't, something has to give and it's usually a tire slipping on the ground. Once a tire slips, traction is lost especially while turning on wet pavement. Normally it's the outside tire skipping to make up the distance it's lost in a turn set by the speed of the inside tire.
As I've stated above, mini spools are really designed for dirt track racing where wheel spin in high speed turns is expected. For drag racing, they need the strength of a full spool. The few turns I have to do in my car are always on dry pavement and at slow speeds. The tires will flex and twist if I turn too sharp for the posi but at the slow speed turns I do, I never notice anything.
Even something as simple as a lane change or a curve in the road has differential action although it is quite low.
because theres no give when going around corners the rear end of the car wants to go straight at all times. You have to be really careful i have one in my street strip car but it only sees the road like mybe a short trip once a month or so.
Well that I can see. But when I say street car, people seem to think I mean "daily driver". I am not going to autocross with the car, I am not even going to take it out on rainy or even slick roads. I am not going to be turning corners at 40mph. It is going to sit in my garage and taken out on nice weekends, possibly goto local car shows, maybe one day it will see track time.
Because spools break parts. I have seen them break all of the studs off of an axle, I have seen them crack wheels and I have seen them break axles. The stress is too great on the street. If you break all of the studs off or break a wheel while driving down the road and lose a wheel then you are going to crash. You might not hurt yourself, but you might kill someone else.
Because spools break parts. I have seen them break all of the studs off of an axle, I have seen them crack wheels and I have seen them break axles. The stress is too great on the street. If you break all of the studs off or break a wheel while driving down the road and lose a wheel then you are going to crash. You might not hurt yourself, but you might kill someone else.
Like I said before, this vehicle is in the garage most of it's life. It's street-driven yes, will have a 9" moser with 31spline axles. I doubt with the amount of mild driving this thing will go through that it would be breaking anything.
Is the spool for daily driving? Hell no. If you aren't driving the car much though and plan on drag in the future, is it really going to hurt anything?
All of the cases that I listed above were from cars and trucks that were only driven on nice days to car shows and cruise ins. The stress from turning corners can cause parts to break, even if not used often. The car that broke all of the studs off of the axle was a '69 Camaro with Moser axles and 3 inch studs. 2 of them that broke an axle were Chevy trucks, one with a 30 spline 12 bolt with a mini spool and the other with a 9 inch Ford and 31 spline axles. The cracked wheels are from several other cars.
All of the cases that I listed above were from cars and trucks that were only driven on nice days to car shows and cruise ins. The stress from turning corners can cause parts to break, even if not used often. The car that broke all of the studs off of the axle was a '69 Camaro with Moser axles and 3 inch studs. 2 of them that broke an axle were Chevy trucks, one with a 30 spline 12 bolt with a mini spool and the other with a 9 inch Ford and 31 spline axles. The cracked wheels are from several other cars.
Okay. Thanks for the info and answering my question
.........................Why not pony up another $200 and get a true trac or something?
What he said. I'm running a LocRite in my old hooptie and even though it's now just a track toy, it's streetable with the Loc Rite. All you have to do is remember to always lift off the throttle when turning and it corners like an open diff, no problem but when it's locked, it's LOCKED.
Dan
__________________ 86 Camaro tired 305 low output only heaven knows how many miles on it. Lunati cam, Edelbrock torquer intake, Holley 670 Street Avenger Carb, Hei distributor, Headman headers, 373 gears, lock rite locker, shift kit, 2500 rmp stall converter. Best 1/8 mile time so far: 8.89
thanks bigzeke355cid92bird 
big zeke355cid92bird---------------------- 
What he said. I'm running a LocRite in my old hooptie and even though it's now just a track toy, it's streetable with the Loc Rite. All you have to do is remember to always lift off the throttle when turning and it corners like an open diff, no problem but when it's locked, it's LOCKED. 
