brdofpry85ta

iTrader: (1)

Not sure what to do!!!!! I currently have a 9" and it sapposed to have 4:56 & a spool, with drum brakes(thats the way I got it)......way to much for the street in my opinion!!!!! So... I would like to go with at least 3.90's or 4.10's and a posi/locker.....and switch over to disc brakes.....(my car came with disc originally).

From what I hear the S60 is just as strong but doesn't weigh as much....for what I would have to spend on the 9" to get it to where I want, I could get a S60 already set up!!!!!

Opinions Please!!!!!!

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

no the 60 is the heaviest, keep the 9"


disc brakes are cheap, and gear swaps, just find a local circle track racer for cheap

89ROC-Z

iTrader: (7)

Get an S60 if you can get it cheaper than the gear/posi swap in the 9".

Than sell the 9" to me. Seriously. PM me a price

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

The S60 is heavier and takes more power to run than the 9"..

brdofpry85ta

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the insight....Damb that sucks.....I guess I was wrong about the difference between the two..... deep down I just have a problem with having a ferd part/product on my car, I really can't stand ferds...goes against my GM morals....

cause I've always said "the only way to make a ferd go fast is with a CHEVY motor".........

enslow714

The s60 or dana 60 takes less power to turn or accelerate than the 9 inch ford. This is due to the pinion being close to center height on the dana 60 ring gear and the ford 9 inch being well below center. The s60 made by Strange is a lot lighter than the old dana 60 housings due to material improvements allowing strange to remove metal where it is not needed.
You have to spend a lot of money on 9 inch parts to approach the strength level of a dana 60. Go to a stick shift drag race and 9 out of 10 cars will be using a dana.
Another plus is the torque arm mount on the s60 is a better design than the 9 inch.

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

Wrong. Been proven over and over on a dyno and on a scale. And the 9" only uses 3-4 more hp than the stock 10bolt.


http://www.gmhightechperformance.com...s/viewall.html

enslow714

The test you linked to is not very valid because the rear ends were tested in two different cars on two different days as stated in the article. Here is a test that has more controlled variables.

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...p/viewall.html

Where the 9 inch wins hands down is the ability to change gear ratios.
I liked when I could swap from a 3.55 to 4.88 in about 30 mins.

abray1

These are good problems to have. A ford 9 or a dana 60. I chose a ford 9 because of the ease of changing gears was more important than the 1.6hp it took to turn it over a 12 bolt. You can get lockers, gears, nodular center sections etc from nascar teams for a song or at least I did. Mine has polished 3.75 gears and a locker from Hendrick motorsports. The 1350 yolk has the pulley for a rearend cooler. It has disc brakes from a 2002 trans am. Check out the bolt-in housing from autoweldchassis.com. I got mine years ago and in my opinion they still have the best set-up. The torque arm bolts to the top of the rear end housing and to the very bottom giving much better leverage.

Bullydawg

iTrader: (7)

Not to steal this thread, but after you get the housing... How much more does it cost? Do you just need the center and brakes?

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

True, however they were both baselined against a stock rear. Thats the real difference in power I was tryn to show. That and the weight against stock stuff. The Dana just takes more because of its size! I'm sure it'll take a pounding also. They both will, when built properly. For 95% of the people on this board a 12bolt or 9" is plenty big!

big gear head

The Dana takes less power to turn and it is lighter (it also has 35 spline axles). The 9 inch takes more power to turn than any of the other popular rear ends, and it is also the heaviest and cost more to build (and most only have 31 spline axles). The Dana 60 is one of the cheapest rear ends to build. The 12 bolt is the lightest, but cost a little more than the Dana, but less than the 9 inch.

Drac0nic

If I had a choice between the Dana and the 9", I'd choose the Dana for weight/power/durability reasons mentioned. Even a stockish 60 is a super HD piece, a 9 needs some work. The biggest turn-off for a 60 is that the gear ratios are rather limited. Below 3.54 you have to get a 61 and even then I believe you only get into the 3.0X range with it. If you were going with a high power forced induction or nitrous application later that means the 60 could potentially be a dead end unless you're willing to rev the hell out of the engine to get where you wanted to go.

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

Yeah I totally agree with Draconic about how stout the Dana 60 is. I redid the one in a Ford 3/4 ton van, and I was astounded at how big everything inside was! I've got a GM 12 bolt under my 69 Camaro, and it looks like a tinkertoy compared to a Dana 60! Hell, the ring gear in a 60 is 10.75" diameter if I remember correctly! GM 12 bolt ring gear is only 8.875". That's still plenty strong, but it's a lot smaller than the 60. Another nice thing about the 60 is it comes stock with a solid pinion spacer instead of a crush sleeve.

abray1

It seems the points are strength- probably slight edge to dana60
Weight- Probably dana60
Horsepower to turn -Probably dana60
Available gear ratios- ford 9
Changing gears-Definately ford 9
Price- about the same
Availability (prducers) -definately ford 9
There is a reason so many people build the ford 9 and why nascar, 4x4 builders, hot rod shops and so many machine shops build the ford 9 over all the other rears. I am not an expert on this subject at all but I got my gears for under $100.00 and my detroit locker for under $200. The ford 9 is like the sbc. They made and are still making them by the 1000s and huge amount of aftermarket parts is a testament to its popularity and demand. And the winner is????? Whatever you want under your car.

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

Yeah, you're totally right when you say the Ford 9" is like SBC's when it comes to availability of parts and whatnot. And as far as strength goes, like you said, the Dana 60 is probably stronger. But honestly, the kind of motors just about all of us on this site usually run in our cars, the 9" is more than adequate. If I ever get around to buying one of these rears, I'd probably end up with either the GM 12 bolt or the Ford 9". My 69 Camaro is a stickshift car, and I've beat the snot out of the 12 bolt behind it, and never had anything break so far. Used to run a Muncie 4-speed, now it's got a Tremec TKO 5-speed.

skinny z

How about a 12-bolt centre section for your 9" inch Ford?

http://www.strangeengineering.net/catalog/pdf/079.pdf