I've narrowed it down to these two for my 88 IROC.

I intend to install upgraded disc brakes in place of the crappy rear drum brakes. Car does not have ABS (AFAI, not available in 88).

I've heard people say the Moser unit tends to suffer from more gear whine, but it seems to me that's more a function of gear choice and setup, not the housing unit. Correct me if I'm wrong. And I intend to run with something *smaller* than 3.90s.

So anyone who has experience with either or both of these chime in please. Thx! Good and bad, I want to hear it .

 

The way the teeth are cut and the hardness of the metal has a lot to do with strength & noise. If the gears are setup wrong it can whine. A lot of gear companies cut their teeth at sharper angle for strength & this causes more gear noise. I have had good luck with Moser, but I don't think you could go wrong with Strange either.

 

you can get the ford 9" for couple hundred more, the only way I would get a 12 bolt is either you'r trying to stay all chevy or find one at a great deal like me. $1200. Can't beat that for brand new.

 

The more I look at it, the more a ford 9" sounds attractive. Sounds like it's more robust.

It looks to me like Moser makes a ford 9" but is it a bolt in for a f-bod or would it require a lot of wrangling to make it work? Last I heard there are issues re. the ride height... the ford unit is simply larger or something?

 

Check this post out, if you haven't already,
https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...ighlight=Moser

The Moser bolts right in. You will have to get a brake setup from a 4th Gen disc or 82-88 B or G body with 9.5" drum brakes & fabricate new brake lines. I did the swap & you can email me with specific questions.

 

A plus for the Chevy 12 bolt is it uses less power to turn. This is due to the pinions position on the ring. About 5hp loss from the 9 bolt.

A plus for the 9 bolt is having a cruising 3.42's and a 2nd center with 4.10's for the strip. Removable c-section must be nice

 

I don't necessarily see why the 9" is better, especially for a car that sees street use. Most places get around the same money for a well prepped 12 bolt with c clip eliminators, blah blah blah. Both are pretty much equal in terms of strength, but the 12 bolt has a better pinion angle, so you get less parasitic loss, and better gas milage. I think your u-joints would last longer too. But, I've heard that the 12 bolts tend to leak at the axles... a lot.