full spool

[fryedaddy]

great advice.i drive my 73 f250 as my daily,im retired so i dont drive every day. when i get my comet out its either going for a short drive or to a show or meeting and every now and then street race. been a while since i been to the track but i plan on going a time or two this year.but anyway i watch what im doing when street driving.i found out real quick why it is so important to line your car up straight at the starting line.i punched it for just a second or two with my grandson with me and i was headed for the ditch if i had not let off.it was a safe area but nobody wants to run off the road.

[pbf777]

     Now this is going to create some confusion, that because although the statements of concern with the use of a locked rear on ones' "street driver" are absolutely correct, but the experienced as perceived difficulties have a lot to do with the adaptability of the driver to these new and different characteristics.  For example, I had an F350 4 X 4 that I took off-road on the weekends and participated quite aggressively in competition and/or just for fun and I came to realize it was important to have all four wheels participating at all times no matter what the relationships the tires might experience with the topography and with this understanding the choices then were clear, I needed "Detroit Locker"s (front & rear, but these were rather expensive  ), or the other more cost effective option was the "Lincoln-Locker" approach!   

     After the conversion to the locked rear (yep, "Lincoln-Lockers" front & rear  ), on the street (as this was also my daily driver), I experienced little difficulty, as a matter of fact since I was nearly always clowning around, drifting (ya, before it became a sport  ), 180's & 360 degree spins (yep, in a one-ton four wheel drive; and it sure does use up a lot of real estate in doing so!  ), I found that the chassis was more consistent it it's movements and I had better control in practicing these antics.   

     So my point is, yes it's going to require greater diligence in operation with the locked rear, but depending on the operator and the environment it might not be all bad!   

     Well,............. except the tire wear situation!   

     Scott.

     

[fryedaddy]

i have owned this car 41 years and several engines,trans,rearend gears have been put in it,but in all those years and combos i have NEVER done a dougnut or anything silly in it. i guess thats why i still have it after 41 years. but im no stranger to horsepower or racing.my grandson asked one of my buddies how far i could ride a wheelie on a motorcycle.my buddy answered-how ever long the road was.

[Tunnelwedge]

When the driveshaft let go I was going around a bend at about 50 mph.
The driveshaft let go at the straps.
The driveshaft was destroyed as was the yoke and a muffler.
A pretty good dent in the tunnel as well.
It cost way more than the cheap spool. Save up for the locker.

[Tommy-T]

Since this post has gone on for a while I'll add my 2 cents.
I bought from Roush Racing 3 NASCAR Detroit Lockers. They are the nastiest, clickity-clack churping tires lock/unlock at weird times...but tough as nails.
I put one in my Mustang with 19.5X33 tires and a 427 stroker. It worked fine and the car had enough "quirks" that you could hardly tell it was back there.
Installed another in my '87 Jeep Wrangler when I put a 9" in it. That's a whole 'nuther story. It sounds like the stage coach was coming to town around every turn unless it doesn't unlock then it just churps tires. I learned early on that when coming into a long sweeping turn on the road either start coasting before the turn or stay on the throttle through the turn. if one changes his mind mid turn, off then on the gas, a lane change may happen. However cranky it may be, still tough as nails and has seen many years of rock bashing.
I had a pumpkin put together for my Mustang that had a spool with 4.88 gears. I took it to the track and it worked fine. Too lazy to pull it back out I started to drive it around to car shows and such. What I found was that it was much more predictable than the Detroit and drove fine.
I finally pulled it out for 2 reasons. You cannot push a car with a spool by human power if there is even the slightest turn. Secondly, when pulling out of a parking space at a car show it sounds like you're beating a dog to death with all the skreeching and yelping going on.

[cammerfe]

Well said, Tommy

KS

[fryedaddy]

thanks everybody, i think that covers just about everything i need to know

[Russ67Scode]

I have one question a few people mentioned U joints failing with a spool  why is that ?  I ask because I have a spool do little street driving but seem to kill the 2 caps under the straps, all the rest are fine

[pbf777]

        Generally when utilizing a spool the average load on the driveline will be greater this obviously resulting in greater wear rates.  But often the greater problem is that once the tires are locked together in equal rotation they impart a greater tendency for wheel-hop and this is a far greater threat to the survival of the u-joints, or anything else in the driveline and chassis.

        As far as the greater wear being exhibited by the bearings and trunnions retained by the u-bolts or straps, this is most likely due to the distortion of the cap upon their tightening, particularly if over tightened.   

        Scott.

[Tunnelwedge]

I have one question a few people mentioned U joints failing with a spool  why is that ?  I ask because I have a spool do little street driving but seem to kill the 2 caps under the straps, all the rest are fine

To be honest, I bought the u-joint straps off the Help Rack at the parts store.
I use Strange Heavy Duty U-Joint Girdles now.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/str-u1610hd

[pbf777]

I use Strange Heavy Duty U-Joint Girdles now.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/str-u1610hd

     This is some of the stuff that just makes me wonder, W.T.F.!   

     Let's say I'm the manufacturer of this product, and I need a part number to identify it, why would one select the number "U1610HD"?  I suppose the "U" indicates that it might be a "U-Joint" and the "HD" implies perhaps that it might qualify as being special "Heavy-Duty", O.K..   But why the "1610"?  You know that there is such a thing as a "1610" type U-Joint, maybe not so commonly used in the light automotive applications, rather larger commercial trucks and heavy equipment, but why not utilize the "1350" nomenclature which would aid in identifying the intended application and just reduce the confusion?   

     Oh, and no, this won't fit a "1610" joint ("1350": 1.188" & "1610": 1.875" cap dia.).   

     Scott.

   

[Falcon67]

Have spent 20 years in mfg and inventory control, you don't necessarily want, care about or need part numbers that carry much intelligence.  Possibly U for the u-joint related parts line, 1610 is a sequential number in the line of parts, HD for heavy duty - like B for Black, L for left, etc.  Worked with thousands of parts and knew most of them, but if I said 25920L-60 it would only mean something to me LOL and not anyone else.  The -60 being the 60hz USA part as opposed to -50 for Canada and Europe. From my stent in auto parts, the main part I'm thinking of that uses the number to carry intelligence is fan belts.