spool weight difference

-

65TerrorCuda

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2009
Messages
1,261
Reaction score
839
Location
Albuquerque, New Mexico
So I was looking at a for sale ad for an 8 3/4 clutch sure grip as well as the cone and thought, that clutch sure grip looks massive. I have a lock-rite which is smaller than the clutch unit but am curious what people thought after going spool
 
I'm building a Ford 9" to put under Vixen now. It has a full size spool. I've run several and never had an issue.
 
Running a spool on the street is very hard on the tires going around corners. Honestly it takes the joy out of driving a car on the street. For street I like a Powerloc (Best posi that uses clutches) or the ultimate is using an all gear driven Detroit Truetrac.

Tom
 
Running a spool on the street is very hard on the tires going around corners. Honestly it takes the joy out of driving a car on the street. For street I like a Powerloc (Best posi that uses clutches) or the ultimate is using an all gear driven Detroit Truetrac.

Tom
I've run several and I gotta say I've just never had that experience. The tires do scrub a little around turns, but it's not that bad. I agree they aren't the best, but until I can get the money together for something different, this is what I'm doing. And depending on how well it works, I may just leave it in there.
 
I have a Sure Grip in my Dart but run a Detroit Locker in my Cobra replica with a Ford 9 inch. Only issue I've noticed with the locker is you need to keep the air pressure the same in both tires or the car will jerk to the right under hard acceleration.
 
I had a spool in my Swinger for a very short time . It is doable but a pain in the arse. Forget about moving your car around the garage without starting it !
 
So I was looking at a for sale ad for an 8 3/4 clutch sure grip as well as the cone and thought, that clutch sure grip looks massive. I have a lock-rite which is smaller than the clutch unit but am curious what people thought after going spool
Spool weight? (in your title) Mini spool if you are chasing ounces.
 
I had a spool in my Swinger for a very short time . It is doable but a pain in the arse. Forget about moving your car around the garage without starting it !
Now THAT I'll go along with.....which is why car dollies come in handy. lol
 
For o.p's original question: I don't know for sure, but I'd guess that a spool weighs about a third of a clutch sg. Also about a third the cost, and maybe a sixth of a dapco locker or a trutrac.
I have a dapco (detroit) locker in my 8 3/4, a spool in one of my nines, and gonna put a slip-in locker in the open carrier in my other nine.
The narrower the tire, the better the spool works on the street. Dragging a 14"wide tire around a corner with a spool gets old.
(I would guess that an aluminum center with a spool would be about half the weight of an iron center with a clutch sg.)
 
So I was looking at a for sale ad for an 8 3/4 clutch sure grip as well as the cone and thought, that clutch sure grip looks massive. I have a lock-rite which is smaller than the clutch unit but am curious what people thought after going spool
Are you currently running the lock-rite? If so, how about a review?
I should put a spool in my nine, but my friend/nine inch specialist passed away, and I can throw in a lock rite in without pulling anything apart. Summers bros. axles I want to re-use.
 
Are you currently running the lock-rite? If so, how about a review?
I should put a spool in my nine, but my friend/nine inch specialist passed away, and I can throw in a lock rite in without pulling anything apart. Summers bros. axles I want to re-use.
Sorry to hear that..
 
Sorry about your friend :(

Are you currently running the lock-rite? If so, how about a review?
I should put a spool in my nine, but my friend/nine inch specialist passed away, and I can throw in a lock rite in without pulling anything apart. Summers bros. axles I want to re-use.
I've had the lock rite for about 20 years, all street use(okay some dirt). Most of the time I forget it's there. Tight corners it makes a soft clunk-clunk-clunk sound. On a freeway overpass corner I decided to punch it and the car stopped turning and went straight toward the concrete. Basically shat myself right there. It's a completely on or off thing, it doesn't have any slippage at all.

The advertisement back then said you could install it without removing the ring gear which wasn't the case unless you grind away a good amount of the ring gear teeth to get the pin out. Once or twice it's made a loud bang when getting on the throttle but that's it.

Thanks for all the replies fellas
 
Sorry about your friend :(


I've had the lock rite for about 20 years, all street use(okay some dirt). Most of the time I forget it's there. Tight corners it makes a soft clunk-clunk-clunk sound. On a freeway overpass corner I decided to punch it and the car stopped turning and went straight toward the concrete. Basically shat myself right there. It's a completely on or off thing, it doesn't have any slippage at all.

The advertisement back then said you could install it without removing the ring gear which wasn't the case unless you grind away a good amount of the ring gear teeth to get the pin out. Once or twice it's made a loud bang when getting on the throttle but that's it.

Thanks for all the replies fellas
Yep, that's exactly how my Detroit works, a little clicking now and then, open around a corner (click click click) but no slip in a straight line. Like you say, don't stand on it till it's straight! Thanks for the review, gonna try one in my nine.
 
I don't know which the nine inch is, I guess I'll find out.
The axles are held in like the 8 3/4 with flanges that bolt down with the backing plates. No C clips. Just unbolt the backing plate bolts and slide the axles out.
 
The axles are held in like the 8 3/4 with flanges that bolt down with the backing plates. No C clips. Just unbolt the backing plate bolts and slide the axles out.
No, what we meant was: do I have to remove the ring gear to slip a lock-rite into an open Ford nine inch carrier. My buddy would surely have known......
If I have to pull it all apart for a lock-rite, I might as well pit a spool in it......
 
I just looked at the instructions and it doesn't mention having to trim the ring gear teeth, so there's a chance it'll bolt straight in

And the instructions are from 1996. Dammit has it been that long?
 
I will never ever run a spool on the street again.
What happened?
The narrower the tire, the better the spool works on the street. Dragging a 14"wide tire around a corner with a spool gets old.
the car stopped turning and went straight toward the concrete.
Only issue I've noticed with the locker is you need to keep the air pressure the same in both tires or the car will jerk to the right under hard acceleration.
Running a spool on the street is very hard on the tires going around corners. Honestly it takes the joy out of driving a car on the street.Tom
ON THE STREET:
Firstly;
when you make a 90* even with just 10inches of treads, staying in your lane, the tires have to twist the cords, because the edges are traveling in different arcs; and so at different speeds from outter to inner edges. So between the two tires, there are four majorly different speeds going on back there. For all I know, some parts of each tire may actually appear to be turning backward relative to other parts, depending on who's letting go first.
But the tires don't like to twist. When they are stretched out as far as they go, they snap loose. During the stretching the car rises up. At the snap, it falls back down. (or vice versa, I can't actually witness it from the front seat). So as soon as this starts, the back-end is going; up, down, and sideways, and waddling like a big fat duck. In your bucket; your hips start moving sideways in time with the waddling, which tugs on your arms, which, if you're not concentrating, will cause the steering wheel to turn just a lil, in the opposite directions to the waddling, making it even worse.
So then, just cruising around at slow speeds (below 30mph), this becomes an exercise in concentration during every stinking turn.
Like said above; this gets old.
Secondly;
I like to drift around the turns. With a spool, I cannot start or stop a drift in mid turn. If I start during the duck-walk the suspension is already dancing. So the drift thus begun is already "out of control" and it looks like I'm an amateur at it. If I lift in mid-turn, the car is almost guaranteed to lurch, and resume the duck-walk again making me look foolish. I am "pretty good" at drifting, I have been told so, by more than one cop. So I don't like for people to think otherwise. ..... lol. That stinking spool was embarrassing.
Like said above; this takes the joy out of street driving.
Thirdly;
If one side of the car has better traction than the other, then, under power, the car will try to drive in a circle. If the traction is changing from side to side, then the car will switch back and forth.
Like sorta said above; who likes surprises like that.
Fourthly;
I have a manual trans. Ever try backing into a parking stall, that requires steering to get there ? with buckets..... lol. With the spool, the duck-walk, power-steering, and nothing to hang onto, my head was bopping back and forth so bad even my kidneys were laughing. And toeing the clutch with 3.55s, while my head is spun around to see where I'm going? Forget about it.

That spool was only in there for 7 days; which is all I could stand. I wouldda switched it out sooner, but had no opportunity. The decision had been made within hours of installing it. I really did try to give it a chance.
Works great in a straight line, until you turn to go down pitroad, lol; slow down eh....
You asked!
 
Great answer! And yikes

I just remembered the bolt in aspect of the lock rite depends on how high numerically your ring n pinion is. My 3.23 was too much but it's probably different for every axle.
 
-
Back
Top