Is a 7.25 rear strong enough?

glockr said
Thought I had a line on an A body 8.25 rear for my wagon but that fell through so I'm wondering if the 7.25 open diff would be strong enough for my use. Engine is a a mild Slant 6, but I'm going to upgrade sometime in the future to 10:1, hotter cam, and dual Webers on an Offy intake. Also I do kind of tend to drive agressively (or as my wife says, "stupidly") sometimes. I'm ordering a front disc brake kit next week and need to decide on 4 or 4.5" lug pattern. If the 7.25 is strong enough I'll go with the 4" to match the rear, but if I'm going to need the 8.25 (or 8.75) might as well get 4.5 since that's what the eventual rear will have. Thanks.

The 7 1/4 is strong enough for your /6 with the upgrades you listed, even if you have a stick and pop the clutch off the line. What you don't want to do is start a burnout on a surface that has worse traction and then move forward onto a surface that has better traction while the wheels are still spinning, like from concrete to asphalt, because the sudden tire bite might cause the spider gear teeth to break.