Ok, Peterson's says I should spool it, but I want real world, non media opinion. Straight up, what is the best bang for the buck, a detroit locker or a spool. The rig im building will be about 30% street, 70% offroad, but I want it to function as best as possible in both aspects. Im running meaty 36x12.5 SX's to give you an idea of the pavement grip factor. What do you say?

well I like spools cause there is not much that can fail... not saying that Detroits are notorious for failing but a spool is pretty tuff to beat expecally if you use the rig off road most of the time.

dont mind me...just posting for the updates, so i can see others opinions!

I have a detroit in my 9 ". If I could do it again I'd run a spool just for the cost vs. gain factor. My detroit doesn't unlock very much so if you've got the burly diff, run a spool.

What axle are you considering putting this in?

I would say spool over detroit since I am a money miser type. I have had lockrites and welded and the spool or welded(same basically) is nicer since there is no added slop at the rear end. Just stay with the spool.

Hey-

I vote spool for the rear-

1. nothin' to go wrong-

2. better manners on the street, no locker "wiggle" when on/off gas

3. half the price

4. traction is predictable, ya know it's always locked

my current setup is a yota v6 hogs head w/ spool in the rear and a detroit up front. i had a detroit in th rear and switched to the spool after getting to run a spool for a month in a loaner third.

my next major chunk a change will be for a winch, but after that i'm ditching the detroit up front too- gonna go with the ARB. it would be great to be able to turn or back up unlocked in some situations, especialy w/ the infamous birfields!

later

spool it. ive got a detroit and if my pos wasnt my DD id have a spool in it no questions...check ebay..seen em on ther for about every axle for cheap.

Hunter

Like I keep saying, if you are doing any mods to turn tighter (cutting brakes, twin sticks) you'll want something that will differentiate without tourque on it (a detroit).

I like the spool I have in my D60. Less stuff to break!

If you look at the upper right hand corner of the screen you will see the SEARCH button, give it a try.:p

Ok, if you are really wanting my honest opinion here I will give it.

I would much rather put in a spool or even a mini spool than a Detroit. The cost is MUCH cheaper, not real moving parts, super strong! Think about it in this way, :flipoff2:

the only reason to run a detroit over a spool is if you are going to haul heavy wieght and want to reduce stress on the axleshafts.
I have a detroit and if they made a spool for a dana70 I would sell the detroit and stuff a spool in a heartbeat.
I already get the tire wear from the detroit, so I would lose the massive driveline slop and huge crashing sounds that the detroit occasionally emits as well as more predictable handling.

Spool......................next

spool it or weld it. if the 4.56 gear set i got for my 14bolt didn't already have the detroit with it i would have welded it.:D spools are pretty much bomb proof.

How about a Posi-traction?
PROUD NEWBIE!

unless yu have a limited slip in it right now I would just weld it up.

I have been doing this same research on this same board. The concensus is that a spool is definately the way to go if you are going mostly off-road. I just order one for my dana 44 from randy's ring and pinion. $184.00 delivered. I can buy a lot of those for the price of a detroit. I will let you know how it works when I get it installed. Hopefully monday.

Go spool. When my 44/9" combo goes in, it will be welded up front and spooled in the rear. On a daily driver. The way I see it, they way I drive now with my detroit, its locked 90% of the time anyway, so whats the big deal if its locked 100% of the time?
:D
Scott :grinpimp:<><

If it's on a trailer SPOOL if not Detroit TRUST me.:bounce: :bounce: :skull:

Originally posted by Rollie
If it's on a trailer SPOOL if not Detroit TRUST me.:bounce: :bounce: :skull:

o please spooles arent bad at all. I've got one in the front of my jeep and it doesnt feel much worse than a detroit.. I like them alot and dont care if its getting driven on the street or what... just my opinion. I mainly like the fact that there arent any moving parts so less likely hood of locker breakage.. with a spool you know its not breaking :D

Originally posted by Rockbuggy


o please spooles arent bad at all. I've got one in the front of my jeep and it doesnt feel much worse than a detroit.. I like them alot and dont care if its getting driven on the street or what... just my opinion. I mainly like the fact that there arent any moving parts so less likely hood of locker breakage.. with a spool you know its not breaking :D
ComeAWN its a matter of opinion. How long you had yours in. Do you drive on the street alot

P.S. RC Dif. Has two broken spools sitting on the counter as we speak;)

Originally posted by Rollie

ComeAWN its a matter of opinion. How long you had yours in. Do you drive on the street alot

Ive had mine for about 7-8 months... And have zero complaints. As far as driving it on street. It gets driven occasionally on the weekends but mainly just driven on street to the trails. The front has full floating hubs so it doesnt matter until there engaged. I have a detroit in the rear but only because when i bought that it was still being driven to work 100 miles each day. Now its my beater and if I ever end up changing the rear to 35 spline im definilty going with a spool.

The way I see, essentially it isnt much different than a locker. The only time you notice either is when cornering or throttling it hard. Either way the locker engages and is essentailly a "spool" at that time. then disengages on straight away's.

once again though, its just my opinion. I love my spool :D

Originally posted by Rollie
P.S. RC Dif. Has two broken spools sitting on the counter as we speak;)

post pics i have to see this to believe it :D I have never heard of anybody breaking a spool unless it was a mini-spool. Besides I dont plan on breaking mine with a 6cyl. :D I know a guy that detroyed his detroit running a 6 cyl., that wasnt fun getting him home.. Post those pics though id reeeeally like to see them.

Lets see here... Yes, a detroit locks and unlocks. thats OK. A spool stays "locked" all the time.. guess what that means? No changing lanes when you didnt want to! Know what else that means. No driveline slop. Next your arguments gonna be that the detroit causes less tire wear... Well.. Id venture to say that more than half of the people on this board are running swampers... so does it look like they give a flying hoot anyhow about tire wear? I have a detroit in the back of my yj now. And while I like that its near bullet proof, my next rear axle will have a spool no doubt. No more changing lanes on accident for me. Just my opinon.. and mines a daily driver of 100 miles a day.
Scott :grinpimp:<><

Spools Are harder on things. After all is said & done. I'm strictly trailer so I say spool & ARB up frount. GETIT

I guess like we both said, its all a matter of opinion... :D

Originally posted by Rollie
Spools Are harder on things. After all is said & done. I'm strictly trailer so I say spool & ARB up frount. GETIT

I would have to agree with this...in the short time I've had my spool in I have sheared several center pins from driving on the road...but I am still going to put a spool in my 60 rear I am building but will prolly go ARB in the front 60:D:D:D

You live in NH. You must drive on ice, as I do in Anchorage. All my rigs have rear Detroits or lockrights. Rear wheel differentiation is important for cornering and curves on ice. it only takes 2-3 ft-lbs to unlock an autolocker to allow differential rotation on a curve on ice. With a spool you will 100% for sure be slipping a tire on curves, decreasing adhesion by about 30-40% on the rear axle (allowing for weight transfer to the outside tire and assuming dynamic coefficient of friction about 1/5 static coefficient of friction rubber-asphalt. IOW once a tire starts to slip it loses a lot of traction. We all know that.
Plus with a spool you're much more likely to break an axle shaft, tire wear will be more. And Detroits only "hang up" and go bang rarely, perhaps once every 5-10 days of driving.
Detroits don't disengage on straightaways and engage on corners; they do the opposite - engage on strights, disengage on curves. Becuase only one wheel is driving when on high friction curves and corners, you get a slight pull with them. You don't change lanes. My M37 has Lockrights at BOTH ends and I drove to work (18 miles RT) on ice yesterday in 4WD. No probs.
Charlie

i run a spool out back, and god forbid, a trutrac upfront.
reason being i wanted to be able to maintain traction on ice, LSD up front, lets you corner still and can pull you out of a spin in 4wd. i have driven the spool in 2wd on slick and its better than open in my opinion and i have tried to break it loose.
i thought about a auto locker out back but decided against moving parts and 2 or 3 times the price.
go spool!
go drive!
get over it!

9 years welded on my daily driver. Spools are great in all conditions. No surprises, 100% predictable. The only drawback is the increased tire wear. As mentioned above, detroits wear your tires nearly as fast. I'm probably going to try an ARB in my 60 to save the tires, but if it isn't reliable enough, I'll spool it.