Regular visitors to Pirate4x4.com's bulletin boards have likely seen the response "Get 60s" to virtually any axle question in any forum. For decades, Dana 60s represented the pinnacle of axle technology. What if we told you that axles are now available that are lighter, stronger, and less expensive than aftermarket Dana 60s?

Since its inception, competitive rockcrawling has spawned technology that trickles down to the average recreational wheeler. Coilover suspensions and tube chassis were rare a decade ago, however now they can be found on trails throughout the country on any given weekend. Twisted Customs has been at the forefront of sanctioned rockcrawling for years, pioneering new parts to gain a competitive advantage. Their success through the cones has also gained the attention of other manufacturers,and has allowed Twisted Customs to form strategic relationships with innovative companies such as Spidertrax, True Hi9, and CTM Racing.

Spidertrax began designing their Spider9 housings back in 2004. This housing accepts a standard Ford 9" third member, but that is the only thing it has in common with a factory housing. The Spider9 offers more ground clearance than a stock housing and is considerably stronger, thanks to the ¼" thick axle tubes and the fabricated center section. Despite the strength, the Spider9 housing only weighs 60 pounds bare and the mild steel construction makes it easy to add suspension brackets, both of which separate the Spider9 from factory and aftermarket Dana axle housings. We recently headed to Twisted Customs to document the assembly of a pair of Spider9s for the new Pro Modified TJ buggy that Twisted Customs is building for Dean Bulloch.

Twisted Customs' Brian Errea begins by measuring the housing. Spidertrax manufacturers centered and offset housings that are 65 inches wide. This allows them to keep costs down by stocking less part numbers and lets the customer determine the axle width they desire.

Twisted Customs typically builds front axles 62 inches wide and rear axles 61 inches wide when using Dana 60 knuckles, however the assemblies can built to any width the customer desires. When 60 degree 1550 knuckles are used, the axles are made two inches wider to accommodate a full range of steering with 37" tires. Note that the mounting pattern for the Ford 9" third member is not symmetrical, so if you want equal length axle shafts the pinion will not be perfectly centered. Once all measurements have been taken, the axle tubes are cut to length on a horizontal bandsaw. This ensures a straight, smooth cut that will make aligning and welding the knuckles or end cups much easier.

Twisted Customs fits the housings with Spidertrax fabricated 1550 steering knuckles to shave even more weight. The knuckles use spherical rod ends instead of ball joints or kingpins for increased strength and simplicity and accept huge 1550 u-joints. Similar fabricated Dana 60 sized knuckles are also available from Spidertrax. This design also allows the knuckle to turn up to 60 degrees in the 1550 application and 50 degrees in the Dana 60 application, which allows competitors to make tighter turns through courses without having to back up. Beyond competition, this feature is very beneficial to the recreational rockcrawler on very tight, technical trails as well.

Compact and light one ton unit bearings are used instead of traditional hubs and bearings. New stock Ford unit bearings are machined by Spidertrax to accept 1 1/2" 35 spline stub shafts and are available in most conventional bolt patterns, such as 5x5.5, 6x5.5, and 8x6.5. Use of the unit bearings has been a source of some controversy, but both Spidertrax and Twisted Customs prefer the unit bearings for a number of reasons. The sealed bearings mean that getting greasy packing bearings is a thing of the past, and the four bolt mounting flange allows broken axle shafts to be easily changed between courses in competition, where every minute counts. Twisted Customs reports that they have never had a unit bearing fail during competition. The requirements of a rock buggy are far different than a Super Duty that drives 15,000 miles a year while pulling 20,000 pounds. The unit bearings are also physically shorter than normal hubs, which means that they are less susceptible to being hit by rocks and provide a better scrub radius during turning.

The knuckles are a snug slip fit on to the axle tubes. Twisted Customs made an alignment bar with a slug that replaces the drive flange to ensure that the knuckles are perfectly straight and aligned prior to welding. While it would not be economical for the average home builder to make a device like this to make one axle, Twisted Customs builds enough Spider9s to make this tool very practical and useful.

With the alignment bar in place and the third member mounting flange on the proper plane for the correct pinion angle, the caster is measured. In order to set the pinion angle the customer will need to specify whether they are using a high or low pinion third member, a single u-joint or CV driveshaft, and the length of the drivetrain. Brian Errea from Twisted Customs likes to set caster at six degrees for most applications, but this measurement can be specified by the end user as well. The outer knuckles are removed prior to welding the inner Cs to the axle tubes. Note the spherical bearing that is used instead of a ball joint or kingpin.

The top of the knuckle is keyed for use with Spidertrax high steer arms, but for competition use Twisted Customs welds on laser cut bracketry for full hydraulic steering. They use different length arms depending on the application (street driven, rockcrawling, rock racing). Wilwood calipers and billet hats and rotors provide enough power to stop a buggy on the rocks and are extremely light. Unsprung weight is not always a concern in rockcrawling but can be very important to rock racing and other high speed situations.

The Wilwood rotors and Spidertrax hats are more modular compoments that offer a wide variety of options from a small selection of part numbers. The hats are available in 5x5.5, 6x5.5, and 8x6.5 to match the unit bearings and the calipers are available solid or cross drilled in in either 13" or 14" diameters to fit a variety of rim sizes. Spidertrax caliper brackets match the rotor size and hold lightweight aluminum Wilwood monoblock calipers.

Even the most advanced steering knuckle doesn't mean a thing if your axle shafts and u-joints cannot accommodate the range of motion. Jack Graef at CTM Racing created 1 1/2" 35 spline axle shafts from 300M to stand up to the rigors of competition. The yokes of the axles are affixed to massive 1550 300M u-joints to stand up to the rigors of competition. In addition to the stronger material, the 1550 joint cross is significantly larger than a Dana 60 cross, although the trunions and caps are the same size. As with the knuckles, smaller axle shafts and u-joints are available to fit a variety of applications and budgets. All axle shaft choices pass through Spidertrax seals that keep the assembly free from leaks.

The rear axles can accommodate a variety of ends. For this build, Spidertrax full floating end cups were used. Once again, Twisted Customs broke out the alignment jig to make sure the cups were true. The same unit bearings, drive flanges, calipers, rotors, and hats used on the front axle are also used on the rear, limiting the number of spare parts necessary to fix either end of the vehicle.

With the end cups aligned, Twisted Customs' Jason Paule welds the cups to the axle tubes while Brian Errea slowly turns the housing.

Any Ford 9" third member will fit the Spider9 housing, but Twisted Customs recommends True Hi9 high pinion third members. They have been using these thirds in their competition vehicles for three years without a single failure. In addition to the 4 1/2" additional ground clearance at the pinion, the gears are incredibly strong due to the addition of a thrust block that limits ring gear deflection. Twisted Customs runs Detroit Lockers in their vehicles, however Dean Bulloch specified ARB Air Lockers for his application. The True Hi9 third member accepts any standard Ford 9" differential from open carriers to full spools.

We spied this Spider9 in the back of Twisted Customs' shop. They do more than just buggy builds and triangulated four links. The shop has a jig to add laser cut TJ brackets to the Spider9 housing, including this beefy track bar mount that it integrated into the upper control arm mount. No more broken track bar mounts with this setup. Plate steel brackets and tabs are much stronger and easier to weld to the plate steel Spider9 than traditional cast steel center sections.

While the theory is sound, we were still anxious to try the Twisted Customs built Spider9s out on the trail. Dean Bulloch would likely kick our ass if he caught us matting the throttle in his new buggy, so we borrowed Twisted Customs' Pro Modified YJ with identical Spider9s to Bulloch's. The first thing we noticed was how the smooth housings allow you to slide over obstacles that would hang up the lip or diff cover on normal axles. The True Hi9 third members offer great ground clearance as well and keep the driveshafts out of the rocks, but when they do get hung there is no sliding off, you better plan on backing up and trying a different line. The most impressive aspect of course is the 60 degree steering, which made the 103" wheelbase YJ buggy seem much shorter in tight, technical terrain. We kept waiting to hear the snap of broken parts as we cranked the steering wheel to full lock and climbed with the front tires, but we never reached the point of failure. The only issue we found is that with a full 60 degrees the steering can be twitchy at high speeds, but that is a function of the ram and orbital valve as much as the knuckles. Twisted Customs uses a different front end with shorter arms and a smaller ram for rock racing and high speed activities. Even though this axle is not perfect for every application, we haven't found anything better for pure rockcrawling duty.

It used to be the Dana 60s were considered the pinnacle of hardcore rockcrawling axles. With the exception of the Detroit Locker, all of the components used in this axle were developed in the last five years. The result is an axle that weighs less than a Dana 44 but is stronger than a Dana 60 and has more ground clearance and a tighter turning radius than either. Additionally, Twisted Customs can build you a fabricated 9" axle for less cost than a comparable aftermarket Dana 60.

Twisted Customs
(605) 923-7288
http://www.twistedcustoms.biz/