INFERNY

I hear all these stories about people breaking the 10 bolt rear end on just stock power. Is the 10 bolt really as weak as everyone says? It makes me worried about mine. I don't race my car and it has never seen the track before. Is the stock 10 bolt good enough for just daily driving? Or should I upgrade to the 9 inch rear? (Car only has 34,500 miles on it so far)

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

You didn't mention which trans you have.

If you have an auto, I wouldn't worry in the least about the stock rear with stock-ish power and street driving.

If you have a manual, there is more cause for concern but probably still a non-issue for stock power with normal street tires and daily driving.

INFERNY

Oops! Mine is the T56 6-speed. My car has a couple bolt-on modifications like CAI and headers, but nothing that produces serious power.

pozesd99'

iTrader: (3)

I have a 382ci stroker with a t56 and a twin disk clutch. 1st gear rolls and its still perfectly fine on drag radials

HCI2000SS

iTrader: (2)

I have a HCI LQ9 with a 150 shot, 4.10 gears, T-56, drag radials, and stock 10 bolt. Knock on wood it's still alive lol

98cherrySS

iTrader: (2)

I've broken (2) 10 bolts with my old setup. 355rwhp back then. 1st-2nd shift on drag radials... on the street.

Aaron at SDPC

If its going to be for daily driver use, and you have no plans on taking it to the track I see no reason to upgrade the rear. This is of course based of the statement you made about not racing the car.

farmington

iTrader: (14)

only thing you would have to worry about is wheel hop on fast starts. wheel hop kills 10 bolts. maybe look into some aftermarket rear control arms

WS6wanted

Get a girdle and the lower control arms with relocation brackets. No need to upgrade if its working

MidwestChassis2

iTrader: (1)

No one can answer if or when a 10-bolt will break or if a torque arm mounted to the tail shaft housing will break either. Been around these vehicles for some time now and seen bone stock cars with any transmission break both and I've seen heavily modded vehicles survive. Seen a 10-bolt come apart with a stock M6 car goosing it around a corner and seen a stock A4 car break the tailshaft housing getting on it from a roll.

If you are not racing it I would suggest purchasing a girdle and brace kit and keep your fingers crossed. Or you can do what most of our customers do and sell off your 10-bolt while it still has value and before it breaks and takes out more than just the rear end.

Link to rear cover and brace kit.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

There are definitely no 100% guarantees, but here is a thread that gives you a pretty good indication of what can be expected from the stock rear:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/gears-axl...ock-7-5-a.html

Not many will break the rear with a stock auto, but as the OP has a manual there is certainly more risk. I agree with the above comments about making sure wheel hop is under control, as that will likely be the biggest risk in the application outlined by the OP.

skimms98

iTrader: (7)

I have a stack of them on a pallet at my work. It's 2.5 hrs to replace it. I'm on my 5th one.

99SSJarhead

iTrader: (2)

All depends on driving style. If you drive like the little old lady from pasedena you're gonna wear it out far quicker than usual. If you baby it then it'll last. They aren't terribly expensive though so upgrading may not be worth it as you could easily buy a pallet of them used, like skimm has, and still not have invested as much money as a 9" would cost.

INFERNY

Wheel hop typically only occurs when you launch the car right?

HCI2000SS

iTrader: (2)

No it can happen anytime you spin the tires hard enough

Midnight02

iTrader: (8)

Your tire selection will be important along with your power level and driving style. Contrary to what you want from a performance standpoint, wheel spin will actually help with durability.

Drag radials on a hard launch with the 6-speed car may not tear it up the first time, or the 10th time, however it will eventually give up.

I ran a 630 rwhp nitrous setup on drag radials and it survived for a few years with gentle launches and roll racing. I'm currently running R-compound road course tires and a 4.10 rear and it's been fine for a bunch of track days, however I wouldn't be surprised if it gave up on me.

RockinWs6

I've broken my stock 10 bolts torsen carrier on the 1-2 shift WOT auto. Using a Auburn or anything other than the stock Torsen adds a lot of strength to the assembly. The Torsen is just too small and weak to handle anything other than a little performance driving using a auto trans. Using a manual forget it, it will break so fast you'll wonder WTH happened?

smitty2919

OK, OP is asking about daily driving a car on untreated surfaces (not drag strip) with (I assume) street tires on stock power and a factory 10-bolt.

NO need to do rear LCA's/girdle or any of that. If you don't race it/beat on it then there is no reason to believe it will break...You can run 500+ HP and still keep the stock 10-bolt as long as you just spin the tires. When you have high hp and grip, then things break.

AnotherWs6

iTrader: (17)

^^^^^^Yeah, but even those of us who baby our cars still beat on them occasionally. It's why we have them. I would throw lower control arms on to help get rid of wheel hop. My car is basically stock but when I was running regular street tires it would sometimes hop like crazy if I spun in first gear. Wheel hop is just violent, no harm in getting rid of it.

Generally speaking though OP, yeah, you are fine to daily drive the car. I believe that the majority of member are still running their stock rear.

kinglt-1

iTrader: (26)

I have a torsen t2r with girdle in my 10 bolt(previous owner installed back in 2005). I have done many launches on the street with DR's and the 10 bolt is still holding up behind the A4 with 3800 stall. I also have full suspension so no wheel hop.