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Help me decide on a rear end

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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 01:30 PM
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Default Help me decide on a rear end

Hello all,

Recently picked up an amazing C5 but still attached enough to my SS to not want to get rid of it, so decided to keep it as a fun second car for the weekends and such. Of course now it's time for the serious mods to begin now that it isn't my daily driver.

Looking to change out the rear end to something a bit stronger so that I can regularly attend test-and-tune nights at the local track without worrying about grenading my drivetrain. I would like to retain full stock handling and drivability (ABS car, no traction control) while being able to consistently launch fairly hard on drag radials without worry. Right now the car is just bolt ons (see sig) and will likely remain that way for a while, but would like to get into drag racing and just don't trust the stock rear end even at these power levels. Any help is greatly appreciated in terms of explaining the strength of the rear I would need (12 bolt vs 9 inch, true trac vs locker vs spool, spline, etc?) and also which sponsors offer the best deals!

Tommy
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 01:53 PM
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Well I just picked up a moser 9" from Brute speed. From everything I've read for an m6 car the 9" tends to be the direction you want to go as far as strength goes. Don't know much about spools and the like so some one else will have to comment, but it'll help if you give a general cost range you are comfortable with. I went fairly high dollar (3500) on a great set-up with most of the bells and whistles but you can go a lot cheaper than that.
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 03:59 PM
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S60 is another option, but if you go moser 9 inch get the wavetrack.
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 05:44 PM
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If you don't need it right away, Mid-west Chassis 9" is the best bang for the buck. I love mine.
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 10:49 PM
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Go with a S60 with a power-lock if you can (they had a few in stock a few months ago, kicker is they are a completely rebuildable posi unit) and choose the right ABS option.

Stronger than a 9", and is a 100% drop in replacement. The power-lock will take the most abuse of any of thier posi options (much better than tru-trac).

Choose the gear ratio you want and also order a custom driveshaft and you are done.
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 11:06 PM
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I guess it depends on you care about the weight of the rear end. The S60 is a heavy girl, A MWC 9" with aluminium 3rd member is almost exactly the same weight as a stock 10 bolt.
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 11:13 PM
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Those fab 9's look killer! You'll probably need an aftermarket torque arm too.
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 11:24 PM
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Originally Posted by sherm6998
Those fab 9's look killer! You'll probably need an aftermarket torque arm too.
Yeah Moser M9, and MWC 9" both come with a new crossmember and crossmember mounted torque arm. I don't think alot of people take that into consideration with the price.
Where as if you by a 12 bolt or a S60, you still gotta buy a aftermarket torque arm and the cross member to relocate the torque arm off the tranny tailhousing. Which can easily be $500+
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 11:42 PM
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if weight is the main thing then go with m9 or mwc, but if price is the question s60 all the way.. i got my s60 for under 3k shipped with driveshaft. and yes the s60 is on the heavy side but its very efficient, and the weight is in the rear of car. so dont read all that much into it.good luck with your choice.
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Old Jul 18, 2011 | 06:35 AM
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Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch42
Hello all,

Recently picked up an amazing C5 but still attached enough to my SS to not want to get rid of it, so decided to keep it as a fun second car for the weekends and such. Of course now it's time for the serious mods to begin now that it isn't my daily driver.

Looking to change out the rear end to something a bit stronger so that I can regularly attend test-and-tune nights at the local track without worrying about grenading my drivetrain. I would like to retain full stock handling and drivability (ABS car, no traction control) while being able to consistently launch fairly hard on drag radials without worry. Right now the car is just bolt ons (see sig) and will likely remain that way for a while, but would like to get into drag racing and just don't trust the stock rear end even at these power levels. Any help is greatly appreciated in terms of explaining the strength of the rear I would need (12 bolt vs 9 inch, true trac vs locker vs spool, spline, etc?) and also which sponsors offer the best deals!

Tommy
http://shop.brutespeed.com/Moser-M9-...y-Complete.htm
Here is a link to the Moser M9 that I sell. Since you have ABS without traction control, you can't go with the Trac-Loc, and the Truetrac is not the reliable differential that it use to be, so I wouldn't go with it. The Wavetrac differential is more expensive, but is the one I would go with for your combination. Let me know if you have any questions. Bob
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Old Jul 18, 2011 | 11:33 AM
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To help out a little here. The S-60 is a great rear end for the money and comes with Stranges own S-Trac. It is a non clutch style differential and has proven to take some abuse.

With our MWC package deal we can make anything happen for you. There isn't a differential that we can not make work with 3ch ABS either plus we have a wide range of differentials to chose from including Stranges new S-Trac for the 9".

We do not suggest a 12-bolt for the F-body. They are a great rear end but still seem to have issues with a torque arm mounted to them. Our first suggestion if you are not wanting a MWC fabricated package is the S-60. Based off price, features and fitment.

How ever we can get you into anything you may be interested in at a great price.

Now as to differentials, If you want to keep ABS I would not suggest a spool right from the beginning. Spools and ABS/TCS can play havoc with each other. Also if you are interested in more than just straight line gains a spool isn't the best either.

Axle spline is going to be dictated by what diff unit you chose as well. Most people can run 31 spl axles and never have a problem with them. Again you need to choose a good axle company to make sure of that as well.

If you are focused more on drag racing and limited street cruising I always suggest a spool. You purchase it and never have to worry about it. With a spool you will see 35 spl axles as well with the S-60 or our fabricated MWC package.

I hope this helps and if you have more questions please just ask.

Last edited by MidwestChassis; Jul 18, 2011 at 12:55 PM.
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