10 bolt with LPW Girdle & Axle Tube Brace
 

Installed with pics, didn't cost much so we will see how time will tell..

Blew my carrier up a few weeks ago, got a used one on here cheap + LPW Ultimate Girdle & Axle tube brace kit for the 10 bolt. Had to have the the drivers side brace cut since it didn't fit and requires some welding for brackets. Pics below.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...65816087_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...00775641_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...84463596_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...53123529_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...36829732_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...86461855_n.jpg

I had a choice of either spending like $2000-$2500 for a 12bolt or 9inch with posi and everything I wanted.. or spending like $300 to rebuild the 10 bolt and also slap a girdle and this brace on it. I only go to the track sometimes, not often, so I went the $300 way.. lol

Im interested in this setup, I have been contemplated this little setup.

It isn't a bad choice and I noticed no one has seemed to try it out in the past for 10 bolts. So I figured I would try it based on the low price.

I am interested in this idea as well. I saw it first here http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/tr...f-10-bolt.html, but he put in 2.73 gears for extra strength, which I am not about to do on a NA car with a 6spd. Talk about being a dog off the line.

Only time will tell how it holds up. Please keep us updated and let us know if it blows up, lol. Subscribed!

Yea 2.73's would be way to dead haha. I enjoy my 4.10s to much! I'm thinking this will be fine for street, drag radials is still another story but we will see how long it lasts

I'm also seriously considering this. I have a set of 3.73's sitting under my desk & was gonna have my rear freshened up when I do my auto swap. With the auto already being nicer to the 10-bolt than the T56, this extra support on the caps & axle tubes might just be a cost effective route for the 10-bolt as long as people dont expect to strap on a 28" slick & hammer it at the track off the transbrake, LOL

Yea by no means would I say this makes the 10 bolt drag radial ready for the strip but I would say it makes it reliable enough for street tires. Some people including me have broken the rear end on street tires before, this I think would fix most of that. It's cheap and can easily sell the parts if you do break the rear anyways lol.

I have just the LPW cover on the Trans Am, which has seen probably a dozen high 1.4 to low 1.5 60' Stock diff, Motive 3.73, and a solid pinion spacer.

I have the LPW cover and tube brace kit on my Z28, installed in 2002. Stock 3.42 rear from a 2002 TA with welded tubes. Followed the old "ultimate 10 bolt" build. Possibly hundreds of 1.6x 60' and over a decade of street abuse.

Both cars use drag radials.

IMO there is no better cover for these rears. The popular other brands don't support the rear properly.

Why did you have to cut the tubes? They make (or at least used to make) several versions of the kit, including one specifically for the 82+ F-bodies.

Mark, are your cars autos or manuals? If either are manuals, which one(s)?

Oh yea, with a 6-speed it'll pop on stock power easily. I already toasted one rear myself. Thats another reason I'm goin auto. I had a buddy that was running drag radials not slicks on a 100 shot & full bolt-ons for several years before he needed a tranny rebuild & the rear was never broke.

Auto cars are alot more forgiving on these little 10-bolts. You can actually make one live for quite a while with minor upgrades as long as its behind a auto car & your not running full slicks. Drag radials should be a problem though.

That's nice to hear, we didn't weld the tubes because it seemed like a bunch of work to drop the rear. I got the min clearance one that was supposedly for our cars. They did mention to me that I may have to cut to fit as I like though. The drivers side was cut because there was no place to put it unless it was cut.

Both are autos.

FWIW - the Z28 is in the middle of an L33 swap with a 76mm turbo. Expecting high nines in the mid 130s, and have no plans to touch the 10 bolt.

And I hate to say it, but to anyone that's broken a 10 bolt in a near stock car, street tires or not, they'e doing something VERY wrong. They're often the same people that spend $3000 on a 12 bolt or 9" and end up breaking them too.

Your auto though, so it's different for you lol. M6's break the rear MUCH easier then autos. In a near stock car or even bone stock, if you throw drag radials on and are going to try and cut 1.6 60fts with the car, most likely that 10 bolt is going to break if it's a manual car. Auto, probably wouldn't.

There should be no reason street driving should break even a 10 bolt, dead hooking at the track different story. I cant see why that brace & cover would be necessary unless you plan on doing sticky track launches.

that's definitely true, ... although in my case wheel hoping is what destroyed my rear the first time around. Honestly, i didn't find out about this LPW setup till after i installed the TA girdle. I'll be keeping an eye out to see how it holds up :)

I broke my rear shifting into 4th on the street lol. On street tires even.

No, you broke it before that, and continued driving on it anyway.

Does the brace actually add any benefit? It seems like it's a placebo.

i cant tell. did you upgrade your torque arm and panhard rod? i did when i had my 4.10s installed.