z28C4maro82z

iTrader: (33)

So in summary, you will get slightly higher mph with the s60 over the 9 inch.
The 9 inch you have to modify heavily as in banging the floorboard and such to make work
The s60 is stronger
The s60 is more of a direct fit
The s60 you shorten your driveshaft by 1.675 or something along those lines. Isn't less weight and rotating mass direct with drivetrain loss (granted it's probably not much)

IMO The s60 seems to be a better bet. It's stronger, and quieter. The weight difference doesn't seem to be a huge problem. The 9 inch seems to need some modifications, andthe s60 pops right in.

Let me know if I'm wrong with any ofthat notes, but easy to install, and easy to make fit, seems the s60 is the choice for me.

Oh, and gear ratios who really swaps gear ratios 5 or 6 times anyway. Me, I know I will be buying my 410 gear and being done with it

engineermike

As I said, the floorboard mod really isn't that bad. I could have that done in the amount of time it takes you to jack the car up.

No. My post from page 2:

- Ford 9" pinion is significantly larger than a D60, closer to the size of a D80.
- Ford 9" ring gear is thicker.
- Ford 9" pinion is supported on both sides.
- Ford 9" has greater vertical pinion offset, giving it more teeth in mesh.
- Ford 9" pinion teeth are at a steeper angle, putting more teeth in mesh.
- Ford 9" has thicker teeth.
- Ford 9" is lighter than D60.
- Ford 9" main caps are larger and thicker than D60.

Again, no. The 9" was no more difficult than installing another stocker.

I doubt that 1.7" of aluminum driveshaft is even 1 lb of mass. I would actually consider this an advantage of the 9" since I didn't have to modify the driveshaft. Also, if you want to talk about rotating mass, you really should weigh the gears and carrier of the 9" and D60. I bet the D60 rotating assembly is heavier by more than 1 lb.

z28C4maro82z

iTrader: (33)

Thank you for the post, just trying to get my facts straight. I'm another torn member between the 9 inch and ther s60, all I keep hearing though is the s60 is indestructable. I know I don't want a 12 bolt, but the decision of s60 or 9 inch tears me. I don't want to make the wrong choice, but it seems to me that there is no wrong choice in this matter

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

If it were me, and I didn't want a 12-bolt (which is what I opted for), I'd go with the 9" hands down. IMO, that is the premier high HP rear for these (and most any) cars. In my situation, the 12-bolt was a better deal due to fitment and completeness (everything came assembled, sway bar brackets welded on already...a true bolt-in).

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

And I guess to expand a little more, just do some quick reading around on here about people that are having problems with their S60 and gear noise. Unless Strange steps up their quality control, I wouldn't factor that in to the equation at all.

black_z

iTrader: (4)

I went with a DLS 9".

mzoomora

iTrader: (36)

There is a couple of things to keep in mind with what you said. The Dana has a larger ring gear, so the amount of tatal surface mesh is going to be very close. The 9" has a larger pinion, but only in the lower numeric ratios. Because there are no case splits in a 9" the pinion gets considerably smaller as the ratio gets higher. The 9" pinion is supported on both sides, but the D60 has its pinion bearings further apart, that is close to a wash. The head bearing on a 9" isnt tapered so it offers no lateral support, and the other 2 bearings are to close together to give it good support from deflection(which is why the 3rd beairng is there). Also the vertical pinnoin offset and the teeth being at a steeper angle are products of eachother (because the pinion is higher the teeth have to be at a steeper angle, and vice-versa). This is also one of the things that negates the 9" rotating weight advantage, the higher pinion offset makes it less efficient.
If you are buying one already made the 9" is the clear choice and has many advantages. If you are building one yourself the D60 will be cheaper. 35 spline axles are a stock option so you can buy diff units cheaper(Dana power locks and trac locks are very strong and affordable and include the bolts and bearings usually), there is no 3rd member housing to buy, factory dana gear sets are available in many ratios and are reasonably priced and include most of the install pieces. If you were building it yourself you could build a 35 spline D60 for the price it would take to build a 31 spline lower end 9". I worked for a diff manufacturer/wholesaler for almost 10 years, so I know what the stuff costs and what is available. I am not just making stuff up for arguments sake. Most people are not going to build it themselves so the 9" is the better choice, I am just putting the info out there.

engineermike

Pic's on these pages seems to indicate differently:

http://www.sunrayengineering.com/nine.html
http://www.truehi9.com/gears2.html

The first shows side-by-side pic's of D60 and 9" in a 5.13 ratio and the 9" pinion is much larger. The second shows side-by-side pic's of the D60 and 9" in a 4.86 ratio and, again, the 9" is much larger than the D60 and about the same size as a D80.

Between-bearings is much, much stiffer than overhung in all but the most extreme cases.

Hmmm. . . I built my own 9" using a new Moser Housing, new gears, new 31 spline axles, and a new limited slip carrier for about $1600 including everything. I must admit that I'm not sure what you could do the D60 for.

Mike

mzoomora

iTrader: (36)

The 9" is still slightly larger, but you should what a 9" 3.00 or even 3.50 looks like. Even worse you should see what a 6.50 or better looks like, waay smaller than a 4.11. It is still larger, and I do see that, but also looking at those pictures also show you how close the 2 tapered pinion bearings are. The 8" is actually the original version of the 9", and is why the 9" has the improvements it does. The 8" was far less stout but very similar in construction(as were some other rears of that time, like the GM 8.4 that came in old shoeboxes). Also since the pinion housing is seperate it needs the extra bearing even more to add stability because it is not integral to the housing.
Keep in mind also that the factory 9" parts are not nearly as strong as the aftermarket stuff. Compare a factory 2.89 OD housing bearing to a 35 spline 3.25 bearing. Or even the factory pinion bearings to the daytona style bearings.
I know that a 9" can be built cheap, but once you start seeing what prices are for high quality dana parts you will see the difference. 35 spline D60 parts are very cheap in OE and include the bearings, shims etc most of the time.
An aftermarket 9" is a very good rear, I am just putting both points of view out there. If I did one it would be a 9" no doubt, but it is important to give people all the information and both points of view.

mzoomora

iTrader: (36)

The Dana 60 and 9" are the 2 furthest to the right. The 9" bearings are only about 1/2" apart(seperated only by the small crush sleeve shown). The dana 60 has one bearing all the way at the head of the pinion like the 9", the other goes by the spline past the shoulder on the gear. That is a big difference in stability. Again, the 9" does have the extra bearing, but the D60 really doesnt need it.

LorcinLs1

my S-60 was a dierct bolt in, no problems, very easy to install. the only thing i had to do was paint it. they sent everything needed to do the swap. mine came with the bracket mounts for sway bar already welded on.

LorcinLs1

what also sold me on it was that it only is suppose to have a power loss of 5%. I took the car to the track and I didn't loose anything, if anything the car is hooking better. my best right now is an 11.60 1.5-60' @114 mph on motor

MyKeySS

iTrader: (22)

Well, after 3 weeks my S60 has arrived and will be installed Monday. I will try to post feedback soon.

99zman

iTrader: (23)

keep us posted

RPOWU8

iTrader: (13)

Good Luck.


DJ

LorcinLs1

Numbers published by Evan Smith in National Dragster show that because of the reduced offset between the pinion shaft axis and the axle centerline, the Dana 60 has lower drivetrain losses than either the 12-bolt or the 9-inch:

Dana 60: 5%
GM 12-Bolt: 7%
Ford 9-inch: 10%

RPOWU8

iTrader: (13)

Just replaced my Strange 60 with a 9". I doubt that I will see any difference in 1/4 mile MPH but I will post back up when I get back to the track. My SS has over 2500 passes on it and is very consistant.

It has been my experience in the past that driveline losses are overstated by quite a bit. Put a TH400 in my mustang and lost a wopping .5 mph and never worried about breaking it again. Everyone said I'd lose XX amount due to Driveline loss but it only lost .5 mph which was due to the weight of the Th400. Replaced the 8.8 with a 9" and lost nothing in MPH.

Don't get me wrong I like the idea of using a Dana 60, just not a Strange 60. Strange doesn't seem to know why some customers are having problems and others aren't.

After my six month Strange 60 experience I've gone to a 9".


Just my .02
DJ

RPOWU8

iTrader: (13)

Just an update:
I went to the track on 12/27 with the new 9" installed. I ran the car with the 9" with more gas in the car making it heavier and it was tapping the rev limiter on both gears changes this time.

The only real change was the gear ratio, I went with the 3.89's in the 9" vs the 3.73's in the Strange 60.

Dana 60 w/3.73:
Car weight 3820lbs
30.15 Baro
Air temp 66
Best pass 11.96 @ 114.68

9" w 3.89:
Car weight 3850lbs
29.95 Baro
Air temp 63
Best pass 11.88 @ 115.39


Both Passes made at same track. For what it's worth, the 9" doesn't appear to use any more HP than the S60 that I installed.

DJ

SMOKKINU

iTrader: (4)

enough with the d60 bashing, we all know you hate it and preach 9 inch like whoa, but the truth is, you simply found a site that wanted to spout off about the D60's supposed weaknesses and highlight the 9 inches strong points....the truth is, the D60 IS stronger then the 9 inch. It uses a better designed system, and is more efficient, and is stronger....MUCH stronger.

matts22

iTrader: (2)

Not to bash you or anything, but where is your data supporting the D60 being stronger? I haven't seen one thing posted about why it would be stronger, but I've seen lists of why a 9 inch would be stronger. You can't simply say to the guy: "all your facts are stupid, the D60 is stronger" without backing it up