thedetroitkid

I’m at a crossroad in my 99z28 build.

it’s a street car that I’d like to use for a little drifting also.
typical Sloppified 4.8 turbo mated to a 4l80e. deka 80s e85 blah blah

Im considering upgrading my rear end while I’m getting the car together mechanically.
I need an upgraded rear end to work with upgraded rear suspension

currently the factory 7.625 ( I believe) 10 bolt sports a 2:73 ratio
All setup considered I need to do a ring /pinion change on my rear end.
in the back of my mind I’d be screwed if I ever decided to throw a set of slicks on, which
is a distant possibility. Currently has a umi tunnel brace for a 10-bolt . If I could retain that
sweet. If not oh we’ll…

to keep my setup overall drivable and still have room for some power to lay down;
What are some cost effective options short of buying a fabbed housing but
upgrading the overall strength of my rear without sacrificing drivability and suspension
effectiveness?

open to fabbing a rear but I’m not quite sure where to start ,except for hacking
tubes and welding new tubes and bracketry. the thought of
having to mess with old parts kinda sucks. So if there’s perhaps a center section I can weld
some 10-bolt tubes onto from my 94 rear end ?? Just a thought.

pdxmotorhead

Several vendors offer naked custom 9" housings built to order with various tube sizes, I believe Dutchman and Currie both use to do this.. Likely others, this is a common need on Jeeps and other off road toys.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

I do not sell any rear end housings, but I do a lot of stuff on the internals. And I do a lot of handling stuff as well. My recommendation, 8.8. Lighther than most 9's, cheaper than most 9's, suck less power that most 9's. Tons of options on differentials, and gearing too.

93Z2871805

iTrader: (5)

If you're set on a 9" I'd 100% recommend a MWC9.

If you're open to other bolt-in designs, an S60 is a little bit cheaper and are plenty stout.

However as mentioned above, if you're not needing the capacity that a 9" offers, a DIY fabricated 8.8 is a very good option in the ways of getting a 31 spline explorer trac-loc 8.8, cutting off the 10 bolt axle tubes, having tube adapters machined, weld it up, and order a set of axles.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Unsprung weight is a thing, The more unsprung weight the worse the ride and general control over things becomes, including wheelhop. None of these cars came with giant heavy axles, so none of the real normal shocks are made for that much unsprung weight. More of that means more compression damping is required to control the mass.

mikedamageinc

iTrader: (49)

My 9" conversion broke even with weight since my 10 bolt had LCA relo brackets and panhard relo which added a bunch of weight. 9 is a fabbed QP with Yukon aluminum center and 31 spline axles so light as possible. I also chopped the panhard mount since a run a watts link, and heavily modded the torque arm adapter since it's a heavy beast. I also plan to go coilovers so I will chop the spring mounts to drop a couple more pounds but will probably be made up by the CO mounts.

If I were to do it all over I'd probably do a MWC fab 9, same aluminum center and 31 splines, but MWC can do the integrated watts and torque arm for less weight and simplicity.

01CamaroSSTx

iTrader: (3)

If you really want the best for a drift car then spend the extra money and get a Heidts IRS.