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Anyone run a spool?

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reece13

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Most people I know run either a posi (if street driven a lot) or a Detroit locker. I don't hear of anyone running spools very often and was just curios if anyone else does and if there are any benefits over using a locker. I know the obvious, such as more tire wear and may be harder on axles, just curious if anyone has actual experience with them. they seem like a good option if its just a trail rig
 
working on a truck now with spool rear and 44" tires with stick shift.

in my opinion it SUCKS at low speed in lots . not so bad driving.

but me my self some sort of mech ratcheting AKA Detroit or other or best of both ARB air locker .

my buddy wanted to pop out the mini spool in the one we are working on now as he was told that's what it had . :haha: till we pop the cover and find full spool . :doah: both good and bad .
 
I have a spool in the rear of my K5 (4spd w/ 43's). I haven't wheeled it yet but driving around it's noticeable. For instance, when backing and turning out of the driveway if I let of the gas the truck stops like the brakes are dragging - feels jacked up until you get used to it.

My last truck had a Detroit and tire wear wasn't really a problem but I expect lots of wear on this set up. ANYTHING I do that's not straight leaves tire marks on concrete or asphalt.
 
Spooled front and rear on 36's. Its not bad and you get used to driving with them. You'll get looks going around corners cause of all the chirping.:haha: Rotate the tires often!!:doah::D

Honestly, I despised driving my K5 with the stock open 10b in the back in winter. Any amount of snow or ice on the roads and the ass end was always trying to pass up the front. Now with the spool in the back, if the ass end gets squirrely I just touch the gas and it straightens right out! I'll deal with tire wear and noisy turns for predictability and the traction!:waytogo:

Z
 
Im welded in the rear, so, same thing :D. It wasnt my first choice but at the time the money wasnt there for a detroit plus it was a gov bomb so welding it was a lot easier and cheaper then finding another carier swapping gears and bying a locker .
That being said its not too bad, for a trail only rig I would definetly go with a spool, mine sees enough street that I will end up going with a detroit in the near future.
 
I drive on the street almost everyday so im guessing a spool wouldn't be the best idea.....?? I do drive to the trails but since its summer time, any nice day we have, I take the top off and drive around town or to work or to the beach. I just don't like the idea of keeping the posi unit
 
I have told this story here somewhere.
Had a friend who had a street racer truck. Real sleeper. Rusty body, grease covered nasty looking engine.
But the grease was put on there on purpose to hide things, and he was running a minispool in his Ford 9 inch.

Not only did he blow everybody away at night, it was his DD. He went through rear tires more than normal, and you could hear him going around corners, but he drove it that way for a year or more.

Then one Saturday, he was helping a friend put a new roof on, and picked up a full bed load of roofing tar plus tarpaper and who knows what.

Making a hard left turn at about 35 in the middle of town, he had too much traction for the tires to slip, and too much momentum and horsepower to stop.

Snapped the 9 inch housing in half.

Loud noise and lots of oil and debris in the road.

Keep the rear end light, and make sure you are running full tire air on pavement, and that 14 should hold up for a while.
 
Don't do it if it is driven on the street at all.

I was spooled in the rear (welded) and it was horrible. Ate tires fast and was an overall pain in the rear. Da duh duh... see what I did there? Pain in the REAR. :)

Anyways, just save up and put a mechanical locker in. There's other good options on the market now a days besides detroits. I'm running a Grizzly in the rear and an ARB up front and I'm VERY happy with the grizzly. It locks when I want, unlocks when I want and isn't harsh or noisy like the trucks with detroits I've been in/around.
 
I welded the D80 in the rear of a higher horsepower dodge I had years ago. It sucked on the street.
 
My dd used to be welded front and rear. Ran in 4x4 one time before I swapped the front to a posi. Took 3 months before I dropped the coin for a Detroit rear. Will never go back on a mostly street driven rig.

my trail rig is welded in rear. It is fun to play with, does awesome donuts and chirps the tires on pavement but I don't have to drive it all the time and the only pavement time it normally sees if 5 miles between trails.

So basically Ill do it on a trail rig in a heart beat, cheap, easy and reliable but on something that sees a lot of street time Ill either buy a locker or leave it open.
 
I have one in my K5 as well as one in my Camaro. I want to go to a lock-rite in the K5 and I want to put a True Trak in the rear of the Monte Carlo when I get it going. The spools work great and there is no doubt both wheels will pull but it makes street use a pain.
 
My k5 has had a welded rear for years. I don't DD it, but it sees plenty of street time. I like it drive it in the summer since I don't have a top or doors. If I were to have anything inthe rear besides a selectable, it'd be a spool. I don't like ratcheting lockers in the back of leaf sprung rigs...the extra slop is annoying.

I barely notice mine being welded in the back. I do have an auto and 40s...but even with 35s it wasn't that noticeable. It chirps in parking lots, but that's about it.

I would not be so keen on it if I weren't running a 14bff though...I have no concerns of hurting that axle.

My 60 is also welded. Its better than being open but our terrain makes a difference. Being locked front and open rear is more effective around here than the opposite. Everything is steep and loose, so if I had a selectable front, it would be locked 95% of the time. There on times on the 'Con that it gets annoying though, like between the springs and Big Sluice. I have trouble weaving through the trees without doing three points.
 
I've had a welded rear 14FF in my K5 for many years now, started with 35x12.50 radials, 13x38 TSL's, and now 39.5x15.5 TSL's. Thought I would try it since it was basically free and could always swap to a Detroit or something down the road.......well after many years I still run it welded. This is a primarily off-road rig and originally was driven to the trails (usually 2-3 hour round trips on the freeway) for a few years and now gets trailered, but almost always has to run on asphalt from a parking lot to the trailhead, and sometimes between trails. I also don't hesitate to run into town with it. For a rig that mainly sees off-road I highly recommend a welded diff or spool. Think I was one of the first ones in our club to go this route and how welded or spooled in the back is fairly common.

On the other hand I wouldn't want it on a daily driver or something that saw more regular street driving (i.e. more than just driving to the trail or short jaunts into town).
 
It should also be mentioned that more than half of my personal gripe with my welded D80 was in the winter. I daily drove mine. And yes we get half a year of winter here, there were many times my assend passed my front end. I would never do it again.
 
I ran a welded in my 83 cutlass, wAsnt the worst thing in the world. It was a free upgrade over the open diff.

I'd weld it before I bought a spool, if you got the cash if throw a locker in IMO


I find my lockers on Ice are atleast predictable, always sideways :whistle::haha:
 
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