Thread: 8" Ford rear end R&P questions

Tweet

Originally Posted by Irelands child

With a 350/350? In a 2500 pound car? No way is any type of locking/posi diff necessary or even desired unless the car is driven in snow or torrential rain. Anything but an open final drive will exacerbate bump steer and potentially lead to serious consequences if an axle were to break and this is an 8" he is talking about. While the 8" R&P itself is very strong, the axle shafts are less than great unless they are aftermarket, i.e. Currie

Well, I've run posi's in a lot lighter cars without problems!!! A spool will do exactly as you said, but a posi unit in a 2500 pound car will work just fine, done it a few times.

I totally agree Dave.

A 350/350 under 500 hp ain't going to break any axles either. Tell me the axle diameter and I'll give you the torque required to yield (twist) them and fracture them. If you rev'ed her way up and dumped it something in the tranny or rear end will let go but not the axles in my experience. Axles are a lot stronger than differential gear teeth for example.

I have heard others say that Posi's don't work with light cars but yet it is an undeniable fact that it is done all the time and meanwhile the claim remains IMO totally unfounded. Is there a technical paper or article on the subject somewhere?

Regards, Kitz

Thanks Dave for the list of codes for the axle ratios, very helpful.

I would be happy to find a 3.50 or lower gear ratio used center section at a Pick-a-Part. Even without a limited slip it would work until I could afford to step up to a new unit "with a posi". Sorry, but it's going to have some kind of a limited slip rear end in it. It's too embarrasing to do a "one legged" burn out when I'm showing off, LOL.

I have no reservations about using a locker or posi on the street. We drag race a 1600# car with 260 N/A horsepower and then run a 70 horse shot of Nitrous. We have a spool in the car and have broken our share of parts including custom axles without any serious probems.