who welded up their spider gears and wants to tell me about

[fl327]

hey i love the heck out of my z, but i have two problems with it, my interior(or lack thereof) and the one taht i really cant stand

one legger in the turns! ill hit a right turn and the inside tire spins, which is pretty dang fun in itself, but i want posi!!!

i really dont want to buy a torsen or quaife because they cost grips, and the 3.70 lsd is too low for my four speed self. i know that you can weld up the spider gears, and i want to know if its good or bad or whatever, i want two legger turns dangit!!!!!!!

[Guest Night_rider_383]

Man if it was me i would stay as far away from welding up the rear as you can. Yes this use to be an old hot rodders trick back in the day but i can tell you from doing it in the past your only looking for trouble. Its ok if this is a drag car only trailered to the track and back. When you weld up the rear you cant made turns at any speed over 15 mph safe or youll brake the axles and/or gears, housing etc. I done this when i 1st got into rodder on a 63 chevy II for a fast posi, two weeks later i broke an axle turnig around and going out my drive. Other rodders i talked to after that told me that when you weld up the rear never make any shap turn and if you got to do something like a u to get out dont find another way and back out. So in my eyes a full spool is better on the streets than a welded rear and you heard how bad they are for street driving. I say bite the bullet and do it right it will save you money and alot of trouble in the long run.

[fl327]

sound advice to me, think ill stay one legged

for a while, its not worth it to break an axle over something like that, man i want posi.....

[johnc]

I've driven on the street, autocrossed, and done some track time with a welded up R180. For the street its a real pain and not worth the trouble. For autocross the car's suspension has to be setup for it and your driving style has to be changed to work with (not against) the understeer created by welding up the spiders. For track, its not that big a deal, although some suspension and driving style changes are necessary.

 

So, if you need the traction for competition purposes and your willing to adjust the car and your driving, then its a good and cheap route to take. For street use, its a waste of time, tires, and your patience.

[Scottie-GNZ]

I currently have a welded rear and although I would not recommend it to everyone, it will do in a pinch if you are a drag racer. I recently snapped a CV but I cannot say I would attribute it to the welded rear but probably more to a used part under the stress of 510+ lb/ft of torque being lauched with sticky tires on a transbrake. I think that is asking too much of a 20-year CV designed to support an engine with 200 lb/ft torque. I also would not say you cannot make turns over 15mph. What I have experienced is the inside tire dragging on VERY SLOW sharp turns and difficulty pushing the car if the wheel is not perfectly straight. Under normal driving conditions, I do not notice anything unusual.

 

This is not to disagree with N_R_383, but my experience is with the Nissan IRS and CVs and is probably different from what he experienced with a solid axle. I would be willing to bet that John Coffey had the same experiences I do.

 

Having said all of that, not recommended for a daily driver but if you are a frequent drag racer with a peg-leg, it serves the purposes if you understand and accept the negatives.

[Guest Anonymous]

I had mine welded. It is not good for turning around at gas pumps. It does push in tight turns. Somtimes have to throttle steer. OK at the track. I busted most of my U joints with the peg leg when one tire quit spinning and sent all the power to the other. This also destroyed a rear end.

Have not YET broken the welded unit. I was done out of nessity until I can do better.