I am installing a 9" diff in my 67 and can't decide which type of 3rd member to install. Does anyone have any experience with both the Detroit lockers and the Auburn limited slips? The car will be used for a saturday night toy as well as a daily driver in good weather.

If you plan to drive the car on the street as you mentioned, I would highly advise going w/ a Limited Slip. With teh locker diffs the rear axles are "locked" together at all times. This can make for some scarry cornering. With a limited slip diff, the rear axles are locked together until they are broken loose on while cornering or turning. Much safer on the street.


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Bryan Shook
Burgettstown, Pa

Thanks for the reply Bryan,
The Detroit lockers made by Tractech will disengage while cornering, but they (tractech) said the units can be noisy. The people at Auburn Gear mentioned there are other problems but wouldn't elaborate. Have you had any experience with either types?

I don't have experiance w/ either company or locker diffs. I do however have a stock limited slip diff in my El Camino, it works fine, its not noisy and I haven't had any probs yet with it. However I don't race the car. I've talked to people w/ the Auburn units, they all like them. I would go w/ the Auburn unit. http://www.camaros.net/forum/smile.gif

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Bryan Shook
Burgettstown, Pa

Lockers in my opinion are good for off road, traction on dirt surfaces. I have one in my 71 Bronco and it is great off road, ultimate traction. Its street manners are another story. Three negatives for street use. It is noisey and sometimes after a turn under acceleration the locker engages with a bang! The first time I heard and felt this I thought I broke an axle. My 4-wheel pals said not to worry that is how a locker behaves. Also, there is "slop" in the locker where the drive shaft can rotate about 1/16th of a turn freely. It is not so bad with a manual tranny but friends with autos say the slop becomes a problem, especially when put into gear. More banging. And lastly, the locker disengages the outer wheel in a turn so that the inside tire gets the torque. This pushes the car to the outside of the turn.
I understand that Tru-Trac makes a worm gear limited slip that the road racers love and is quite strong. I would recommend going this route is you are building a third member for the street.

Joseph

100% with Joseph on this one. I have lockers front anfd rear in my truck and experience everything Joseph does. Also letting off the gas or getting on it seems to make the truck sway for a second due to both wheels being locked. Slightly more dangerous on wet roads, especially ones with that rubber crack sealer. My car has a Moroso Brute Strength differential and doesn't really experience those symptoms. The lockers don't bother me at all but I could definatley see why some people may not like them

First...I'm sorry 4 my english, I'll try to do my best I'm swiss:thumbsup:

theory, is not bad, but experience is better.

i have in my modified iroc-z for the 3rd time a auburn package, which is frustrating. The clutches in the gear package wear out and the springs become weak because of doing burnouts, drifting, normal curves and corner driving. fact...no limited slip anymore. I play a lot with my iroc and use it daily.
The fact about the detroit lockers is it takes a tiny bit until they lock. This is a little dangerous on wet ground, unless you know your vehicle very good, cuz the vehicle can "lock off" from the ground.

I pulled the 3rd auburn apart, degreased the gears and weld it back on the diff-pakage.(very care full welding)! Now the car has 110 percent traction (even in snow conditions), no more diff-jobs and drifting is amazing.:yes:
Negative points....parking is more difficult, and now makes squeaking noises in a parking garage because both wheels have the same rotation speed,and i need to change the tires more often.
all in all, I'm very happy with this solution,got this trick from a old drag racer :beers:

I hate both of those for street cars. A Locker is so tight I would just assume have a spool if I neded that tight a diff. And not the worlds biggest Auburn fan.

We sell a ton of Tru Tracks and have terrific results. they drive on the street perfect and the posi is there when you need it

I have run lockers on the street in several cars. I also have lockers in both of my current builds. Personally I love them and my cars are street cars. Lockers are bullet proof and perform excellent at the track.

I would not run one unless needed though, for a milder car or a true daily driver a locker would probably get old. They do make noise.

I have a Lock Right in my truck. I've put about 140,000 miles on it in the past 13 years. It drives just fine, but does pop and jerk a little sometimes. It's no big deal to me. I had a Detroit Locker in my '69 Camaro for many years and it was the same way. I swapped it for a Duragrip this summer and it works great too. The Duragrip has clutch plates, not cones like the Auburn. If the Duragrip wears out you can replace the clutches and use it again. I wouldn't put an Auburn in anything. They are not worth the trouble of installing them. I have been building rear ends for over 29 years and I've seen a lot of Auburns that were worn out in 9 months or less. They fill the rear end with powdered metal as they wear, which gets into the bearings and ruins them.

I agree absolutely.......but a interesting product of auburn is the ECTED system. has anybody experience with it ??

I love the Tru-Trac. Great in the snow...if you go there. The Detroit Locker is nice for off road and some use it on but it's VERY noisy. It makes a BANG, CLUNK sound that will bounce around the inside of your car until you want to rip the thing out. No your exhaust wont cover the bang, clunk. :)

Weird. My Detroit Locker has never made noises... I love it! Yes, you have to be a good/knowledgeable driver when doing twisties. Can't stab the throttle. But that's not really what posi is for, IMHO. Though, I have wide tires, traction bars (similar to CalTracs), and a very stiff suspension. Maybe that's the difference?