Lets talk Rears

[hj16]

Since Im in the middle of deciding/purchasing my new Rear components soon, I thought this would be a good topic. Lets do a little general discussion followed by what combo you'll be running/are running.

For some crazy reason, even though I like the ride of a Solid, I want to stay with the IRS. Ill take the weight punishment for the better cornering, and to be able to shove it in Solid axle guys faces when I beat them. (No offense Dan) But the allure of the Solid is still there. Bulletproof rear that can handle anything and still have a good ride is pretty tempting.

But, even so, Im sticking with the IRS. I just need to decide on how built I want to go. Im leaning towards the DSS Level 2 kit, but the beefiness of the Level 5 kit has me thinking. Should I throw down the extra $600 for added peace of mind? I wont be doing crazy launches at the track, I just dont want the rear to break when 600+rwtq starts punishig it. If anyone wants to read up on these, go here ---> http://www.modularfords.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10264

Uh, so whats everybodys opinion???

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[Nichepi]

Having been on both ends of the spectrum I have found for MY PURPOSES that I am leaning more towards going back to a IRS setup as well.
The solids axle as been great, and the weight reduction was really nice. But I'm feeling that their is more corning ability from the IRS then this built 8.8.
I've been working with Kenny Brown for a long time and find that his company currently has the most advanced IRS program in the aftermarket.
I feel since autocross is the market were doing stuff and want to race in that were not looking to be pushing 600+ horsepower and so the newer irs setups are more then capable of handling the power needed. Also since your not dropping the hammer at 7K I think the probability of shattering a half shaft is statistically much lower then say many owners whom want to drag race.
The solid axle seemed like the best solution back in 99-01 when the irs still needed a great deal of development done to it. But now since the aftermarket and ford has gotten more serious on the product I feel going with the IRS is the best solution now for this race segment.

 

[Dana]

You beef up the axles/half shafts and the next weakest thing is going to break. That will probably be the housing. If Mark's diff brace helps, and I think it will, then all you have to worry about is the soft aluminum case splitting open or tearing out the side gears or the front ears off.
Sorry Hank, but the IRS is just not made for drag racing. I'll give you the horsepower edge and still beat you with the solid. Although at the moment,you don't have that either... :burnout:

I never owned a car with an IRS, so giving it up was not a big loss for me. And since I only drag race, I won't miss it either. I don't plan on doing corners.

The guys that do the corners AND drag race are the ones that will have the difficult decisions to make. Mine was easy.

BTW, how do you plan on eliminating wheel hop? I would imagine if the level 2 shafts don't break or cause anything else to break, you could launch hard enough to avoid it, with decent slicks.

Dana

 

[hj16]

Time will tell Dan, only time will tell :burnout:

And yes, I plan on running some stickys to eliminate wheel hop