WaveTrac Differential |
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GranTorinoSport
Admin Group Admin of "The Org" Joined: 20-May-2003 Location: Seattle Status: Offline Points: 2287 |
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Posted: 07-January-2015 at 5:54AM |
So I did not want to clog up a thread by someone else asking an entirely different question by focusing on the WaveTrac differential he mentioned he would be using on his car.
I did a little research on it. Needing a differential myself in the future (the only thing not addressed in the drivetrain yet as part of the 521/C6 build), I have been looking at several options. Tru-Trac gets some good press, some of the locker variants also (such as PowerTrax) look pretty good. They all seem to have their pluses and minuses. The PowerTrax, while very nice, seems apt to cause problems in poor traction conditions like a turn in wet or snowy weather. While this is a Chevrolet and is a dragstrip vehicle, the article has some interesting information in it: http://www.dragzine.com/project-cars/project-maxstreet/maxstreet-nova-gets-moser-9-inch-and-wavetrac-differential/ So I did a little research on the WaveTrac. It actually looks like it will behave very well in more "pedestrian" situations like daily driving in wet weather or a drive over a snowy mountain pass (for those of you in the East, we have mountains in the West that get really high and have snow in them). They aren't cheap. Where as most differential carriers will cost you around $500 or so, these are $900-$1000 (I checked Summit pricing). |
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Scott Eklund
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Nuggets
Senior Member Joined: 07-November-2014 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 869 |
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The unit I'm looking at is a complete nodular 3rd member, at $1835 I think on Summit's page its not too bad really when the Truetrac is $1500
You may get one cheaper going through Moser though as they're the main dealer.
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Rockatansky
Senior Member Joined: 30-July-2010 Location: On The Road Status: Offline Points: 6059 |
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worm gears.. http://www.wavetrac.net/index.htm have you scratched Auburn off the list? http://aftermarket.auburngear.com/
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72 GT Ute
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Big Bird
Senior Member Joined: 25-August-2013 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 4194 |
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Powertrax can be as bad as a "LincolnLoc" in bad weather, but are usually O.K. for a fair-weather cruiser.
BTW, someone was talking about shimming the spiders on another thread, also a fair-weather idea.
Edited by Big Bird - 07-January-2015 at 11:49AM |
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"What we do in full frontal view, is more honest than your cleaned-up mind."
Randy 1979 T-Bird 2005 F-150 STX RCSB 4.6, 3.55 LSD How the Heck does a REGULAR CAB SHORTBED weigh over 5200 pounds? |
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GranTorinoSport
Admin Group Admin of "The Org" Joined: 20-May-2003 Location: Seattle Status: Offline Points: 2287 |
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My car will never see a track. It is 98% daily driver, and I'm not sure what the other 2% is, but I am sure it is something important as well.
So yea, the poor weather traction with a ton of horsepower is a compelling reason to look into a differential such as the WaveTrac. Just trying to plan out the rear axle now - like I said it is the last power train component to be addressed on the 235,000 mile car, so with a 521 behind it, renewing (or rather improving) the differential is critical before I have a failure on a long trip to Spokane or something terrible like that. Then I can start worrying about something else on the car… Like the rust-vented roof, the destroyed driver side seat, the quarter panels, the awful paint, mis-aligned body panels… The list goes on.
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Scott Eklund
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72 RS 351
Senior Member Joined: 04-September-2014 Location: Knoxville TN Status: Offline Points: 2765 |
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Is that diff, about the same as the Torsen, or a copy of it? I ask because the Gleason/Torsen was the first gear driven diff, and was under $450, but now $900+ seems the new mark. I'll need something like them also for my 9", a 31 spline is the way to go, and for 500+hp too.
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Don
73 Ranchero "Sport 72 front end", floor shift/console, planning EFI 7000+ rpm 351-4V &4R70W 73 Ranchero GT 351C-4V &4R70W for sale later. 92 Lincoln Mark VII SE GTC, OBDII 347/4R70W |
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Nuggets
Senior Member Joined: 07-November-2014 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 869 |
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This seems to be an updated version of it where you don't lose drive in zero conditions due to the wave hubs inside
Comparing this to the TrueTrac and Quaife there isn't a huge amount of difference price wise but these have a lifetime warranty and as an engineer I like the theory behind them |
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Rockatansky
Senior Member Joined: 30-July-2010 Location: On The Road Status: Offline Points: 6059 |
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is the Wavelock like a Gleason-Torsen & soft Detroit combined?
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72 GT Ute
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Nuggets
Senior Member Joined: 07-November-2014 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 869 |
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To an extent, if you look on their page they explain it. Its a case of preloaded wave shaped ramp hubs giving the drive at all times as they produce enough pressure to keep the spiders engaged
The fact it comes as standard with a 1350 yoke and a few other nice touches plus in a 4.86:1 ratio was enough for me. no other diff from Summit comes that high or low It uses worm gears inside to send even power or split it when needed so in that sense its like the Torsen and it keeps drive even under zero load conditions like a locker but this is done without a clutch pack so theres nothing to wear out |
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unlovedford
Senior Member Joined: 17-December-2010 Location: Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 10142 |
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Wow, that sounds like the ticket for all-season driving and longevity.
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Joe
1972 Mom's Squire Wagon 1972 Torino Wagon 1976 Torino 1968 Cougar XR7-First batch 1972 Torino 460 1989 BroncoII/Jeeps/Titanimous Popeye and Brutus (Rams) |
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72 RS 351
Senior Member Joined: 04-September-2014 Location: Knoxville TN Status: Offline Points: 2765 |
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I've got to service my 98 Mountaineer with the Torsen diff, I installed 104k miles ago. It's been a great unit for snow and all around street use. The higher power levels are not recommended for them though, drag racing especially.
How much power is the limit for the other types, for basic street use, not actual drag racing? The gear type diffs are very heavy, get a hold of one if you get a chance. It's a huge chunk of steel, no air gaps really. |
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Don
73 Ranchero "Sport 72 front end", floor shift/console, planning EFI 7000+ rpm 351-4V &4R70W 73 Ranchero GT 351C-4V &4R70W for sale later. 92 Lincoln Mark VII SE GTC, OBDII 347/4R70W |
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Nuggets
Senior Member Joined: 07-November-2014 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 869 |
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Apparently the limit on this one is as much as you can throw at it!
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72 RS 351
Senior Member Joined: 04-September-2014 Location: Knoxville TN Status: Offline Points: 2765 |
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It's a 9", that is worth a lot versus the 8.8's I read so much more about. |
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Don
73 Ranchero "Sport 72 front end", floor shift/console, planning EFI 7000+ rpm 351-4V &4R70W 73 Ranchero GT 351C-4V &4R70W for sale later. 92 Lincoln Mark VII SE GTC, OBDII 347/4R70W |
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