23 replies to this topic

[Bigfella237]

Strength-wise all banjos are pretty much the same (pissweak), the fine spline axles are marginally stronger than the course spline but neither version would be as strong as a BW, and none of the above would come close to a nine inch.

 

Believe it or not, adding an LSD centre and/or changing to a higher ratio gearset will make matters worse.

 

At the moment you'll just spin one wheel and the pressure is released. An LSD means more traction and a higher ratio means more torque applied to all the components. In effect, you're making it harder to spin the wheels and so placing more load on the entire driveline (gearbox included).

 

If you're not breaking diffs now (in other words, driving it in grandpa mode) and just want it to cruise on the open road a bit easier, I would suggest just looking around for a 3.08 centre to suit the axles you have and bolting it in. (Remember that you'll need to correct the speedo gears too.)

 

If you actually plan on doing skids then have a diff conversion made to suit the brakes you have now.

 

Which one you go for depends on your driving style and how much abuse you plan on giving it. If you're gonna be doing quarter-mile runs on sticky tyres then I'd suggest a nine inch, it won't cost that much extra anyway.

[ozyozyozy]

Going trutrac in a bango only fixes one of the weak links.
If your not racing but want a decent diff to handle more power or future power, bw would be the way.
Final drive are great to deal with, have used them for about 20 years.

[Lima31]

I would strike out #2 as an option. The best way to update it would be to get an entire replacement rear end made up and switch it out. Sell off the existing rear end or switch it back if you go to sell it.

You also have the option #0 to leave as is, the driving you describe with an open diff is not that risky unless you plan on doing country drives or trips in the wet.

Another option might be to increase rear tyre diameter, if you're only chasing a 10% engine speed reduction.

[RallyRed]

2 cents...

NSW.

I was part of the original Tru trac bulk buy that Grant set up.

Purchased the Tru trac centre and got some fine spline billet axles made up. Got a diff place to set up the centre with my ex banjo LSD gears.

( the banjo lsd was hopeless, and a set of replacement Chinese parts for it were even worse).

The car is a track car.

Summary of Tru trac from my experience - no noises, acts like a very good lsd, great in a straight line, no good if you lift a wheel( turns into an open legger). Sold it to a local guy who has used it in 1/4 mile drags and things in his XU1 clone with webbers etc. He is happy with it.

 

As you say mate, for a cruiser with the occasional bit of fun, probably ok.

Up to you and how much you want to spend

 

I went to a Detroit locker...excellent, but noisy and harsh for a road application.

Edited by RallyRed, 07 January 2021 - 07:17 AM.

[rexy]

Just put a nine inch in it like thousands of other Torana owners have when they got sick of breaking banjos. I certainly did.

Dead simple for you to install at home.

[gtrboyy]

I broke so many bango diffs in gtr & other torries doing b/w conversion & rear disc upgrade was worth the hassle of not ending up on tilt tray.

 

Must say if got something high-powered that will cop abuse I'm sold on 9" ever since got tubbed sle...they'll handle majority of street cars/drag use without breaking a sweat.

[Bigfella237]

To me, the best thing about a nine inch is that once you have the converted housing, everything else can be easily tailored and/or upgraded to suit your needs.

 

There are hundreds of options out there, every bloke and his dog makes parts for a nine inch, and it's dead easy to build one these days that doesn't have any f-word parts at all, so you can't really even call it a "ford nine inch" any more.

 

There's heaps of different gearsets (ratios), centres (lockers, lsd, etc.), spline-count axles, etc., and they're all interchangeable without shelling out for a new housing and changing brakes every time. Unfortunately you can't say the same for the Borg Warner option.

[claysummers]

Light weight alloy carrier would be the go in 9” I suppose? Are they strong, affordable enough?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[yel327]

If you have a very tight budget can also buy a real cheap ProComp version that would probably be good for a lower torque engine like a Holden 6 or 308.

[yel327]

From what I’ve been told you don’t want an alloy carrier for an everyday street car. Fine for limited use.

Here is the cheaper examples I was talking about. About half the price of a Currie, Strange etc unit. Not sure exactly where the bits come from, but for the price I can guess. Should be fine for anything a 202, 253 or 308 can throw at it.

https://www.ebay.com...JAAAOSw8d5fwa44

You can get axles made relatively cheaply, if you can get this unit in 28 spline you can use 1-tonner axles in an LC-LJ if you shorten them. Would probably work for early Holden too, and you’d get the benefit of HQ stud pattern as well.

[lakeside]

Light weight alloy carrier would be the go in 9” I suppose? Are they strong, affordable enough?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

with an aluminium carrier the 9 inch wouldn’t be much heavier than a banjo

[gtrboyy]

I've got some heavy duty f100 carrier in sle...diff bloke gave me dirty look when said I'd like aluminium carrier/centre to take more weight out of sle.

 

Damn thing needs different gears & tru-trac so may as well build another complete centre lol

 

Actually like b/w conversion just that they're no longer cheap conversion especially now that nobody is producing new gears & eventually I'd break one...next would be crewman diff but almost similar in cost to 9" conversion now.

[Bigfella237]

From what I’ve been told you don’t want an alloy carrier for an everyday street car. Fine for limited use. ~

You've piqued my interest, why is an alloy carrier no good for the street?

[yel327]

Just what I was told when asking about a centre for my HK. Mine needs to be able to be used regularly. Advice was to use a Strange S series lightweight cast carrier, good enough for up to 500hp or so. You’d need to talk to a diff builder to get the exact reasons why the alloy carrier is best left for cars that aren’t high km cars. Something to do with gear longevity I think. Strange have some info:
https://www.strangee...h-third-member/

To be honest it may have been the lightweight alloy carrier that I was warned off, and the other two versions get pretty pricey. Some more info here:

https://www.dragzine...ny-application/

[DanWA]

My car is engineered with a Final Drive BW Diff. R31 Housing with an E Series Falcon LSD. It was $700 to remove mounts and fit a McDonald Bros locating kit and another $450 for the tailshaft.

 

With the availability and choice of many different ratios/centres brand new and used it was a no-brainer for me.

 

If you're dead set on the Trutrac you should check with an engineer if they are legal in W.A, especially for insurance reasons

[DanWA]

Cheers guys lots of info. Dan how long ago did you do the BW conversion mate?
Did anything get impacted by fitting the BW as in like i dont want to find my 2.5" dual system doesnt fit with this BW diff etc.
Apparently the bloke that used to own Final Drive , Phil, is the guy to see he works from home...heard a few concerning stories about the new owners..

Yeah my housing was done by Phil some years ago

 

I have twin 2.5" over the diff

 

Edited by DanWA, 10 January 2021 - 01:15 PM.

[neglectedtorana]

Hi Jason,

 

I thought when I built my car it was just to be a cruiser however I did use strong components including a 9 inch. It has now been down the 1/4 mile about 10 times in the past 3 months and once I get my launches under control I might be looking for extra HP or traction mods as it is fun. I also had a quick spin round a Motorkhana course and I didn't even know what Motorkhana was before I got there, it is more fun!

 

The idea of not taking your car down the 1/4 mile could fade once you get it on the road and enjoy it, put strong parts in it now and don't be worried about breaking stuff.

 

Cheers, Tom

[Ice]

Mate of mine has a LH with a stroker engines and he went with True Trac no problems so far afaik