Gearhead

I am considering installing an Eaton NoSpin Differential in my 2008 GT. Has anyone any first-hand experience with this product, either installed in a Pony Car or in a truck?
Thanks.

• About the Eaton NoSpin (sometimes called the Detroit Locker):
  • Sales Page:
    • http://www.eaton.com/Eaton/ProductsS...als/PCT_225759
  • Operation Video:
    • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ1yMBR7w4Q

Background Information:
I have first-hand experience with a similar product called the TrueTrac, and it has fairly good lock-up performance on wet pavement, and powering through corners. Where the TrueTrac falls short for my use is on ice and snow. When going down an icy or snowy hill under compression, one wheel spins forward, and the other one spins backward, causing the rear-end to drift-out. Going up-hill, lock-up is not reliable, again on snow and ice. Even more than I like, I find that it is still possible to get one-wheel spins on just wet pavement, when the traction difference between the left and the right wheels is high.
My driving style is typically maximum acceleration in a straight line, and easy-going through the curves. This is because most of the year, the roads are either wet, or are actually growing mold on them (haha). I do not like the Ford Electronic Traction Control System, as it typically just shuts my fuel off on the wet pavement, when I really wish to lay down two nice tracks.
I am also considering installing the NoSpin in both the front and the rear differentials of my 1988 F350 Crew Cab. Pending comments from this forum, I intend to first install a NoSpin in the rear differential of the truck first, to see how well it works.

Gearhead

• Summary report:
  • It is more commonly labeled as the Detroit Locker.
  • It works great on a 10¼” F350 rear axle.
  • It works poorly on a 8.8” Mustang axle.
  • Photos & detailed report below...

Mustang with the stock Limited Slip


Mustang with the Detroit Locker


Mustang with the Detroit TrueTrac



Detailed report for the Detroit Locker (a.k.a. Eaton NoSpin)
Back on 6-19-2011, I asked if anyone reading these forums had tried a Locker on their Mustang, and nobody had. I had read good reports about them used on trucks, and they were used on muscle cars of the 60s. Detroit stated that they had revised the design to make it more quite, so I thought I would first install one on my truck, before proceeding to my Mustang.
Used on the 10¼” F350 rear axle, it works wonderfully! While it does click going around corners, it really isn’t audible inside the cabin. It’s lock-up performance cannot be beat, and on an older vehicle with a large ring gear and without electronic traction control, it is very satisfactory.
So, I pressed ahead with installing it in my Mustang with the 8.8” rear axle, but that is a sad story. In that installation, the Mustang has 9.3 times more driveshaft rotational play than the truck (31.7 degrees, as opposed to just 3.4 degrees). This quantifiable fact, coupled with the electronic throttle, is why the Detroit Locker doesn't work well on the Mustang. Both my truck and my Mustang have 3.55:1 axle ratios, so I am comparing apples to apples. The smaller-diameter unit for the Mustang was not scaled-down effectively. Probably owing to the smaller diameter and a minimum tooth size, it just cannot be manufactured to work on an 8.8” ring gear size.

• Because of this excessive slop, the Mustang exhibits these undesirable behaviors:
  • The cruise control surges fore and aft going down mild freeway grades, at a frequency of one cycle per second. This means it accelerates and then decelerates with a fore and an aft surge-cycle each second. Basically, the excessive “backlash”, if you will, fools the electronic throttle while in zero-load cruise control.
  • When powering through a corner, the inside wheel is driving forward. When lifting the throttle in that same corner, the drive force transfers to the outside wheel to slow you down. This comes with the customary backlash, and associated rear-wheel push to the steering. It is all very unsettling, and NOT conducive for confident spirited driving.
  • Gentle throttling and left-right maneuvers in parking lots, coupled with the electronic throttle “surging”, will make the car lurch, with some pretty nasty clacking going on from the locker itself. This lurching is violent; so hard that you instinctively slam your clutch foot to the floor.

Mustang Solution:
I just today switched to the Detroit TrueTrac in the Mustang. Coupled with the GT’s stock traction control, it is a fine solution to correct the traction problems associated with the Mustang, and I highly recommend it.

Agent MOO

I can back this up. I just put one in my mustang (DET187C-145A) and I'm having the same issues. The street handling is unacceptable if you like to do any kind of spirited driving on the street.

Gearhead

I was hoping with my post that I would stop anybody from making the same mistake. I am sorry that you wasted your money. I gave my 8.8" Detroit Locker to my installer as a "tip", and he gave me a very good rate for the new Detroit TrueTrac which he installed for me as well. If it is any consolation, the TrueTrac is less expensive than the Locker. Please let us know what you decide to do, OK? Thanks.

Agent MOO

I'm going to try the RMA route, I got it from amazon and their customer service has always been good for me. Unfortunately I found this thread too late after I had already ordered it after reading so many threads insisting that a locker is the only option if you drag race your car. I had seen a lot of polarizing opinions on the locker and figured I might be one of the ones who swore by it after I tried it out.

I decided to go with the truetrac like you originally suggested. The feedback is overwhelmingly positive, and the only failures I can find from drag racing are from folks putting down massive torque.

Gearhead

One thing that I should warn you about the TrueTrac is that it does not provide good lockup in really slimy conditions. You will be depending upon the built-in Ford Traction Control for that. But, when the roads are dry, it keeps both rear wheels hooked up well. It seems that under ice and low-traction conditions, the forces which cause lockup are not sufficient for it to keep both rear wheels churning. But, to be clear, I still really do like the TrueTrac, and I recommend it to you.

Agent MOO

Yeah I do leave TC on whenever it's wet or icy out anyways, thanks for the heads up