So based off of @Woodchuck 's recommendation, I am a few clicks away from ordering my new rear end from 8and9fordrears.com and I wanted to know everyone's opinion on Tru-Trac vs Trac-Loc. As I understand it the Trac-Loc is a friction disc style posi and the slightly more expensive Tru-Trac is a helical gear posi. I want to know which would best suit spirited street driving. I have never tracked my car and have no plans to in the near future. Its my weekend driver or occasionally go to work in it, so I don't need much. I see that the Trac-Loc is $995 and the Tru-Trac is $1300. So I just want to make sure I'm not missing something before I pull the trigger. Let me know your experiences to help me make a decision.
Tru-Trac VS Trac-Loc
OneTireFire
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So based off of @Woodchuck 's recommendation, I am a few clicks away from ordering my new rear end from 8and9fordrears.com and I wanted to know everyone's opinion on Tru-Trac vs Trac-Loc. As I understand it the Trac-Loc is a friction disc style posi and the slightly more expensive Tru-Trac is a helical gear posi. I want to know which would best suit spirited street driving. I have never tracked my car and have no plans to in the near future. Its my weekend driver or occasionally go to work in it, so I don't need much. I see that the Trac-Loc is $995 and the Tru-Trac is $1300. So I just want to make sure I'm not missing something before I pull the trigger. Let me know your experiences to help me make a decision.
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Both are great. I personally think the Ford Trac Loc is more than acceptable for street use, but if you have the money and want the Tru Trac…
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Consider how both work. The Traction-Lok differential uses clutch plates to "couple" the axles together that are "pre-loaded" to allow slippage in turns. The TrueTrac actually transfers power from the spinning axle to the opposite side, "torque-biasing" the power to the side with the most grip. Also, no clutches to worry about and no friction-modifier.
I’ve read on here that everyone with a T5 is happy with 3.55s. So I’m going with that.
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Hopefully your T5 is a 2.95 first gear unit.....
How would I be able to tell? Its a Borg-Warner out of a 93' mustang.
Edit: I googled it and it says 3.35. what ratio would be recommended for that?
In my stable: 1969 Mustang notchback, 1970 mustang notchback, 1970 sports roof.
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If you get a traction device you're going to have to change your username 
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Tag on the trans. With the common 3.35 ratio first gear your overall ratio in first gear will be 11.89 to 1. That's pretty "deep". At 5,500 rpm you'll just barely go 35 mph with a 26" tire and the shift to 2nd gear will be a 42.4% drop, meaning an instant drop to 3,168 rpm. IMHO, with a 3.35 first gear I wouldn't run a gear lower than 3.25 unless your goal is simply to do burnouts.
I bought from Alan at 8and9inchfordrears.com and found him great to work with. He worked with me to find a proper date coded housing. It worked and was nicely finished. He always responded quickly with any followup questions I had after the sale.
I got a Traction-lok just because I’m keeping that car more original and wanted something with the character of what was optioned on the car back in the day. I will be finishing build on another 67 that I’m taking more liberties with, higher hp, and will definitely put in the TrueTrac for that one. The Traction-lok will chirp the inside tire while pulling out in a turn for a while until it gets some use and the breakaway torque comes down. I believe the Ford manual says something like new the breakaway torque is 125 ft-lbs and comes down to around 50 after break in.
I got a Traction-lok just because I’m keeping that car more original and wanted something with the character of what was optioned on the car back in the day. I will be finishing build on another 67 that I’m taking more liberties with, higher hp, and will definitely put in the TrueTrac for that one. The Traction-lok will chirp the inside tire while pulling out in a turn for a while until it gets some use and the breakaway torque comes down. I believe the Ford manual says something like new the breakaway torque is 125 ft-lbs and comes down to around 50 after break in.
That would make sense! It drove pretty good with the stock 3.00 in there so I was wondering why everyone was going to 3.55s. So would 3.25s be the sweet spot while still being good on the highway?
TwoWheelPeelIf you get a traction device you're going to have to change your username
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Heck, I'd keep the existing 3.00's.. A wide-ratio TopLoader has a 2.78 first gear and the 3.00 is a good all-around gear for THAT transmission. The typical '93 5.0 with manual transmission had a 2.73 rear gear. Only the Automatic could be had with the optional 3.27 rear gear.
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I’ll give you my comments, not as a recommendation. As @Woodchuck said, what gear set in the T5? The stock 3.35 T5 was designed to offer a very good acceleration in 1st gear. 5th gear is all about maximum fuel economy over everything else. You end up with a big jump between 1-2 and 4-5. You’re left with a narrow range of axle ratios that work well with all 5 gears. Go to far off that you either have a 1st gear that’s way too low or a 5th that’s way too tall. So you end up with 4 gears out of 5 that are really useful. I’ve driven the 3.35 T5 from 2.73 to 3.40. There’s a reason Ford didn’t go any lower then an optional 3.08. They worked very well. The 3.27’s were probably my favorite and me personally I wouldn’t go lower than 3.25. I’ve driven 2nd 66’s car with 3.40’s. They were good but 1st gear was just starting to become a little too low. This would be the lowest I would go. When picking a axle ratio you really need to think about the final drive ratio in all gears not just 5th.
I have a wide ratio Toploader with 3.55’s. It’s very “lively” in 1st. Final drive is 9.87:1. To have the same final drive with a 3.35 T5, you’re looking at a 2.95 axle. So you see why Ford offered a 3.08 as it’s lowest axle. When you start to go too low on your axle you basically end up reassigning the gear to a different spot on the shift pattern. A lot of guys with the 3.35 T5 will run 4.10’s because 5th makes them very highway friendly. However they’ll typically start off in 2nd gear because 1st is way too low and it starts off just fine in 2nd. Here’s the funny thing and it’s true. As I said once you calculate final drive ratios in all the gears, the T5’s 2-5 match up pretty much exactly to my wide ratio Toploader with 2.80 gears 1-4! My driveshaft will be spinning slower, less vibration and my axle will run cooler and more efficient.
I have a wide ratio Toploader with 3.55’s. It’s very “lively” in 1st. Final drive is 9.87:1. To have the same final drive with a 3.35 T5, you’re looking at a 2.95 axle. So you see why Ford offered a 3.08 as it’s lowest axle. When you start to go too low on your axle you basically end up reassigning the gear to a different spot on the shift pattern. A lot of guys with the 3.35 T5 will run 4.10’s because 5th makes them very highway friendly. However they’ll typically start off in 2nd gear because 1st is way too low and it starts off just fine in 2nd. Here’s the funny thing and it’s true. As I said once you calculate final drive ratios in all the gears, the T5’s 2-5 match up pretty much exactly to my wide ratio Toploader with 2.80 gears 1-4! My driveshaft will be spinning slower, less vibration and my axle will run cooler and more efficient.
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The 3.08 rear gear with a manual transmission was only available from '94-98. Here's the application chart....
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