Changeing reaer end gears, Is LS worth the extra dollars

[ROUSHAC]

Bear with me for a moment here. I also apologize for the length.

I have had extensive experience with offroading Jeeps and have used open diffs, limited slips, Detroit automatic lockers, and ARB air lockers. Driving on the street taking turns, it is very easy to chirp or even spin the tires even on dry pavement even with a just modest amount of extra gas with limited slips and especially lockers. If it's wet out on the street, you may suddenly find yourself looking at where you just came from repeatedly if you give it too much gas in a turn with some type of locker. The ARB's are great because you can go from a full locker to open diffs with the flip of a switch. However, it is good tires that make the real difference even on the trails. I've seen people with the right tires for the conditions and open diffs go places you would not believe. Neither could the guys with the lockers and the wrong tires who couldn't clear the same obstacle.

That said, most of us drive our Cobras only in good weather most of the time. I have an open diff and Nitto Drag Radials in the rear and leave two tracks on dry pavement if i get vigourous with the loud pedal. I suspect that other sticky tires like the new Goodyears would do as well. They do not really like wet roads, so I slow down accordingly when it's wet out.

Poor dry traction tires probably will break one tire free with an open diff even on dry pavement. A limited slip will help, but good tires are the real secret to traction. That's why they use wet and dry compounds on race tires depending on conditions. As Mr. T used to say "Pity the Fool" who chooses the wrong tire on race day.

Also, the skill and experience of the driver make more difference than any other factor (even tires) on road or off.

Everything in life is a compromise. If you want to do burnouts, only do them on dry pavement with good dry tires. If you want to drive fast when traction is not great, get good rain tires. The dry tires suck in the wet, and the wet tires suck in the dry. As to open or limited slips on the street, I do not think they make that much difference if you are using the appropriate tire for the conditions, but the open diff is less likely to cause problems for most drivers.

As to racing, I defer to Excaliber's opinion about lockers especially with experienced drivers. I suspect that the RIGHT tires will make a lot of difference even in those conditions. Considering that most of those who race their Cobras still drive them on the streets, YOU have to decide what YOU want to do and get the approriate equipment to do that particular job well.

Good luck!

Cheers!
Dave