OE 9" center sections are not adequate for any decent power level or abuse. And stock housings are kind of flimsy as well.

Gear ratio options, aftermarket support and development, ease of maintenance, all steel housing, strength with proper prep, all favor the 9.

If I were doing a Mopar for a reasonably close to stock chassis, leaf spring, street/strip deal, where the ratio doesn't need to be dialed in exactly right and where I didn't want to spend 5K, I would use a 60.

Race car, tube chassis or back halfed, narrow 4 link, busy and/or fabricated housing with lots of stuff on it, need to be kept light, need to dial the ratio in, 9" all day long.

Somewhere in between? Depends.

It's not so much one is better than the other, but depending on the intended application, one or the other will probably be a better choice.

This is a B S question because there is "always more to it". Sounds like you want a Dana, put a Dana in it.

You could always upgrade to a Dana 70, housing is the same size as a 60 and you get a 10.5" ring gear and you can get gears from 3.55 to into the 7.17 gear ratio...stolen from Jantz engineering

Your Ring & Pinion is 33% stronger with no loss of ground clearance.

Dana rates the 60 @ 6000 Ft-lbs maximum momentary output torque. 35 spl HD.

Dana rates the 70 @ 8000 Ft-lbs maximum momentary output torque. Non HD.

That's a 2000 ft-lb increase in capacity.

Here's another way of looking at it.....

Back in the day, Ford half-tons used 9" rears. Back in the day, Ford 3/4 tons used Dana 60s.

R.

Years ago 12 bolt chevies were popular in stock and super stock. Not sure what they prefer now.

this is what makes MOPARTS.....LMAO

Who really cares, they both strong, they both have their place....

Personally, id never put a DANA, its a dump truck rear...LMFAO !

Flame on !!!

Isn’t the 9/12 the one to use now? 9” housing with a 12 bolt chevy ring and pinion.

12 bolt for 9”...

IIRC the 12 bolt was the most efficient of the popular rear ends.

Stockers have to use a corporate rear, so for GM cars it's a 12 Bolt for them. Some still use the 8.5. Mopars will use a 8.75 or a 60.

Super Stock can use whatever. I don't know of anyone who's used a 60 in an AH car for many years. The 12 Bolt center section is typically a lightweight car or a Comp deal where the last ounce of efficiency matters and frequent maintenance is part of the drill.

Also isn’t the Ford 8.8 stronger than a 9”

One thing to consider is the chassis it's going in. A 9" will allow you a narrower chassis in a tube car for more tire clearance than the 60 will.

I had to check - out of curiosity. A 70 is 60lb. heavier than a 60.

The housing of a 70 is 60lbs heavier or the entire assembly? I would think its the entire assembly and mostly concentrated in the brakes.

Passenger car D 60s have thinner wall tubing than Ford truck D 60s. Floater style Dana axles have very thick wall tubes. All 70s are floaters, so the tubing is very thick. It doesn’t seem to far fetched that a 70 could be 60lbs heavier without axle ends/ brakes.

Since some think 6000 ft lb strength is not enough, and a dana 70 is too heavy, it is, you can put a dana 70 ring and pinion in a 60 housing. Stronger than a 60 and lighter than a 70. Jantz engineering shows you how.

Does anybody know the weight difference between a S-60 and 9" with an aluminum center section?
Every thing else being the same ie axles (35 spline axles) spool, axle tubes, axle ends.

Comparing images, it looks like a lot of it is in the center section of the housing. Can't see a 70 as a good option for a race car.

Me thinks the 40 spline axles gun drill lightweight option are a better choice for both rear ends

this is what I was told as well . And I can tell you first-hand a 40 spline with a big gun drill. Was lighter than my 31-spline that wasn't drilled