My brand new cone sure-grip lasted all of a year with drag radials.

I broke my first cone type sure grip, I put in a spool and never looked back. I did have a dana with a sure grip and it lived..but everything else got a spool .
It's really not that bad on the street. I even daily drove a jeep with a spool and 35" tires for about a year. Other than pulling in to parking spaces it wasn't an issue at all.

Maybe the key is brand new vs OEM, and I would certainly agree that a clutch type is better, but I've had this one in my car for about 5 years, and I've blown up the ring and pinion/popped the main caps, but the carrier has been fine. And it takes well over 100 ft lbs to make it slip, or at least it did when I put it together. It was worn out when I got it dirt cheap and I milled the cones .030 and put a .030 shim behind them. In fact the carrier is all beat up from the pinion gear when the original crush sleeve failed and the pinion nut backed off. It paints even stripes in 1st and even into 2nd, and 3rd gear with the 4 speed with a little gap in between for each shift.

Maybe it would have failed if I actually brought it to the track with it instead of bench racing it, the car doesn't hook well on the street in 1st or 2nd, even with slicks, so maybe that is a contributor too. But I see these things take a beating on this forum all the time. My limited experience is that they don't seem nearly as bad as they can be made out to be.

Certainly a cheap cone is better than an open rear. And I have ground the cones down so that they can engage on cheap swap meet units that were worn out. I know that you are supposed to shim them back out, but I never have.

If you are satisfied with your cone, 'good for you.' But I have ran both and there is no doubt that the cone cannot hold what the clutch can hold. And there are times when that may matter. That's all there is to that when you are racing.

And even though I like the clutch type, if I don't go with a spool, I will probably spend the extra coin to get a Trutrac or Suretrac rather than the clutch just because they look a little stouter than even the clutch.

To me, the advantage of the Torsen units is that they are non wearing. No clutches (or cones) to wear out. If one was to put a lot of use on a diff, that’s pretty cool.

Here's some industry info that may help you with your decision. The helical unit your looking at is being manufactured by one company. Though I never agreed with the practice of saturating the market and making it confusing for the consumer, the bare unit is sold to many 're-distributors' for them to re-box and label as they wish. When the source of the unit is 'dry', those distributors are the only ones that will have remaining stock until the entire market gets a new shipment from the source. The unit in question was designed and is being manufactured by Powertrax. Here's a link to the product...

https://www.powertrax.com/traction-systems-product/366744-limited-slip-differential-gt308730/?crt_viaSearch=partkeyword%3AGT308730

We currently have (1) unit left in stock. PM for price.

I run a Detroit Locker. Been in my car about 10 years now and still working fine. I thought bout a spool but my car is mostly a street car and I don't like the spool taking tight turns. If I only drove on the street rarely I would have gone with a spool but I have better street manners IMO with the Locker and it works good at the track. And you don't want to have to push a car with a spool and have to turn it as that's a workout. Ron

I ran a spool in a 8 3/4 in my 65 Cuda. I was not my daily driver. But I drove it to work one day and it rained real bad. If I even turned the steering wheel a bit, the road crown was making my car's rear slide down the crown. This was only in the smaller city streets around Juantia in Kirkland WA. Once on the wider streets or freeway it was fine.

I lived just off Juanita Drive, up 80th ave (think 1 mile up Juanita Drive from Spuds) from 1992-2017. sublime 70 Cuda.

If you ever seen a Bucket Truck parked in the gravel here, it may have been me. Spuds... Very good fish & chips. But out of my price range.

Thank you!

Now, let's see how good that 2 year warranty is.

Holy crap! Yea I remember a bucket truck there! I lived two blocks up that street. Drove right passed there Many thousands of times over 25 years. I know that oddball intersection very well.

Juanita guys,
For about two years I worked at Travis Industries just off 405 and 124th, Totem Lake. I liked that area.
Travis has moved, so have I.

Here is the real industry info on the "PowerTrax" unit you are talking about.

At SEMA 2014, I approached the supplier to produce an 8.75" Mopar variant based on their Ford 9" helical gear differential.

After receiving the prototype in July 2015 and making a few revisions, I contracted them to supply me the unit.

When my production run arrived in April 2018, the supplier sold me 300 of the 350 pieces I ordered. The remaining 50 were distributed to several re-sellers under the PowerTrax name. None are currently in stock from the supplier.

I ordered another run in October 2018. I made a few changes so my unit will not be confused with the other version now being sold. I'm still waiting for my new order to be completed.

Thanks Doc, any chance you would provide your own insight /opinions on this powertrax unit vs the traditional power lock?

The helical gear sure-grip does not require any friction modifier, as it does not contain clutch plates that must "slip". In other words, there is no chance of clutch chatter around corners.

The only disadvantage is the unit turns into a 1 wheel peeler when driven on snow and ice. The design requires traction to engage both wheels. It operates completely smooth and quiet. It is very strong and If you don't break it, the unit will supposedly never wear out. Of course, it can not be rebuilt and it costs more than a clutch sure-grip.

Why don't you rebuild what you have. The good doc has all the parts including the one piece spider gears. I didn't read all of the posts so I don't know if it was mentioned before. It lasted 54 years already, so it would probably last another 54. the powerlock is a great unit, that is not normally the weak link...

My two cents

Jeff

The cross shafts were broken likely due to one axle being a bit too long. Bought new shafts from the good Doctor. Then realized that there were cracks in the spiders. Thought about replacing them. Then noticed the crack in the housing. Probably could have it welded, but decided enough is enough.

If someone is interested in it, contact me. Believe it or not, it still functioned and was not the reason I pulled the rear apart. I pulled it apart due to the gear noise going down the hiway. I only pulled the Sure Grip apart for routine inspection while I was in there. Didn't expect to replace everything except the case. But, for 54 years (it's stamped 1966) it has served well despite a ton of 1.5 60' hits and I just thought I would move on.

I certainly hope this new unit is a good one. It has a 2 year warranty, but with none in the pipe line, I don't know what good that warranty would be.

Contact Mike @ DTS in Ionia Mi. they can help with all your needs (616) 527-0722