Ranger rear end, keep 8.8 or switch to 9 inch

[singlehanded]

Currently I am rebuilding my truck to be able to race 1450. My rear end is a 8.8 with 4.56 us gears and a auburn pro limited slip. I am going to truss the rear end, but am not sure if its better to switch to a 9". My friends truck, he trussed his 8.8, cut off the ends and had it straightened and got new 31 splines axels and bearings(9" stuff) and put on the explorer disks. Is that a good route to go or should I just sell my 8.8 and get a 9". I dont like the Idea of putting so much money into the 8.8. But what do you guys think??? Its got a stock 4.0 and a c-4 around stock stall right now. Once truck is finished I hope to have the motor rebuilt within a year and have around 250 hp and change my convertor.

[jeff]

Well if you've got the power to turn a 9" I'd say do it. A 9" isn't very efficient because of the low pinion entry but the additional strength of a larger ring gear and stronger housing is a nice bonus. You can also with relative ease swap 3rd members should you wipe a gear during a race. There are a ton of aftermarket parts for the 9" and it'll probably last you darn near forever. Whatever you buy for it now could be re-used on another project if you ever decided to go fullsize, the 8.8 wouldn't be up to the task. You can also truss the heck out of a 9" and run it along the back - the 8.8 requires more work because the diff cover has to be left accessible. Dump your money into the 9" once and you'll probably never have to worry about it again.

Aloha