I should have done it three weeks ago, but it’s done now and I feel so much better. I feel the need to explain this every time because I never know when I’ll get someone dropping in here completely new, or who reads so infrequently that they never see a post about my pedicures and why I get them, but basically I’ve been getting pedicures ever since I discovered I can’t fold up enough to reach the pinky toe and the piggy that didn’t have any roast beef. My injuries from the wreck and other injuries since then have accumulated to the point that putting my shoes and socks on is a struggle. I don’t like to keep harping on the same subject especially about how I can’t do stuff anymore, it feels like wallowing in self-pity. But I also feel like I need to justify why I’m doing something so self-indulgent as a pedicure instead of just cutting my own toenails. The two are contradictory feelings, but this time my need to explain things won out over my feelings of self-pity over not being able to manage basic grooming on my own.
I have been looking at rear axle assemblies, and the cost difference between the Ford 9″ and a basic quick change, both having floating hubs is actually a very small amount. The part that makes either one really expensive is the fact that I need a differential for street driving, and it has to be limited slip for autocross. If I could get by with a spool I could spend between $300 and $400 less depending on the brand and assembly. I could also cut a lot of unsprung weight if I used an aluminum spool in place of a steel differential. Seriously an aluminum spool weighs about 3 pounds, a limited slip about 15-25 depending on case material. For unsprung weight, that’s a ton, well, a lot but not literally 1000 Kg. That difference is pretty much the same for both types of axles.
I should explain also what “floating hubs” are. It’s not that if I drop them in water they don’t sink, it means the drive axles don’t support the weight on the rear axle housing meaning they can be lighter and less likely to break. The hubs run on bearing races on the housing tubes, that shave a tiny bit of weight off the total assembly. But what is really important is the floating hub housing is lighter and stronger than the semi-floating housing that is most common because it’s cheaper.
Anywho, the Ford 9″ housing with floating hubs is about $900±, the good street centersection is about $1100 for an assembled cost of roughly $2K. A quick change with a limited slip and floating hubs is $2300±, in the overall scheme of things that’s not a very big difference between “good enough” and “perfect”. So, which would you get, “good enough” or “perfect” when the difference is $300 on top of $2K?
Witch on a Bicycle 