J_ho67

So I've been looking around on some other car forums just for fun and I spent a little time on an LS1 forum and I noticed how differently things are done with those as compared to our stangs. One of the big differences is how alot, I mean ALOT of people on LS1 forums complain about the strength of their rear-end and I see alot of people suggest to others that it be swapped for a better model. It just kind of dawned on me that I hardly ever see people on our forum complain about their rear-ends. Did ford make a good stock rearend for our cars even for modified cars or did GM just slip up and make a poor one? Which brings another question. How much power can our rearends handle? Are there any recommended aftermarket rearends for the stangs? Sorry about the long post, I just never see topics about anything dealing with the rearend except for gears. I'm not as educated on rearends as I would like to be, so any info WHATSOEVER would be great! Thanks a million. p.s. Code, I saw you magazine feature, car looks GREAT! Congrats

ShadowDrake

The Ford 8.8" rear is not too weak... it's not the strongest either, but it's not bad. The Mustangs have 28 spline axles... The most common upgrade is to 31 spline axles. That'll hold enough power. The biggest problem is when you get good traction. A set of slicks, ~500 RWTQ and a hard launch where you hook well will break your 28 spline axles. Stangs just don't make enough power stock (or with a power adder) to really get close to that. If you have over 450 HP, you will have had to rebuild your engine with forged internals, and then, breaking your rear/axle doesn't come as a surprise, so you don't hear too many stories of it. The transmissions are also weak. The TR3650 is rated to 360 ft/lbs of torque... The T-45 less than that... So with stangs, there's just too many other weak links short of the rear.