what exactly is pinion angle and how does it affect driveability? I have read about people swapping gears and guys asking if they set their angle right, how do you know? is there a good book or site out there that will lay it out like a, "rear ends and differentials for dummies" style. Thanks in advance.

Chaoss

 

I can show you what not having the right pinion angle can do

 

hmm... (scratches head) That doesnt look like a factory hole... So what happened? I am totally lost on suspension, differentials and body work. I would like to do my own gears in an 8.8" Im getting from a buddy of mine so any literature you got would help lots.

 

that's where the upper control mounts to the car the torque box(battlebox) my car constantly wheel hopped whenever I would spin the tires and eventually the pass. side torque box got ripped out

 

damn... how do you fix sumtin like that? Im gonna guess thats what the torque box kits are for, to reinforce that area? How do you keep wheel hop to a minimum or non-existant?

 

you reinforce it and weld it back together and how to keep it to a min. set the pinion angle correctly

 

you need a pinion angle checker. its like a protractor with a magnet kind of or a magnet with a freefloating level finder with marked degrees of angle.
i just pull this picture from car craft's website because it looks like something i used to check mine.


set it between 2-6 degrees. it all depends upon the amount of squat your car creates. the stiff the rear the less pinion angle you require. end all goal is to have a straight line from the rear of your crank through the trans, through the drive shaft and ending at the rear end. it should become a straight line. that would be the optimum setting. start at 2 and see what happens.

 

thats some good info, I appreciate it fivepointohh... pics are always a big help to me...

 

if you want to be really good put the level on your motor(oil pan) as well to make sure its sitting square and level between the K member and shim if needed. then do the same to your trasmission and shim the trans mount if needed and then do your pinion angle again. the straighter and more level the drive train, less stress, less correction needed by the U joints, less chance of binding, smoother rotation. its really tedious but can make a small benefit of lengevity on parts.

 

sweet, so basically what you want is a 0* line going from the Harmonic balancer all the way back to the pinion? When you hit bumps and stuff and your rear comes up then the u-joints take the flex but then you would have a negative angle, right? sorry if I sound stupid just trying to learn stuff