LEB Ben
Arrogant A-hole At-Large
I'm talking in mass generalities here, but I got to thinking about the crazy prices some folks are willing to pay for HP front axles, I'm mainly thinking ford 1 tons. However, I got to thinking about the real differences between the two (and this is where I'm generally speaking because I know some specifics and characteristics make different axles more appealing than others).
On the whole, with an HP axle, you have a reverse spiral cut gear set up...which allows it to run on the drive side of the gear, rather than the coast side. My thought is with good driving and proper throttle control, this 'advantage' could be negated.
Also, folks say the HP will yield more ground clearance, which I find to be a little deceiving, because the diff will still be in the same location, it's the drive shaft that really changes location, and it'll sit 2-4" higher. Here again, if you're not running on the rocks, shouldn't this be negligible?
Beyond that, I'm stumped on general differences. Yes, I understand, there may be a differenc in u-joints, yokes, crush sleeves or not, etc. But most of that can be swapped. So are there any other inherent weaknesses, and to what extent, associated with the LP axles. I know with Jeep crowds, the HPD30 out of an XJ is a direct bolt on to replace the LP30 in a ZJ, but more often than not, the owners didn't wind up with what they were expecting.
On the whole, with an HP axle, you have a reverse spiral cut gear set up...which allows it to run on the drive side of the gear, rather than the coast side. My thought is with good driving and proper throttle control, this 'advantage' could be negated.
Also, folks say the HP will yield more ground clearance, which I find to be a little deceiving, because the diff will still be in the same location, it's the drive shaft that really changes location, and it'll sit 2-4" higher. Here again, if you're not running on the rocks, shouldn't this be negligible?
Beyond that, I'm stumped on general differences. Yes, I understand, there may be a differenc in u-joints, yokes, crush sleeves or not, etc. But most of that can be swapped. So are there any other inherent weaknesses, and to what extent, associated with the LP axles. I know with Jeep crowds, the HPD30 out of an XJ is a direct bolt on to replace the LP30 in a ZJ, but more often than not, the owners didn't wind up with what they were expecting.
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