PITBULL Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 long way off atm but just wondering if anybody got a ball park figure of how much a set of spider9 axles complete with shafts arbs etc would cost? i want to run 38" boggers but dont have lots of money to throw at it but dont want to break everything just wondering if its worth considering or isit out of my budget thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 $14K in the states so thick end of 8-10k I reckon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Good question - the problem is there isn't a very easy answer! The thing is you are dealing with a custom made item where the spec of the axle will have a huge impact on the final price. Base price you'd be looking at about £8k but that assumes you are using low pinion diffs, you are not using CTMs or CVS, you are using 4340 shafts, not adding any steering and doing all the bracketing yourself. If you go for a full chromo casing and knuckles, a really good diff (eg a Tru Hi9), 300M shafts, CTMs/CVs, fully assembled and with steering you will be looking at more like double that. Make no mistake, these are not cheap axles but they offer superb strength, light weight, good clearance and will be built to order. I bought a pair of Spider9's from a vendor in the US who, after ridiculous delays unfortunately went out of business before you could put the complete order together. Now, I will get a lot of what I paid for but not all of it (and that will mean loosing several thousand dollars ) and I have had to wait a the best part of 2 years. The thing is, when I ordered my axles D&G had only just started out (and were a slightly unknown quantity - the irony isn't lost on me), the dollar to the pound was very good and I was offered a great deal on some axles from someone who was highly reccomended - turns out this wasn't quite such a great deal.... Anyway, the long and the short is, go and talk to Dieter at D&G. They are the European distributor of Spidertrax products and he has been extremely helpful in sorting out my mess even though I initially used another supplier. He gets top marks from me! Anyway, I'd have to sit down properly to work out what my axles should have cost (rather than that they actually have cost) - the only thing mine are lacking is Chromo tubes (easier to repair mild steel in the field) and Chromo knuckles (not available when I ordered my axles). Apart from that, they'll be using 300M shafts, CVs in the front, custom brakes, very special diffs (stronger and lighter than a Tru Hi9 but low pinion - these are not cheap) there will be a lot of additional time put into bracketing the axles that most people wouldn't do just to make sure they do not bend and to finish it off they will be Nickel plated to keep them looking good. Feel free to PM me if you want to ask more questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbocharger Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 But let's be honest Will - has the delay really held your build back? Or are they ready to roll under your completed vehicle, pipe up and go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Wouldn't it be cheaper to go with something like a D60 or Toy axles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicks90 Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 was just thinking that myself! Surely a D60 front and D60/70/80 rear (even with upgraded shafts and cv's) with an ARB in it would be significantly cheaper than a spider9 and probably just as strong. Ok, they;re a bit wide - but it would probably still be cheaper to have them narrowed and use short side shafts both sides and run a centred output transfer box to get over the centred diffs. The yanks seem to like em and regularly run stupid horsepower and 40"+ tyres on rocks with some success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Cheaper and heavier. The spidertrax axles are pretty much scratch build, where as a dana 60 can be pulled out from underneath an old clonker or can be build up from off the shelf dana parts. They are seriously heavy though. You can now buy aluminium dana 60 difhousings, but price will go up. The price of say 10 K for a set of axles is a big hit, but considering what has to be produced bespoke to get to a complete new lightweight axle, you can see where that money goes. Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticbadger Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 I think you'd be suprised in the cost of uprating Yank axles, plus the benifits of Spidertraxs or similar axles. My two current trucks run D70 front/D80 rear and independant front/Corperate 14 bolt rear, so I've currently got some of the beefyest and most popular yank axles. They have some pretty major drawbacks despite their huge strength from the factory, namely: The bolt on (Salisbury style) rear covers signifcantly reduce ground clearance - to get the same clearance as a Landrover on 35" tyres my Dana 80 would need 40" tyres at least. The axles weigh a huge amount, mostly due to the heavy cast centre section, knuckles etc. The cast centre section can't be welded to, so bracket design on custom installs is restricted Finally, the cost of uprating them is pretty steap anyway, to put chromoly shafts and an ARB locker in my D80 would cost about £2000. That said, I'd happily run the D80 with a Lockright and stanadard shafts with 44" tyres. Spidertraxs and the like offer less weight, better under-diff clearance and total customisation, if you're building a truck for speed you can simply buy thicker axle tubes etc. You pays your money, you takes your choice, as they say. P.S, do you want to buy a Corp 14 bolt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 I would have thought that a more cost effective solution would have been to go down the Volvo portal route, strong and designed to run big tyres. I think that you can get them from the flying spanners people now. It's certainly the route I'd be looking at if I were after strong axles. HTH Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bathtub Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 long way off atm but just wondering if anybody got a ball park figure of how much a set of spider9 axles complete with shafts arbs etc would cost? i want to run 38" boggers but dont have lots of money to throw at it but dont want to break everything just wondering if its worth considering or isit out of my budget thanks in advance UMMMMM SpiderTax axles with Moly tubes & Pro-knuckes & D&G portals Or a set of Landrover 101 axles with ARB front ,detroit rear with fab work & diif skimmed to give anothe 7/8" clearance £4k !!! 1 1/2" shafts 7 i never even scratched the axles with 42s & 300hp add another £3k & fit disc brakes . complete set of cvs & shafts brand new where £200 not that i ever even changed a wheel bearing in 3 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Volvo portals, cheaper, plenty strong enough, gain you ground clearance. They'll happily live with 38's and 500bhp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top90 Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 What happened to Portal-Tek ? They seemed to be making some nice stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Portal Tek went under but we can get everything for Volvos here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PITBULL Posted July 20, 2010 Author Share Posted July 20, 2010 Portal Tek went under but we can get everything for Volvos here. is there many portals around atm? the thing that worries me about portals is wont they swing the wheel back more so more likely hit out riggers? im planing on mooving axles forward a couple of inches but dont want to be more then a couple of inches (hope you understand where im coming from) portals do sound nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Why would a vertical drop swing your wheel backwards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PITBULL Posted July 20, 2010 Author Share Posted July 20, 2010 i knew it would come across wrong lol. right let me try again. the distance from the swivel ball to the wheel studs isnt this much greater on a portal axle then a land rover axles so rather then just turning on the spot doesnt it do more of a swing so say if you lock it to the right the wheel will go more backward and push the tyre more toward the outrigger? dose this make more sense? if not ill try a drawing next lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Yes, that makes sense, and you are probably essentially correct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 the distance from the swivel ball to the wheel studs I've not measured TBH, we've never had a problem with it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PITBULL Posted July 20, 2010 Author Share Posted July 20, 2010 thanks for the help FF i might give portals a go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Depends if the portal drop-box bit is between the swivel and the axle tube or between the swivel and the stub axle. Does it vary from type to type? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PITBULL Posted July 20, 2010 Author Share Posted July 20, 2010 dont think so i think there all between swivel and stub axle but no expert and you can probably tell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Most are dropbox after the swivel, and with the right offset/inset on the wheels you will end up with no more steering issues than big wheels on std stlyee axles. Add hydraulic assist and you are away cheers Steveb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longlandy Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Speak to keith at rovertracks he knows his stuff about building super strong salisburys including a front salisbury with lc80 cvs etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticbadger Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Depends if the portal drop-box bit is between the swivel and the axle tube or between the swivel and the stub axle. Does it vary from type to type? AFAIK the only axles which feature the drop box inboard of the swivel are the Simca portals. Unimog, Volvo, Hummer all feature swivel outboard of the swivel and feature deeply inset wheels to reduce the resulting scrub radius (scrub radius is the distance from the point the swivel centre is from the centre of the tyre, a large scrub radius causes the effect Pitbull is talking about) As mentioned above, most people increase the wheel offset when fitting big tyres anyway, so you're not at any disadvantage when using portals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PITBULL Posted July 20, 2010 Author Share Posted July 20, 2010 Most are dropbox after the swivel, and with the right offset/inset on the wheels you will end up with no more steering issues than big wheels on std stlyee axles. Add hydraulic assist and you are away cheers Steveb prob with that is if i go portal i belive u can convert them to land rover wheel fitment then i would like to run my beadlocked mach 5s i got Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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