posi in the rain

[PICKMUP]

Hey, I am from western washington...I know rain!
The open rearend is safer, from a stop, going around corners. It is also a lot slower and harder to get out of the way of on coming traffic. The wheel that doesn't spin will track and help keep the rear from breaking (not braking) away...but the one spinning will just leave you almost sitting there...sometimes in the middle of the intersection...when other cars are coming...on wet streets!!! The more you panic, the faster it spins!
I prefer the posi, when you know it limitations. You have to have a light gas peddle foot, until you get it straight...then it will get out of the way and move much faster. Too much gas and both wheels break loose and you will spin out!
Posi is a must on a drag strip!

[Robert1970C20rstbukt]

Go with the posi, that way you burn both tires out instead of having to buy just one.

[71chevytruckguy]

didn't except this thing to pop back up but, heres and update. mom called the insurance company and they said if they came me at the drag strip, they'll cancel me policy. so no more racing for me and no need for a posi. that one of several things that piss me off about insurance. i can understand street racing, but racing at an IHRA santioned stip that's perfectly legal and get your policy cancelled? makes no sense to me. i only have liabillty on my policy, no collision or anything. but ill probably be sneekin back to the strip next weekend get get me revenge on my friends honda. still pisses me off he beat, stupid one tire fire. lol. thanks yall. chris.

[71chevytruckguy]

thanks, everything around here is 1/8. hows your project comin?

Originally Posted by 71cadc10

Chris,
Good to see you got your motor done and in, congrats!

I'd go for the posi also if you want to do much drag strip action. Is there a 1/4 mile strip down there or just 1/8?

later,
Andy

[LUV2XCLR8]

JMHO, But Posi in the Rain = Fun

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by 71chevytruckguy

mom called the insurance company and they said if they came me at the drag strip, they'll cancel me policy.

I have heard of many stupid things in my life, and this is one of them. If anything, they should commend you for keeping it on the track & off the streets! Unfortunately, you may have little recourse other than to dump that insurance company (be sure to let them know why) as soon as you are able -- which may take a few years, but it will still feel good!

[sbc383rulz]

thats crazy that they would drop you. the posi is still very usefull even if you dont race its such a good way to get traction and if you have ever been stuck in someones driveway in an inch of mud spinning one tire you know what i mean good luck with your truck your parents and the damn insurance companies

[71chevytruckguy]

stocker- i was thinkin the exact same thing. might be my parents tryin to keep me away from racing. the only drag racin they've ever seen is the top fuel stuff on tv. they've never even been to the local strip. my mom was think about buyin me a plot at the local cemotry cause she thought i was gonna die. oh yeah, fianlly got the truck painted and interior finished up. chris.

[gmcracing92]

Originally Posted by mrein3

Those of us who grew up driving rear wheel drive cars in the snow belt think its real cute hearing stories about how you southerners can't drive a car or truck around a corner in the rain.

i agree

[Torque]

Originally Posted by mrein3

Those of us who grew up driving rear wheel drive cars in the snow belt think its real cute hearing stories about how you southerners can't drive a car or truck around a corner in the rain.

Very true! Not trying to say us northern folk are better or anything but we have many more opporotunities to practice in wet or icey conditions...

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by mrein3

Those of us who grew up driving rear wheel drive cars in the snow belt think its real cute hearing stories about how you southerners can't drive a car or truck around a corner in the rain.

!!!!! No doubt!! I don't think I have even owned a vehicle since I got my license that didn't have a posi rear! At least, if they didn't have one, I put one in......

[71chevytruckguy]

so yall yankees are god whenever it comes to drivin in the rain. i get the point. but this is my dad im tryin to convince here, not me. chris.

[glock35ipsc]

I have been looking at a new trucks lately. Looking for one with a tow package. They all have posi rear ends. Posi's are not uncommon, they are not evil, they are not some magic ticket to a crash. They are found in everyday vehicles. Take him to a dealership and see how many trucks on the lot, new or used, have a posi rear end.

My point is, if there are that many people breaking loose around corners after it rains, then they need to keep their foot out of the gas! I can't recall ever driving a vehicle that did not have a posi rear in it. I even drove one daily with a spool! It just seems there are many people freaking out about mixing rain and posi's, when in my opinion, it is a moot point. I would say if a vehicle goes around a corner on a wet road, and that vehicle gets squirly, that is the more the fault of the driver, not what is behind the pumpkin cover.

BTW, your insurance company sounds like a joke. I would drop them like a dirty shirt! Call some other companies, get their opinions, then take that ammo with you when you tell your current agent to get @&*$!!!!

[70rs/ss]

Not to sound like a dad, but I think just driving might be a chore for you. I buried my brother a year ago from a car accident, so mom may sound like she is trying to scare you, but people die all the time. Sometimes of their own accord (note you almost did it from the previous picts) and others simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Posi no posi, I think the real question or issue is that you are rebelling (like all of us did or will do), but your parents just want you safe, take it easy on them and after your close encounter with the semi, you are lucky to get insurance, so I wouldn't go thunbing my nose at your insurance co yet, they may be the only one willing to cover you. Liability means they pay for stuff you tear up, example, the guy that did the donut in the intersection and hit the car, your insurance pays for all the damage to the other car. Multiply that damage by drag racing and see if you can figure out why the insurane co is tired of paying out for your "fun?" If you ask me, the I6 would be back in your truck or you'd be walking, be mad at me for that, but we parents aren't supposed to bury our kids. Coming from a father of three and an educator with 15 years of working with your age group in HS and having attended five funerals of my student's killed in car accidents (two in one very bad accident). BTW you older guys encouraging this kid to go posi or go home....... Well, lets just say I hope someone returns the favor when you have kids and they get to driving age.

[72Chevrolet]

Hah, my truck has never been in the rain so I dont know about sliding everywhere. I live in Los Angeles and driving like a grandpa is definately better if you want your car to stay in good condition because there is so many bad drivers out here. It has a 3:73 posi is which is alot of fun, but I have to agree with the rest of the guys on here, just drive responsibly and it will be fine.

[Stocker]

I don't wish to stir the pot, but I feel I must reply to your post above. First, it is a tragedy when someone dies in an accident -- worse when it is a young person -- and worse yet when the young person is someone close to you. My deepest sympathies for your losses.

However.... it is unfair of you to state that the OP is rebelling. You do not know that and it's not your call. Further, I got no sense of that at all in any of his posts in this thread. To the contrary, he strikes me as being a responsible young man who had a close call and learned from it.

It also seems as if you know nothing at all about drag racing. As an educator, you should know that some schools have programs where students can build a project car and run it on a local strip. We are not talking about street racing, nor are the cars so fast that they are dangerous. Properly supervised, it's a great activity and encourages kids to keep it off the streets.

One other thing: after re-reading this thread, I failed to see much in the way of 'older guys encouraging this kid to go posi or go home' -- rather, I saw plenty of information, based on fact and experience.

In case you missed it in my prior post in this thread, I too am a father of three. My youngest will be 20 next month.

[cableguy0]

posi or no posi a heavy foot on the loud pedal and you will end up facing the way you came in the rain. if you drive like a jackass you will end up in bad situations the rear has no bearing on that. if the kid is having traction problems now he needs a posi. its fairly simple. overprotective parents turn kids into whiney little babies which this country has too many of already

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by cableguy0

overprotective parents turn kids into whiney little babies which this country has too many of already

Amen to that!

[Chevrolet4x4s]

Originally Posted by Stocker

I have heard of many stupid things in my life, and this is one of them. If anything, they should commend you for keeping it on the track & off the streets! Unfortunately, you may have little recourse other than to dump that insurance company (be sure to let them know why) as soon as you are able -- which may take a few years, but it will still feel good!

I thought that when you go to the strip you pay them like $10 bucks which covers them in the event that you screwup and crash and that you sign a waiver........your street insurance has nothing to do with what happens off the street.imnsho.
Shane

[jacobs]

I've never had a problem with posi in the rain however I personally don't like posi for driving in snow. If the rear wheels spin at all, the vehicle rear end always ends up sliding sideways downhill. I installed a posi in a 57 Chevy 40 years ago and quickly removed it and reinstalled my open differential. I also installed a posi in the rear of a Jeep (Spicer 44) and that one was also quickly removed. I do like posi in the front differential of a 4x4 and if I ever have to rebuild the front differential in my 1970 K20, I'll probably install the posi I removed from my Jeep. If the front end starts sliding downhill, it's easy to steer it in the direction you want it to go. It's not near as much of a problem.

[70rs/ss]

Well, I did get the sense that some where saying to do the posi and your parents should be all for this cause at least its at a dragstrip (that is not a feeling or interpretation, it is a direct quote), as for overprotective parents make whiney kids, so what you send your diaper wearing kid into the street to grow up? I am an educator and I went through an auto program where we dragged the instructors car, but it wasn't a home built truck, it was a drag car with a cage. The strip is safer in that people do not pull out in front of you, but when going 100 ish POOP happens and people die at the strip, too. I have owned many peg leggers as well as posi (4 currently) and unless you are ragging on the vehicle you don't need posi. Is it fun to smoke the balognies, yeah, but for a kid I am not sure. He seems responsible (only after T-boning a semi) but us older guys need to realize our comments and ideas are picked up on by the younger guys (several members are in the teens, 13, 14, 15, 16) and our comments sound like encouragement to them. This kid may have it licked at 16 cause he had a near death experience, but what about the rest of them reading through the thread? Say what you will, I would always rather err on the side of caution and I'd rather have whiney kids than dead ones, its really that simple for me and if you disagree that is your perogative.

[71chevytruckguy]

stocker - thank you

70 rs/ss - as i've said before, i do all the work on my trucks myself, i had just been workin on the truck before i wrecked, swappin the all the suspension from a '72 for the 5 lug disc brakes replaced the rockers cab corner, dropped a new cam and detailed the engine, and swapped the front clip for a the same 72' parts truck. when i wrecked my truck it was one of the worst feelings ive feel. almost like something died inside me. to know that a my hard work, sweat, blood and money had gone to waste because of dumbass, of foot, was a horrible feeling. i hope i never have to feel it again. i was truckless for 6 months and that just plain sucked. i could care less about havin a posi just for burnouts, just sucks that everytime i tried to launch it at the strip, all did was sit there and spin the pass side tire. chris.

[pumpkin]

I like a posi, prefer a locker. You know what it will do. It goes sideways when the tires spin With on open diff?????? sometime they will to, I think thats more dangerous, cause it can catch you off gaurd. Everything I own, except my boat and my motorhome has either a posi or a locker, and I can put the motorhome sidways in the rain and snow. Its a 24 ft. class A.

[PICKMUP]

Hey---a hotrod motorhome with a posi! Pumpkin you guys are just too wild!
PS: I've got a SWB 4X4 with a posi...now if I could just get it running so I could try it out...

[MisterMan]

dude, honda civic.... common, have a lighter foot!, roll on the gas, dont stopm it. lol p.s..... getting posi, rebilud entire rear wile its apart.