Who wants to see some ring gear carnage!? (Pictures inside) - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

acammer · 06-28-2018, 02:10 PM

Hey guys. I finally got around to getting some pictures of the ring gear from my recently blown up rear end. I don't know much about doing failure analysis on ring gears, but this gear doesn't have any odd wear patterns or signs of heat. The differential became gradual louder on a 60 mile drive home after doing a few medium effort laps at Watkins Glen. Following a hard acceleration in 2nd and 3rd gears on the way home a very loud thumping/clucking developed - that's where it went from a chip in the tooth to a missing tooth! All in all it took three from the spot pictured, and two more approximately 180* for that position on the gear.

From what I can tell these are original Richmond 4.10's (41 ring teeth 10 pinion teeth, the stronger 4.11 has 37 ring gear teeth and 11 pinion teeth). I bought the differential second hand with 25k on the gears. Street tires only and never drag raced according to the original owner. They were quiet when installed, some slight whine just at 45-50mph, but I did add poly bushings to the diff when I put it in my car in mid 2017. I put in fresh Royal Purple and ran them for the rest of the season. I probably put around 16 drag strip passes on them, with street tires usually cutting in the high 1.9x to 2.0x range 60'. I raced them on the street plenty as well. Never had any significant wheel hop. Bolt on M6 car doing mid 12's.

In 2018 I picked up a set of 18x11 ZL1 reps with NT05R drag radials. I made a handful of street hits on that setup , never got to the track with them before the cam went into the car. I then had them about a week after I got the cam before they failure - I did a handful of "full send" street launches on them - but again no wheel hop.

I guess 'm not surprised - Richmond says you shouldn't drag race these, and even developed a stronger set as a response to these issues. After conferring with some of the fast 5th gen drag strip regulars I concluded that Motive gears have a great reputation, and installed a set of those. I also have an LPW Ultra IRS differential cover coming, which is supposed to add strength to the case and provide additional support to the ring gear main caps. I'm hoping those changes will keep me out of the rear end for a while to come - we'll see.

1Coopgt · 06-28-2018, 03:08 PM

OUCH that sucks big time.

06-28-2018, 02:10 PM	#1
acammer GPI Sales Consultant Drives: 2011 Camaro 2SS SGM Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Weedsport, NY Posts: 2,982 View My Garage	Who wants to see some ring gear carnage!? (Pictures inside) Hey guys. I finally got around to getting some pictures of the ring gear from my recently blown up rear end. I don't know much about doing failure analysis on ring gears, but this gear doesn't have any odd wear patterns or signs of heat. The differential became gradual louder on a 60 mile drive home after doing a few medium effort laps at Watkins Glen. Following a hard acceleration in 2nd and 3rd gears on the way home a very loud thumping/clucking developed - that's where it went from a chip in the tooth to a missing tooth! All in all it took three from the spot pictured, and two more approximately 180* for that position on the gear. From what I can tell these are original Richmond 4.10's (41 ring teeth 10 pinion teeth, the stronger 4.11 has 37 ring gear teeth and 11 pinion teeth). I bought the differential second hand with 25k on the gears. Street tires only and never drag raced according to the original owner. They were quiet when installed, some slight whine just at 45-50mph, but I did add poly bushings to the diff when I put it in my car in mid 2017. I put in fresh Royal Purple and ran them for the rest of the season. I probably put around 16 drag strip passes on them, with street tires usually cutting in the high 1.9x to 2.0x range 60'. I raced them on the street plenty as well. Never had any significant wheel hop. Bolt on M6 car doing mid 12's. In 2018 I picked up a set of 18x11 ZL1 reps with NT05R drag radials. I made a handful of street hits on that setup , never got to the track with them before the cam went into the car. I then had them about a week after I got the cam before they failure - I did a handful of "full send" street launches on them - but again no wheel hop. I guess 'm not surprised - Richmond says you shouldn't drag race these, and even developed a stronger set as a response to these issues. After conferring with some of the fast 5th gen drag strip regulars I concluded that Motive gears have a great reputation, and installed a set of those. I also have an LPW Ultra IRS differential cover coming, which is supposed to add strength to the case and provide additional support to the ring gear main caps. I'm hoping those changes will keep me out of the rear end for a while to come - we'll see. Attached Images __________________ GPI Max Package 2.0: Brodix BR7 heads/GPI porting, MAX3 cam, ST2116LSR, BSR Max Lift rockers, LS7 LSXR with 103mm TB, Vararam OTR, Mcleod RXT, G-Force/Strange 9" IRS setup with 4.63 gear. 551whp, 11.1@124mph. *Got a question about a GPI product? Feel free to shoot me a message!*

06-28-2018, 03:08 PM	#2
1Coopgt Drives: All Black 2012 1LS Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Rochester,NY Posts: 2,042 View My Garage	OUCH that sucks big time. __________________ Mods, K&N CAI ,VTC , GM Perf Axleback Exhaust, Elite Eng CC and CSS, GM Strut Tower Brace,Carbon Fiber Anvil Spoiler,ASC T5 Splitter,Gen5diy Foglight kit. Last edited by 1Coopgt; 07-01-2018 at 01:44 PM.