superior or Warn

So I need to get some new axles for my d30. I want to get the strongest I can get so what do you think superior evolution series or Warn. Real world experience would be great. Oh ya I am running 35's

thanks

I'd go with the Superior Evolution axles...Check this thread for similiar discussion:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=24715

I've had good results with the 27 spline Evolution 30 Kit which was $750 completely assembled for both sides with the 760x joints. Checkout my site for real world testing this past Feb.

You could throw in some Longfield 760s and not worry about it. I already had an ARB but if you are planning a locker upgrade for the front you should go with the 30 spline ARB and axle combo from Superiour.

Real World testing has sold me although starting from scratch without a locker/gears I'd build a Dana 44 front ulitizing a 78 ford Reverse D44 or a Wagoneer front end. Better steering knuckles/Ball Joints is the main reason not to mention the bigger Carrier.

I don't know if the Superiors are as good as the Warns, or if they're even better. The Warns, however, have been out for a long time and there are tons of people who have beat the crap out of them and are still going. I'd go with the Warns simply because of their tremendous track record.

Randy gave a good account of his use of the Superiors. I'll tell you about the Warns. I've run Warn shafts, in both a D30 and a D44, for about 5 years. In that time I've broken one 297x axle joint, and one CTM, and never hurt the Warn shafts.

Not meaning to hijack the thread, but what's the spline count on the stock D30?

Robert

XJWheelie said:

Not meaning to hijack the thread, but what's the spline count on the stock D30?

Robert

Click to expand...

Stock D30 is 1.16" diameter 27 splines, both inners and outers. FYI, stock D44 is 1.31" diameter 30 spline inners and 1.24" dia 19 spline outers.

Superior, Warn's heat treatment makes the shafts way to hard/brittle. Superior's have a much better heat treatment and the quality is as good or better.

Again, not to hijack... But a buddy of mine 'in the business' was telling me Randy's R&P carries their own line of shafts similar to Warn but about half the price. Anyone familiar with these? Even if they're not on par with Warn or Superior they'd at least be better than stock, I imagine. Some of us just aren't hard on shafts as it is...

I run Warns With 4.88's,Q78's, And A locker. I have had great luck to date.4X4XFAR

Will Superior warranty their shafts like warn? Mine are warrantied for life...

Matt

Hey Jeff:

How 'bout the OX shafts? Are they available yet? They look seriously beefy, must be used with an OX joint (but I'm sure that's a good thing)! I called the # you gave for the rep, talked to him briefly, but he never got back to me with any pricing/availability info. So what's the scoop? Has anyone looked into these?

FarmerMatt said:

Will Superior warranty their shafts like warn? Mine are warrantied for life...

Matt

Click to expand...

AFAIK Superiors only have a two year warranty. So, even if they're "better" than Warns I'd still get the Warn because of the lifetime warranty.
Also, I've only seen one Warn ever break.

Jes

Weasel said:

Superior, Warn's heat treatment makes the shafts way to hard/brittle. Superior's have a much better heat treatment and the quality is as good or better.

Click to expand...

Do you have them? Have you run them hard for years? Or are you repeating the advertising?



Warn has the class act in front axle shafts, and they have the years of track record to prove it. The Superiors may be as good or better, but they haven't been around long enough to have a track record yet........

No I don't have them. I don't need them to say their heat treatment is wrong. I don't pay any attention to axle marketing/advertising so I don't know what they are saying. I base all my opinions of the material/heat treatment/profile specs. Basic axle design tells us that you don't want your axles super hard as it makes them brittle, which Warn's are unless they have changed in the past few years. PBB has lots of example of busted Warn's. But they do have a lifetime warrenty on them.

As for track record Superior has not had a broken front D60 35 spline axle yet so we will see. Are the warn's the same price as Superior's?

Yukon's are a good cost consience choice to upgrade from stock but are not close to Superior or Warn for quality.

OK Weasel. Lets see a side by side spec sheet of the heat treat process of both the warn & superior. I want a full explaination of all tech terms used & why. I'm not trying to be an ass, but when you throw out a statement like posted above you better have all your info lined out & ready to go. FWIW the warns seem to be cheaper (slightly) than superiors & as long as they will warranty their shafts I'm going to stick with them. Theory & engineering are all well & good, but real world testing is where the buck stops. Only this will prove if the superiors are actually better.

Matt

Weasel said:

No I don't have them. I don't need them to say their heat treatment is wrong. I don't pay any attention to axle marketing/advertising so I don't know what they are saying. I base all my opinions of the material/heat treatment/profile specs. Basic axle design tells us that you don't want your axles super hard as it makes them brittle, which Warn's are unless they have changed in the past few years. PBB has lots of example of busted Warn's. But they do have a lifetime warrenty on them.

As for track record Superior has not had a broken front D60 35 spline axle yet so we will see. Are the warn's the same price as Superior's?

Yukon's are a good cost consience choice to upgrade from stock but are not close to Superior or Warn for quality.

Click to expand...

dude, you sure do make a bunch of blanket statements on the internet you can't back with first hand experiences......

"triangles are stronger than x-braces" comes to mind.....

you really have no business talking about the durability of a product you don't own.

this is naxja, not consumer reports.

Check the vendors forum for a member here selling the Yukon 4340 alloy axleshafts for the font D30. I bought a set of the Yukons and they seemed like a cheaper alternative, and slightly weaker, to the Warn/Superior argument. Although nobody is saying they are stronger than either if those, they are a low cost alternative to the more expesive shafts, and are definately stronger than a stock spicer shaft. I just got the shafts myself and also got a set of Longfield u-joints due to Farmer Matts real world testing. The Yukon and Longfield combo is a good low cost alternative to a Warn/Superior and CTM set-up. I just couldn't get myself to spend that much money on my D30 and since I have yet to break even a stock shaft, I thought it was money well spent.

Bryan

Is a Warn shaft better than a Superior?

Well it depends on what your definition of is is. :greensmok

Ok, first off read this:
Axle Tech

Another good Axle thread for info:
Mark Williams

Also if you have it handy read Carroll Smith Engineering to Win inregards to Axle design. Just another refrence if you are interested.

Now from the above information and the information that has been gathered by years of other making axles, when heat treating axles you do not want the to have a Rockwell hardness above 50. This makes the shaft to brittle and they snap. Warn's shafts are around 55-57 RC. If I'm wrong on the RC numbers or off a bit please correct me. If you look at the magority of failed Warn shaft they are all a brittle fracture or snapped when the broke. Coincidence? I think not. And here's a link's of places with lots of broken Warn shafts.
Link 1
Pile of Warn's

I can't find the numbers on the Superior RC shafts. The yukon's have been tested and have a RC in a range of 42-45.
Yukon Testing
But if Superior has a heat treatment of 46-48 their shafts will be better then Warn's. 46-48 is the ideal range because it is as high as you can go with 4340 and not become brittle.
For those of you interested in Yukon shafts here's a good thread for you to read.
Yukon
They seem to be a decent upgrade if you want to step up from stock stuff and not go Warn/Superior.

As for the comments that sicne I don't have these shafts I can't say anything about them, I think that's BS. Axle engineering isn't hard but there are a few design and material design you need to follow. These have been tried and proven for all motorsport application for 30+ years. Why reinvent the wheel. By checking to see if the axles follow the proven designs then you can judge if one's better then the other. Hopefully this answer some of your questions. of how and why I've based my comments.

Some interesting info.

My question is, and I'm not doubting you or your information, why would a reputable company such as Warn make a shaft that is too brittle if all of this is such common knowledge? If formula A makes a better axle than another formula B, why wouldn't they all just do A? I don't think it's that simplistic, there has got to be other factors involved. Great discussion!

Inquiring minds want to know!

I have no idea unless they just do not know, don't care, or maybe it's just cheaper to do it their way. I would be curious to hear their engineers reason why they build them that way.