is a spool or a mini spool a good idea in a 4x4  

It is a BAD idea. About the only place for a spool is on a drag strip. Many do not realize that tire need to be able to turn at different speed at times (such as in turns for one) to maintain maximum tread contact "friction" with surface and a spool will not let this happen plus of surfaces with good traction it increase turning radius because when in rear it wants to push vehicle straight so the front end tends to plow and rear skids. In a front axle they are really bad news because wheel will not guide wheel at times because they will be slipping with ground contact since they cannot maintain proper RPM with different rolling radius and Ujoint in front axle are not constant and velocity and it can cause extreme steering wheel bind. Also on street it can greatly reduce tire life too and be a heart attack on a slick road.  

thanks agian   you just changed my mind for me  

just changed my mind too, haha  

I think that spools would be cool if u were making a trailer queen, a rig that would not go onroad at all. Spools lock up both tires all the time. The problem with running them on the street is that for one: it is extremely unsafe because both tires keep constant speed around corners on the highway. and two: it is extemely unsafe because of number one u risk the chance of snapping your axle due to this extra stress.
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Autopartswarehouse  

They would not be cool even for a trailer queen unless it was a drag strip car. Even a Detroit type locker is FAR superior to a spool off road (even though I am not found of those either) To maintain best traction and ground contact and control you need to be able to have all wheels track ground speed in turns and such and a spool cannot do this ever. The best setup would be a selectable on demand locker than is a diff the rest of the time. Serious off road machine (like back hoe, loaders, farm tractors, pans and such) DO NOT have spools and they work and need traction and control far more than ANY 4x4. They have open diffs with a locker on demand (which is very rarely needed too) which sound tell you something too.  

actually even on the street a spool or mini spool is fairly mild... you'll just produce a squeeling tire every time you turn and you'll wear out your tires much more quickly... this isn't coming from info.. it's from experience running one in a cj-7 with a 9" spooled rear and 35" tires... and even a car at the drag strip has to turn every time it ends a run... and a locker... any type of locker will lock completely under load...  i.e.. one tire can turn faster then the other with a ratcheting locker... but it has no power going to it... it's only rolling... if you accellerate at all going around a corner it will lock that tire back up and you'll squeel a tire... if you really accelerate then you can loose traction on both tires and then you may skid... and on ice it may sometimes push your front tires through a turn... but if you're careful it's fine...  however a spool in the front is not an option... that i will agree with  

now ideally snoman is correct... a selectable locker is the best way to go if you can afford it... i.e. an ox locker or ARB air locker, or E-locker  

gotmike:
actually even on the street a spool or mini spool is fairly mild... you'll just produce a squeeling tire every time you turn and you'll wear out your tires much more quickly... this isn't coming from info.. it's from experience running one in a cj-7 with a 9" spooled rear and 35" tires... and even a car at the drag strip has to turn every time it ends a run... and a locker... any type of locker will lock completely under load...  i.e.. one tire can turn faster then the other with a ratcheting locker... but it has no power going to it... it's only rolling... if you accellerate at all going around a corner it will lock that tire back up and you'll squeel a tire... if you really accelerate then you can loose traction on both tires and then you may skid... and on ice it may sometimes push your front tires through a turn... but if you're careful it's fine...  however a spool in the front is not an option... that i will agree with

There is no such thing as a mild spool on street. It will effect handling and increase turning radius and shorten tire life and use more fuel as it scrubs tires in turns as rear wants to go straight and plows front end as it forces turn. I am not a fan of Detroit type locker and I would prefer a LSD over one any day in my rides as I prefer to be able to CORRECTLY power both wheels in a turn and a spool or Detroit is a heart attack on ice because with slightest turn it is going to want to break traction in rear because wheels cannot maintain contact and must slip. If I had to choice between a spool and a open diff, it would be open diff and between a Detroit and a LSD, it would be a LSD. The few times I have truely been stuck and required a tractor or backhoe for extraction, a spool or Detroit would not have made any difference because all tires had lost traction. If anything in mud, a spool can bury you quicker and worse because it can bury both tires quickly rather than let one tire try to dig a bit for a bite while not burying other one. Rock crawling is about the only place the a locker is kinda a must have and even hear a spool is not good because tires can have different rolling radius as thy try to climb over rocks separately and a spool will force them to same speed and result in slippage and binding. Spools are greatly overrated off road.  

what is the diffrence between an open carrier and a lsd  

gordee:
what is the diffrence between an open carrier and a lsd

Check out the link below for a description I wrote some time ago.

Click Here  

thanks a lot you shined a light on a dark tunnel have to rebuild 2 axles on a limited budget almost no budget so i am trying to find the cheapest and yet reliable means found open carriers for cheap on ebay so thats most likly the way i will go  snoman you have been a great help thank god for people like you that have the knowledge and are not afraid to share it