I didn't take it as you were bad mouthing the 9". IMO it's about the only thing Ford did right though. It just has many more advantages, however the Ford ways about 10 lb. more than the Chevy and in stock form a 9 inch is fairly week unless you have a nodular unit. The after market third members are beefed up a considerable amount and that's what most racers are running, either MW, Moser, or Strange, either aluminum or nodular iron. Far as the gears go, the pinion gear gets smaller the lower the gear ratio, that may be why your seeing such a difference in the pinion sizes. The only difference in the pro gear and street gear is the material it's made of. Pro gears are made from 9310, which is a softer alloy than the 8620 Street gears. Maybe your thinking of the difference between a standard 28 spline pinion and the larger 35 spline, which has a very limited set of ratio's available compared to the standard pinion. The 9 inch also has more available gear ratio's than any other rear end combination. The nine inch doesn't need the caps reinforced because the housing and third member are separate so if you bend the housing you haven't affected the bearing caps or gear set. On the Chevy if you actually bend the housing there is a good possiblity you have distorted the bearing caps since they are are integral to the rest of the unit. JMO
