MAUMEE, Ohio — Dana Holding Co. announced the winners of its Ultimate Dana 44 “What’s the Diff” Axle Give-Away contests, held at SEMA 2015, Las Vegas; King of the Hammers (KOH), Johnson Valley, California; and Easter Jeep Safari (EJS) 2016, Moab, Utah.
The contests, which received thousands of entries, offered an Ultimate Dana 44 front axle, a new, direct-fit product for Jeep Wrangler JK vehicles introduced at the 2015 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, with the winners’ choice of gear ratio. Illustrating how easy it is for a significant gain in performance, the KOH and EJS winners had their Ultimate Dana 44 front axles installed onsite in under three hours.
The winners of the “What’s the Diff” Axle Give-Away contests were:
- SEMA Winner: Steve Egbert, Tulare, California
- KOH Winner: Steve Kline, Ridgecrest, California
- EJS Winner: Randy Wright, Arvada, Colorado
“There are other companies that offer what they call a ‘44’ axle for the Jeep JK, but only Dana delivers one hundred percent, genuine Dana,” said Doug Wolma, vice president and general manager, Dana Aftermarket Group. “And now, the Ultimate Dana 44 axles take that legendary off-road performance a step further with many enhanced features.”
Among the new features built into the Ultimate Dana 44 axle are:
- Axle tube thickness increased to 5/16-inch for improved strength, rigidity, and durability;
- Redesigned, thicker brackets with 1/4-inch steel that resist bending;
- Spicer nickel chromoly axle shafts designed for optimal strength and performance;
- Spicer Life Series (also known as SPL) 1350 u-joints with triple lip seals and full-circle clips for ultimate protection and retention; and
- High-strength nodular iron performance differential cover with a Spicer performance gasket.
Other features of The Ultimate Dana 44 front axles include:
- Selectable locking electronic differentials;
- Genuine Spicer gearing with expanded aftermarket gear ratios: 3.73, 4.10, 4.56, 4.88, 5.13, and 5.38;
- Pinion angle optimized for lifted vehicles;
- An increased gross axle weight rating (GAWR);
- Improved caster angle for lifted Jeeps; and
- Upper and lower control arms in the same location as original equipment.
Videos of the installation of the Ultimate Dana 44 axles for the winners of the KOH and EJS contests are available for viewing on YouTube at:
KOH #1: https://youtu.be/I5vnQUAmojQ
KOH #2: https://youtu.be/OBD5v5LSUyM
EJS: https://youtu.be/4z6T6n2xDOk
More information about The Ultimate Dana 44 front axles is available at www.SpicerParts.com, or by calling Dana Customer Service at 1-800-621-8084.
