Mustang 101: Drivetrain: Aluminum DriveShaft

JackThe Ripper · 05-02-2008, 05:19 PM

The Aluminum Drive Shaft! Ive seen lots of questions being presented on these, Figured we could try to round everything up.

I think we all know what a driveshaft is, in case anyone is wondering it is the rotating assembly between the Transmission and Rear end. (think rear axles!)

Lets try to get the following questions answered, and please, lets keep on Topic!

1) What is the weight difference on average between aluminum and stock?

2) What types of performance gains would be expected?

3) When should somebody consider upgrading thier driveshaft?

4) Is it true that the lighter weight reduces low end torque and is this Dyno proven? (I have a hard time wrapping my brain around this one, i understand the idea but it just seems flawed, the drive shaft only rotates when the wheels are moving, sitting at a standstill the driveshaft does not move, so when dumping the clutch wouldnt it increase low end torque at the wheels because the lighter mass requires less power torque to rotate? I could understand this loss of torque on a rear located tranny like the C6 vettes where the driveshaft is constantly rotating the same rpm as engine..)

5) What application would this be good for? Street? Strip? Trailer queen?

6) Is there really that much improvement over stock?

7) How is the reliability? are they easier to break?

JackThe Ripper · 05-11-2008, 01:43 PM

SnTBakosFinest · 05-11-2008, 08:26 PM

The weight difference is in pounds I beleive. I just handled a stock 05 GT driveshaft..and its a heavy bastard..

As far as performance gains..nothing really in horsepower..just like gears..its a better acceleration..

It is good for both street and strip, I think.

There is probably a significant improvement over stock

And the reliability.. they are probably just as reliable if not more then a stock driveshaft.

WNRacing · 05-28-2008, 05:44 PM

This section = epic fail!

Lazerred6 · 07-17-2008, 11:20 AM

http://www.steeda.com/products/alumi...t_assembly.php

I found this on steedas web site and it looks like the weight difference bettween stock and the aluminum one is 6 lbs

Thread is kinda old but hey whatever

00gt_conv · 11-06-2008, 08:08 PM

When is this going to get updated?

Stephen4036 · 12-16-2008, 11:51 AM

i think spike told me like every 10 lbs of rotational weight is another .1 on the 1/4 mile? i dunno maybe it was a different #...

Rumblin_6 · 12-31-2008, 03:45 PM

I know some of these because my friend did it on his 04 Cobra.

7. Yes, they are stronger. Especially when it is a namebrand from a company such as Mark Williams, Spice, The Drive Shaft Shop or Denny's Drive Shafts. Yes you can break them also but most see failures after several hard nitrous runs. Nitrous cars are notorious for breaking driveshafts (when hitting the spray off the line).

From what I have seen reliability is very good almost 10x what the stocker was, especially in cars making big hp.

6. On a stock or slightly to mildly modified car the biggest change and or improvement that I have personally seen and felt was the reduction in vibration. You have to understand that the aluminum lighter units reduce the rotating mass. Which in turn makes the car transfer power better. Also its kind of one of those arguments of yes it does / no it doesn't but it has been proven that the less rotational mass the less parasitic drag = more hp transfer to the wheels. Where this argument comes into play is again more with the guy who has a slightly to mildly modified car. Ask any pro driver and they will tell you the car is better without weight and rotational mass.

As for improvement on a car that has a aluminum driveshaft. Well in all honesty I don't recommend it. For a few reasons one if you are just using it on a car that might see a 14 sec pass there is no added benefit and really for the expense it is money you can use somewhere else.

5. Street/Strip - absolutely it is an option after you have built the motor and trans, bolstered your rearend then it would be the next natural step. Plus from experiences I have had on a highly modified street/strip car or a are that has a power adder or one that you are spraying a crap ton on it is highly recommended. Am I saying go out an spend the money as soon as you start making power - No. It is just one of those things that should be considered. For example my friends Dad used to have a pretty heavily modified Chevelle with a 454 with a bunch of the junk on it. It made somewhere in the 675 range with the spray and was a good street cruiser/strip car. But one night at the track after several nitrous runs the (upgraded steel driveshaft came apart in a thousand pieces). It put a hole in the floor and tore up the rearend. The choice is yours.

4. That is both fact and fiction. There really is a big debate on that and it centers around areas that are more of an unknown. Some shops swear by that, while others will say it is B**S***. I have seen it both ways. I talked to a few shops (while working on my own cars)and the general theory has more to do with the gearing of the car and tire size than has to do with the driveshaft. As to whether it is true or not it depends on who you talk to. A light car with an aluminum driveshaft and a small tire (26x10.5) will have a lower rotational mass because of the tire size and setup of the car. Now if you put a car on the dyno with a heavy mass say an old Chevelle with a big tire 33" tire you have just changed the rotational mass thus changing the dynamic affect of parisitic drag and other factors.

3. This is an area where it depends on hp and preference of the owner and or driver. I have seen guys at 450 jump ship to an aluminum. I personally think it depends on the power adder. Turbos unless launching at a Super Street Outlaw RPM off of a trans-brake you would be fine for a while remember when foot braking or just a normal lauch the turbo has to build boost so the power comes on much softer. Now a blower depends on the power. For a nitrous car it depends on the drivetrain configuration, (Auto, trans-brake, tall gear, and a big shot). Yeah I think it would be time. Some tracks and or sanctioning bodies have a specific rule for the amount of nitrous vs what safety requirements are needed. I look at stronger parts as safety and it is a good way to look at it.

2. It is not really what I would call a performance gain typically you will notice (especially on a high strung N/A motor with a high rpm potential or a highly modified race motor that the car will reach higher rpms faster). That is most commonly the link guys will notice faster acceleration and a higher rpm reached on the big end.

1. As far as weight it depends on the shop that does it. Some weight more than others and it also depends on lengths needed. Could be as much as lbs. It has been awhile so I am not quite sure just how much.

I hope this answers your questions if you need me to go into greater detail let me know.

Rumblin_6.

TXBLUOVAL · 07-02-2009, 09:30 PM

The only reservation I've had regarding the FRPP aluminum driveshaft is the possibilty of driving along on a road trip and I just happen to run over something that pops up off the pavement just enough to hit the driveshaft and because of the aluminum being softer material it dents just because of this slight impact as to where this may (or may not) happen with the factory driveshaft.

What do any of Yall think about this scenario ... ???

Mr.351w · 12-28-2009, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TXBLUOVAL

The only reservation I've had regarding the FRPP aluminum driveshaft is the possibilty of driving along on a road trip and I just happen to run over something that pops up off the pavement just enough to hit the driveshaft and because of the aluminum being softer material it dents just because of this slight impact as to where this may (or may not) happen with the factory driveshaft.

What do any of Yall think about this scenario ... ???

Well if your luck is that terrible to have something big enough to damage a driveshaft do that, i would it would hurt a stock one as well...