Anyone ever put in one of those lightweight aluminium driveshafts. Pros and cons, and also do you have to balance it or do they come prebalanced, also how difficult was it to install. And also what was the performance differance if any, did it make a big difference, or was it worth the 500 that i have seen it listed for. Thanks

 

I am sure it would feel just like putting in a lighter flywheel into the car. It takes weight off of the drivetrain just like a flywheel does so you should be able to get up to speed a little bit quicker. I don't think you will really notice the difference.

They should come already balanced.

 

i know for a fact that it reduced my track time not by a whole lot but with this and some better brakes i shredded off considerable time....

it def blasts outta the corners and helps accel way nicer
they have carbon fiber ones and thats what i had

 

i know for a fact that it reduced my track time not by a whole lot but with this and some better brakes i shredded off considerable time....

iam trying to decide which to do first, the driveshaft or the flywheel, the goal that i am after in the car, is a really responsive feel and good acceleration, but i am not trying to make outragoues power, so i am concentrating on improving the seq responsiveness, wherever that is possible, (ie.. extruding honing the housing efini y-pipe, and a few others, and the other piece that i am concentrating on is drivetrain, so i am trying to draw the best conclusions that i can, bang for the buck so to say, because the army still doesnt pay real great..lol, so any thoughts

 

well if thats the case you should tell me what your plans are for a build and i can help you i can tell you one thing unless your spending about 10 thousand alone in other mods a driveshafts not what you should focus on... however the first modification i do to any of my vehicles is all transmission/suspension.. go for the clutch with your overall power range your wanting to reach and a 10 lb flywheel would do you good

 

ok, well i am not really all that well versed in any type of tranny mod, so what is there that you can do as far as tranny improvement, iam planning on the clutch, the one that i have is starting to slip, i just got my fd about 3 months ago, and it came with a pfs intercooler 3" downpipe, and mid, and a pfs intake. my concern right now is that with these mods that iam probably running a little lean, but as there is no type of afr monitoring i have no idea ( iam scared to really push the car) so i am considering a pfc, and hopefully that will help, as far as drivetrain, you are saying that if i roll a flywheel (i have my eye on the act prolite) and a better clutch setup, there are better places to spend 500 then on a driveshaft.

 

Go flywheel. then gearing. the driveshaft isn't going to make as much of a difference. The weight is not very far from center on a driveshaft anyways. Plus, the FD driveshaft is light as heck for stock anyways.

Spend the money that you would on a driveshaft, on an ai system instead. make your car more reliable at higher power levels, and make it last longer.

 

i just received mine from driveshaftshop. let see how it goes..

 

A carbon fiber drive shaft saves 2 pounds over the stock drive shaft. It would probably "feel" smoother, be friendlier to the rest of the drive train, and be safer. An aluminum shaft would offer even less. My stock shaft is steel as verified with a magnet by the way.

 

didn't JimLab prove a while back that a lightweight driveshaft, because of it's small diameter, has no performance benefit besides removing weight from the car? The only real reason to put a CF driveshaft is to reduce driveline shock when launching at the dragstrip. This is why ErnieT has (or had, i can't remember if he's selling it, i think he is because he got the 4 speed dog box) one.

 

Driveline shock is going to be determined by the engine. If your driveshaft has some flex in it, it may lessen the impact a small amount. but lowering the weight of the driveshaft will only allow more of the engine's power to be transferred directly to the rear diff.

Material flex and shock absorbing characteristics will be the only factor that changes driveline shock.

Also, the outer diameter of the driveshaft is relatively small. removing 2 lbs from a small diameter is not going to be as noticeable compared to 2 lbs off of the outer edge of a flywheel.

 

Exactly. Without bothering with math, it's the rotational inertia that you're working against. A lighter driveshaft does not spin at very high speed and it's a small diameter to begin with. So it's not nearly as useful as saving that same weight from your flywheel or clutch or engine. I would put it nearly last on the list of speed improvement parts.

Dave

 

I would take it off the list entirely. There will always be something better you could do with the money ............ as long as you don't use it to get a turbo timer

 

if your going the flywheel route, go a step further. get a guru flywheel with 5.5" clutch.
That should help

 

Between a lightweight flywheel and driveshaft, the choice is obvious, the flywheel is way more important. Fidanza makes an 8.5 lbs flywheel which I use and like.

As for carbon driveshaft I remember their being one that is 3 lbs lighter then the one ACP (sp?) sells from a company in Europe but it was like 2k. Can't find the site now but it's at the very bottom of my list of wants and probably won't buy it either unless mine breaks which is doubtful.

thewird

 

Oh, you didn't just go there...

 

Its already been bar-ought-in ...


To sum it up, a lightweight drive shaft is a waste of money unless you have already done EVERYTHING you possibly can to track prep your car. I bet you get better improvements gutting your interior. Heck, that's free.

 

Here's my take:

The money I have spent upgrading/maintaining FD over the last 10 years is approaching six figures, and I still have the stock oem driveshaft. 10 years from now, I'll still have the stock oem driveshaft, unless I win the lottery

 

I'll bet you'd change your mind if the aluminum driveshaft was polished

 

Where can i buy a lightweight aluminium driveshaft or carbon for my fd?

 

Did you NOT read the thread?

Why? Unless you have done EVERY other mod possible, there is no point in wasting your money.

 

Invest in something to make you have to spend less in the future first! Drivetrain should be second to increasing engine longevity or maintanance(always fix the issues at hand before potentially making more).

 

Does anyone remember the link to that company in Europe that sells the carbon fiber driveshaft which is a few pounds lighter then ACTP ?

thewird

 

Scientifically speaking, a lighter drive shaft should reduce drive train loss so more power reaches the ground. It's the same effect that you get with light smaller diameter wheels. It takes less effort to rotate them.

 

And, as already stated, scientifically speaking; weight further from the center of a rotational mass will affect performance MUCH more than weight located closer. Matter of fact, it is a multiplying factor. So a 3 inch drive-shaft, to save 5lbs... or a 14 inch flywheel... to save 10?

The main point is that the difference will be very minimal compared to the other mods out there.

If you want the bragging rights, get it. If you want performance, there are better places to spend your money.