bowtiepwr

>What is the best bang for the buck driveshaft ?
I have the 1LE aluminum and was considering the carbon fiber one .
I have a 396 with T-trim (12-15 psi boost) N2O, Strange 12 bolt 3.73 gears , 6 speed , SPEC stage III carbon .

rskrause

A good steel driveshaft is best for 99+% of high-po 4th gens. I have had good luck with Denny's Driveshafts and with shafts from Dynotech Engineering. Both are on the Web. CF is not what you want. A properly designed and constructed CF shaft would be very strong and light but would be a couple of thousand dollars at least. If it's cheaper than that, stay away from it. You also have to treat these things very carefully. A small ding in a CF piece can easily lead to premature, catastrophic failure.

Rich Krause

bowtiepwr

>I can see your point with the "premature catastrophic failure" ,
but the price atleast from TByrne (ACPT) is around $800.00 . So is this a "cheaply" made version ? I would like to stay away from steel (surface rust , etc.) , and stay with either Aluminum , or Carbon Fiber .

Grover

If you plan on doing any drag racing you DO NOT want an aluminum driveshaft. The Denny's shafts are painted very nicely, but you will want to get the Billet slip yoke for the T-56 for the added strength. I had a 6061-T6 aluminum shaft from Dynotech engineering and it exploded into 4 pieces on a mild launch. IF you get one of the MMC driveshafts from Dynotech you might be alright.

Injuneer

I don't know if its "cheaply made", but I know it isn't reliable. I bought the ACPT "heavy duty" (3.79", even more expensive) CF DS from T. Byrne, and the front yoke tore loose from the carbon fiber tube under part load, with the computer in "limp" mode... just enough programming to allow the car to be driven one mile from the engine shop to the body shop for a hood install.

ACPT blamed me, claiming the shaft was too long, forcing the yoke into the tube. With Tom Byrne's help I was able to prove that the ACPT shaft was exactly the correct length, and in fact EXACTLY the same length as the 3" Mark Williams chrome moly DS I ordered about 5 minutes after the ACPT POS broke. ACPT still tried to stiff me, claiming they had to do "destructive" testing to the DS to determine the cause of failure, and that if they decided it was not defective, they could not even give me the shaft back, because it would have been destroyed. At that point, I told the ACPT design engineer that I agreed totally with the destructive testing, but that I owned the parts, and wanted each and every part of the DS back, including the test coupons, so I could have an analysis performed by an independant testing lab. Realizing they were caught in a lie, they finally coughed up the cost of the DS, but refused to pay me for shipping it both ways, and the labor to install and remove it.

So.... using the words "bang for the buck" and "carbon fiber" in the same sentence is a contradiction of terms.... unless by "bang" you meant the sound of the shaft breaking....

Check out Mark Williams. If you aren't happy with their prices, talk to Steve Spohn at Spohn Performance.

Not sure why you want to avoid steel. There is not a whole lot to be gained by losing weight in the DS... yes, a few HP, but when their is risk involved, it isn't worth it.

bowtiepwr

>Hey Injuneer , long time no "see" .
The reason for not liking the steel DS is because the surface rust that builds up on them since my car is driven in the rain once in a while (more than I like) where the Aluminum and CF will not alter the balance of the DS from the surface rust ... as far as weight ... not a concern .
But I will probably check into Dennys driveshaft .
Thanks .

rskrause

A good quality steel shaft is painted. Why the OEM's don't do this is beyone me. None of the aluminum shafts are suitable for high-po/sticky tire use. The best I've seen is the HD Al shaft that Denny's has, but you are sitll better off with steel.

Rich Krause

bowtiepwr

>They come painted huh ? cool maybe I will get the steel one this will be the item I ask Santa for .
but which one ?? .

Grover

Actually Rich, when I was talking to Denny about getting a new driveshaft he wouldn't recommend even his HD aluminum shaft for our cars especially with the T-56.