Recommendations on CV Axles

[n0c7]

I need new axles on the front, both sides on my FWD GS-T. I hope to push 500whp in the next couple of years. Right now I am around 300whp. Would OEM replacement axles be sufficient for this kind of power, or should I take this opportunity to upgrade?

Same question for inner and outer tie rods as they are shot as well.

 

[BaddAssGst]

Axles are kind of a toss-up. You can pay the extra money for Fidanza or another beefier axle but I've seen a guy use autozone axles and run them with 400hp and his car was fine. He's broken a couple but they also come with a lifetime warranty so if they break, free axle. I've personally ran AZ axles for 3 years and haven't broken one yet.

Same goes with tie-rods. There is really no need for a stronger tie-rod, if they make them, I'm not even sure. Lifetime warranty as well at AutoZone. No questions asked, the tie-rods go bad, swap them.

 

[BaddAssGst]

^ I sound like a spokesman for AutoZone.

In all honesty, they make SOME decent parts and you can't beat a lifetime warranty. I just can't justify spending money on beefier axles that have a good chance of being broken as well and then your out that money you spent.

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

500 awd hp and violent launches? Any axle you use can be subject to failure. After a certain point you are going to have to opt for the performance axles. If you are judicious and don't abuse it, stock aftermarkets should be ok. Remember, no axle is impervious to breakage if you abuse it enough.

Good Luck

 

[logic]

Raxles, for an OEM rebuild that doesn't suck, for a much better price than OEM new. Marty's good people; make sure you mention that you're a "DSM club" member.

Driveshaft Shop, if you're looking for something a little tougher, but like Old Mitsu Tech said, anything will break if you abuse it enough.

 

[Module Unknown]

Last time I spoke with Marty at Raxles he mentioned something to me about their "high performance" axles. I don't really have any info on them as that's not what I was looking for at the time, but call him up and ask what they can do for you.

 

[n0c7]

Thanks for the input. I think I'll stick with stock aftermarkets for now. When I do get up to the 500whp range FWD, I'm going to have more issues than just axles to deal with so I guess its not as large of a priority.

 

[n0c7]

Follow up - ended up with Raxles. Every possible issue that I could have run into I have during the swap, I'm half done at the time of writing this. It'll be over soon though.

 

[daren_p]

With 500 hp and no LSD you won't have to worry about axles, as you'll never have traction . But seriously I'd probably just stick with the stock replacements now. It seems that the CV joints are the weak point in the axle. There was a post on here about fwd's & track times etc. They were talking about axles and it was said that to get an upgraded axle (forget which manufacturer) that had an upgraded CV joint, they didn't do this till their stage 5 axle, which ran around $1500. Not sure if this is true or not, or if there are any other manufacturers that make something inbetween the 2 price ranges but thought I'd pass on the info.

Edit: Looks like it was the driveshaft shop they were talking about & the level 5's are $1600. I see they now offer a level three, which you can't check the spes on the web yet but it would fall between the level 5's and the $700 level 1's. Still seems like alot of money for axles. But I guess speed is never cheep.

 

[n0c7]

Thanks for the followup. As you mentioned, I'll have more trouble with traction than snapping axles so we'll see how it goes. Maybe an AWD swap is in store somewhere in the future.