jplgsx
Probationary Member
- 18
- 0
- Aug 11, 2002
-
Cary,
North_Carolina
I did a search on the forums and have not found a thread devoted to this yet.
Those of us that have the AWD version of the TEL will likely think of a carbon fiber drive shaft as one of the last, if not, THE last mod we would put on our cars. For a couple of good reasons.
First, it is expensive! At least at first blush. Second, it is not clear just what there is to be gained for the size of the investment. Third, there are a lot of other mods that would give you a lot more power.
There have also been a few questions floating around about carbon fiber drive shafts that I don't think have been answered very well. I went out on the net and found a couple of suppliers. One on the west coast (ACPT, Inc.) and one on the east coast (PST) in Florida.
The guy on the east coast had built a few for testing. Usually with DSM drag cars with 600+ horsepower. While he had some failures it was never the carbon fiber drive shaft itself. He offers them for 300GT and Stealth, but seems to have shied away from the TEL's.
ACPT has built them for 1G TELs for a few years and the 2G TE's for the past couple of years. They offer them in two flavors. One replaces the first two drive shafts and the other replaces all three.
So what are the benefits and what are the problems?
The benefits are numerous. First is weight savings. I'm not sure, but I think the stock shafts with the carrier bearings and all weigh at least 80 pounds. This is rotating weight, too. Rotating weight that is robbing your expensive horsepower.
Second is strength. Tortional (twisting) strength is phenominal. And it has an almost perfect elastic memory. That means that it acts like a big shock absorber to the twisting torque and returns to its proper shape. Drag racers that have changed over to aluminum drive shafts will paint a straight line down their drive shafts when they are new so they can tell when they have twisted too much (candy caned) from stress. The carbon fiber shaft won't do this and it will weigh in at about 8-10 pounds!
So what about u-joint angles? Not a problem. Even with the model that replaces all three of the stock shafts the u-joint angle is kept well within limits.
But aren't the carbon fiber tubes fragile to a side impact? They cover the outside of the carbon fiber tube with tough fiberglass. Many Baja racers use the shafts without problems. If you drive over a rock that touches the shaft, that is a different story. While that might bend a metal shaft it will shatter the carbon fiber shaft. A bent metal shaft will rip your drivetrain apart. A shattered carbon fiber shaft will mearly "broom out" and clean your undercaraige while it disintergrates.
With all that information I decided to take the plunge and get a one piece replacement from ACPT. In about three weeks I should be installing it.
If anyone wants to know how it goes, let me know.
You can check out my car at DSMTuners (of course) and http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-jplgsx/
Jim
Those of us that have the AWD version of the TEL will likely think of a carbon fiber drive shaft as one of the last, if not, THE last mod we would put on our cars. For a couple of good reasons.
First, it is expensive! At least at first blush. Second, it is not clear just what there is to be gained for the size of the investment. Third, there are a lot of other mods that would give you a lot more power.
There have also been a few questions floating around about carbon fiber drive shafts that I don't think have been answered very well. I went out on the net and found a couple of suppliers. One on the west coast (ACPT, Inc.) and one on the east coast (PST) in Florida.
The guy on the east coast had built a few for testing. Usually with DSM drag cars with 600+ horsepower. While he had some failures it was never the carbon fiber drive shaft itself. He offers them for 300GT and Stealth, but seems to have shied away from the TEL's.
ACPT has built them for 1G TELs for a few years and the 2G TE's for the past couple of years. They offer them in two flavors. One replaces the first two drive shafts and the other replaces all three.
So what are the benefits and what are the problems?
The benefits are numerous. First is weight savings. I'm not sure, but I think the stock shafts with the carrier bearings and all weigh at least 80 pounds. This is rotating weight, too. Rotating weight that is robbing your expensive horsepower.
Second is strength. Tortional (twisting) strength is phenominal. And it has an almost perfect elastic memory. That means that it acts like a big shock absorber to the twisting torque and returns to its proper shape. Drag racers that have changed over to aluminum drive shafts will paint a straight line down their drive shafts when they are new so they can tell when they have twisted too much (candy caned) from stress. The carbon fiber shaft won't do this and it will weigh in at about 8-10 pounds!
So what about u-joint angles? Not a problem. Even with the model that replaces all three of the stock shafts the u-joint angle is kept well within limits.
But aren't the carbon fiber tubes fragile to a side impact? They cover the outside of the carbon fiber tube with tough fiberglass. Many Baja racers use the shafts without problems. If you drive over a rock that touches the shaft, that is a different story. While that might bend a metal shaft it will shatter the carbon fiber shaft. A bent metal shaft will rip your drivetrain apart. A shattered carbon fiber shaft will mearly "broom out" and clean your undercaraige while it disintergrates.
With all that information I decided to take the plunge and get a one piece replacement from ACPT. In about three weeks I should be installing it.
If anyone wants to know how it goes, let me know.
You can check out my car at DSMTuners (of course) and http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-jplgsx/
Jim
with bearings and all.
