I've been snooping about looking at one piece tailshafts and this about sums it up. Not sure of which shaft they're on about but the principle would be the same. Aluminum -is the best way to go as it is very light, quite strong (800hp potential atleast), and not super expensive. It gives you the best of everything. I have seen them for as little as $220 and as much as $375. Weight = 12lbs -15lbs Steel -is a good route to go but considerably heavier than an aluminum driveshaft. You get a 1 piece shaft, less weight, and a cheap price. I have seen them for as little as $175 and as much as $250. Weight = 17lbs-19lbs Carbon fiber - is the lightest and strongest with the one piece driveshafts. It also has the biggest price tag, also, it is only slightly lighter than aluminum. I've seen them range in price from $600 to $1400. Weight = 12lbs-13lbs Stock replacement -heaviest driveshaft, very expensive to buy from Nissan, two piece Weight = 31lbs What would be your choice and brand for a high powered zed guys?
steel one piece......still a good weight saving over stock, with the safety of it being steel, nice and strong and safe
Members on this forum have first hand experience with failed c/f shafts, it ain't pretty! I wouldn't buy another one.
I bought an alloy shaft for the race car. Sold the steel one pce, Too heavy and the one I had had a CV joint. Also make sure you get a kit that replaces the rear CV with a uni joint. There is too much for and aft movement potential with the CV joint IMO
if my carbon shaft went ..I would get another Aluminium isnt good for High HP cars that get driven hard . For structures that need to be very stiff but don't need to endure a lot of flexing or vibration, aluminum is good stuff. But for structures that need to be able to absorb energy without suffering metal fatigue, steel or carbon fiber is usually used. A driveshaft is one of those structures. Aluminum has a very high ultimate tensile strength but it has a pretty low fatigue limit. This means that once you pass a pretty low threshold the metal begins to weaken each time it is stressed beyond that fatigue limit. Over time, the metal will weaken until it snaps at a stress point, which is usually a seam or weld. To compound this problem, aluminum is very rigid meaning it doesn't tend to flex much which would absorb energy, spread the strain out, and lessen the strain on the part. To the layman the high strength rating of aluminum looks very attractive, but usually when an engineer designs something out of aluminum they design around its fatigue limit. For reference, this is what the terms mean: Fatigue Limit- The maximum stress below which a materiel can presumable endure an infinite number of stress cycles. Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS)- Another common term to describe mechanical strength. This metal property is expressed in thousands of pounds per square inch and denotes how much stress can be gradually applied to the metal before it fractures. Steel's fatigue limit is usually pretty close below its ultimate tensile strength, but aluminum's fatigue limit is way below it's ultimate tensile strength. To us that would mean this- A steel driveshaft that is able to hold 800 lbs of torque before it snaps might be able to repeatedly endure launches that stress it to 700 lbs of torque without weakening. An aluminum driveshaft might be able to hold the same 800 lbs of torque before it snaps but due to aluminum's low fatigue limit it may only be able to repeatedly endure cycles of 500 lbs of torque before it begins suffering metal fatigue. Enough cycles of 600+ lbs of torque and that shaft's going to eventually snap.
what do we expect from a tail shaft? .1 .2 sec improvement on the Quarter, slightly better acceleration out of a corner than our competitor. or bragging rights . I am still running the factory shaft and i bet its still running the original bearings, that said i bet its due for a recon as theirs a slight vibration a certain speeds which makes me think i should have a look at it. I will buy a one peice STEEL shaft to replace it
Checked this before I bought it off Z1. They guarrantee it up to 800HP and will replace it no questions asked if it fails. Would ask them to replace it with a CroMo one if this one dies.
I have heard of a two piece jag xjs tailshaft coming out in a test drive with the apprentice and he is dead, cut the car in half at 150mph I would stay with the conservative factory one when it is worn the centre bearing makes a vibration flogging sensation to warn you time is nigh for repair and youre still alive
Expect 0 from a tailshaft other that it drive the diff No qtr mile improvement... No better acceleration... Just less serviceable parts and a more direct feel. In any case, I'd go steel based on price and structural integrity.
Alloy shafts twist like a licorice strap when they fail. I have a ballistic jacket over my tranny tunnel anyway. The 2 seater has such a short drive shaft its actually shorter than one end of the ford 2 pce one. Steel ones disintegrate, carbon one's turn into a broom !!
thats why I have carbon 1/safety 2/less rotational mass and overall weight of the car (kills 2 birds one stone) do you have a tailshaft loop? ally snaps like steel
I got a custom 1 piece tailshaft for sale, not sure what material it's made of, weighs about 3-5 kg lighter than a stock one. It's made for a auto 2+2 NA. How would I tell what's it's made of ? Also any way I can change the rear bracket from a NA to a TT so I can use it ?
