Blue Angel [COTW 5/30/11]

[Hendrix-Engineering]

Thanks for the feedback

[Blue70SS]

Originally Posted by Doc

Finally got my carbon fiber driveshaft I've been wanting and trying to get for over a year.

Frank at Driveshaftshop built it and it's a work of art. Shame it has to be hidden where it can't be seen. When I received it I weighed it with all the bolts and hardware on it and it weighed 21 lbs. 5.6 oz. The stock factory driveshaft which is a 2-piece aluminum shaft weighs 24 lbs. 13.4 oz. (this is with all the hardware and bolts). The 1-piece cf shaft is about 3.5 lbs lighter.

There is a huge difference in the quality and strength of the DSS shaft versus stock. You can see the difference in the joints on both ends as well as the overall finish.

I had my car dynoed before the install and best pull out of 3 was 375.15 hp with 373.52 torque. Last year I had a dyno at this same facility which is GTR Performance in Rancho Cucamonga, California and it dynoed at 370 hp with 375 torque. Ricardo there at GTR did a great job doing the dynos and install. The only change between then and now engine-wise was I got the VMAX cnc ported throttle body which it seems added about 5 hp, although when looking at the curves it had changed the torque curve to more torque earlier which is mostly what I felt after I had installed it.

After the CF Driveshaft was installed we dynoed it again and the results were good. Best pull out of 3 was 383.3 hp with 382.89 torque. This was an increase of 8 hp and 9 torque. The biggest surprise was the torque curve; you can see in the graph I've attached how much earlier it increases which I mostly attribute to the improved efficiency of the 1-piece shaft compared to the 2-piece factory shaft.

Driving impressions: I noticed the improved smoothness of the acceleration right away; I can definitely feel the improved torque but mostly just how smooth this thing now pulls all the way up the revs. The DSS shaft is dead smooth; in fact I can put my hand on the shift lever and feel virtually no vibration at all when driving which is quite an improvement over the stock shaft.

Summary: In summary I think the fact that it's 1-piece makes more of a difference than being 3.5 lbs lighter although I know that has to have some effect; probably improves response time I'm guessing. It's hard to say since I haven't tried the aluminum shaft he makes but my guess is unless you're doing a full or mostly race build, the extra expense of the CF shaft probably isn't necessary. I'd definitely recommend the 1-piece aluminum shaft though because the difference in smoothness and pull compared to stock when you accelerate is very very nice. These stronger joints will also hold up under the higher loads of forced induction, nitrous, etc.

Now for some pics...

Here's a shot of both shafts so you can see the difference between the Driveshaftshop 1-piece and the factory 2-piece:
Attachment 209522

Here's a shot of the DSS shaft on the weight scale:
Attachment 209523

Here's a shot of the factory shaft on the weight scale:
Attachment 209524

Here's a shot of the differences between the DSS joint and factory joint on the trans end:
Attachment 209525

Here's a shot of the differences between the DSS joint and factory joint on the differential end:
Attachment 209526

And here's the dyno sheet showing the baseline run in blue before the install, and the results in red after the install:
Attachment 209527

All in all I'm very pleased with the results and I'm looking forward to adding some power now. Any of you guys that have added headers, superchargers, etc. by all means get yourself one of these 1-piece shafts from Driveshaftshops and ask for Frank; he's a vendor and posts on this forum. If you're in the Inland Empire area of southern California then Ricardo at GTR can get the job done for you if you want a dyno and install.

Thanks for a great post. Between this and talking with Frank at DSS, made my decision to get the CF shaft much easier.

[Doc]

Originally Posted by Blue70SS

Thanks for a great post. Between this and talking with Frank at DSS, made my decision to get the CF shaft much easier.

You're welcome. I'm guessing the more power you're pushing through, the more benefit the CF shaft will provide over the stock shaft. You can see the harmonics and inefficiency losses in the wobbly lines on my dyno chart as it climbs up the power band. And that's on a basically stock engine. Although the peak torque increase was only 9 lbs you can see a nice fat increase up to 15 lbs in the 3k-4k rpm range. That's a very usable range.

If you get this please post the dyno results; I'll be very interested to see how much of an improvement it makes when you're really pushing a lot of power through it.

[Blue70SS]

Originally Posted by Doc

You're welcome. I'm guessing the more power you're pushing through, the more benefit the CF shaft will provide over the stock shaft. You can see the harmonics and inefficiency losses in the wobbly lines on my dyno chart as it climbs up the power band. And that's on a basically stock engine. Although the peak torque increase was only 9 lbs you can see a nice fat increase up to 15 lbs in the 3k-4k rpm range. That's a very usable range.

If you get this please post the dyno results; I'll be very interested to see how much of an improvement it makes when you're really pushing a lot of power through it.

I'll see if I can make that happen. Curious to see dyno changes anyway after 3.70 gears and Pfadt solid subframe bushes anyway.

Thanks again!

[10spokess]

Man that is some serious crud lol, great looking car and build I must say. I'm going to be watching this thread for a while

[10camaross]

How does the cf drive shaft hold up for daily driving, i heard that a cf shaft is very strong but can break or shatter if something hits it or something to that effect. Any input on this??

[Doc]

Originally Posted by 10camaross

How does the cf drive shaft hold up for daily driving, i heard that a cf shaft is very strong but can break or shatter if something hits it or something to that effect. Any input on this??

Nothing short of getting hit by a big rig would threaten the integrity of this driveshaft. If that happens the condition of the driveshaft is the least of your problems.

It's tucked up and out of the way and the exhaust pipes below it provide protection too. You'd have to be running brutal amounts of horsepower, in excess of 1000 hp before you'd get close to causing this to break and by that time I suspect you'd have broken gears or joints first already.

For daily driving on the street this shaft is actually overkill but it's great!

[10spokess]

Originally Posted by 10camaross

How does the cf drive shaft hold up for daily driving, i heard that a cf shaft is very strong but can break or shatter if something hits it or something to that effect. Any input on this??

Woah I almost thought you were me for a second and I was like I didn't post that. Anyways sorry for thread jacking and get back to look at the beautiful blue angel

[SirMike]

Doc, great thread, great write ups and super cool ride. Keep it up

[Doc]

Sneak Peek.

Finally getting paint mods done. Here's a sneek peek at some of the pieces...

First is the hood. First pic shows the hood spears sanded and masked, second pic shows it being painted, third pic shows it done.





Then we have the lower front. First pic shows it sanded and masked, second pic shows it being painted, third pic shows it done.





Last we have the rear spoiler. First pic shows it sanded and masked, second pic shows it being painted, third pic shows it done.





I'm hoping everything will be ready tomorrow so I can pick the car up. Or Wednesday at the latest. Can't wait to see it finished!

[speedster]

Very cool Doc.

That is going to look incredible live !!!

[CamaroFemme]

Subscribed and rated 5 stars.

[Edge.128]

i've been following on and off but maybe i missed it somewhere so sorry if asked already, but currently what is your total weight savings? thanks. great build!!

[Doc]

Originally Posted by Edge.128

i've been following on and off but maybe i missed it somewhere so sorry if asked already, but currently what is your total weight savings? thanks. great build!!

I should be able to pick up the car on Tuesday and I plan on getting it weighed then. Should be around 3735 I'm guessing.