1 pc. drive shaft for man.trans. pros and cons

[presholt33]

I know they are lighter in weight. Does in help with the clunking when going slow.

[hammdo]

The support bearing in the rear of the trans would probably do you better. The trans has it machined out to support one, but it was not installed. I believe several have upgraded that first...

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...upport+bearing

-Don

[Bo White]

Some clunking comes from loading and unloading the driveshaft suddenly like clutch in and clutch out situations. It comes from the rubber isolators on the front and rear of tge factory driveshaft bouncing.

[AiL762]

Originally Posted by hammdo

The support bearing in the rear of the trans would probably do you better. The trans has it machined out to support one, but it was not installed. I believe several have upgraded that first...

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...upport+bearing

-Don

ignore my ignorance, but what benefit does that actually do?

I might be tempted to do that whenever I change my clutch and flywheel

[Driveshaftshop]

this is some standard info we send out when asked, i also have similar info on material if you like.

Guibo/hanger issue with stock shaft
The stock shaft will have to start by putting the torque into the front Guibo and it gives, then it moves down to the hanger that is very soft and will move up about .750" then back to the rear guibo and compress that one, so by the time the torque goes thru the shaft its dampened allot to the point of feeling soft or disconnected, by putting the single shaft in the car will be allot more responsive to pedal/torque input. It will have a more athletic feel and be quicker due to the lack of the soft parts being removed.

[My 5th]

I had the DSS one-piece installed when I changed to the 3.91 gears and the DSS 1,000 hp axles. I don't know if any single item caused it, but 90% of my factory clunk is gone. Perhaps the backlash on the stock rear-end was on the loose end of the specs and the new one is tighter. I really don't care which one, or all three, of the new parts is responsible for losing the clunk, but I'm happy as a clam.

[hammdo]

I have an auto so I went with the DSS Carbon Fiber driveshaft -- it really smoothed things out. I know there are folks with an M6 that did the bearing first in the rear of the trans, then did the driveshaft (for the same reasons Bo and DSS stated). If you're doing the clutch and have the trans out, that would be a great time to add the bearing -- I believe it helps to prevents the shaft in the rear of the trans from splitting off.

The single piece driveshaft is amazingly smooth -- love how it helped my A6...

-Don

[96MrBass]

I have the G-force aluminum shaft and it feels like it transfers the power to the ground so much better. It also seemed to be a lot more smooth than the stock shaft. Definitely one of the best mods on my car imo.

[cross-bones]

Everyone I know of here in Germany that has a 1-Piece Driveshaft has problems with vibration and balance of the shaft. It could be because we don't have the speed limits on the highway like in the US and the cars are driven with continuous higher speed here. So most people in the US won't bother it, because they are travelling with lower speed most of the time.

My other suspicion is, that the manufactures like to send their grade B and C production overseas because the return freight cost would be too much for the poor buyer. So they sell their "Junk-Parts" for full price and don't have to handle with any warranty, because they just tell the customer to send the part back for inspection.

[Camaro Dude]

Originally Posted by cross-bones

Everyone I know of here in Germany that has a 1-Piece Driveshaft has problems with vibration and balance of the shaft. It could be because we don't have the speed limits on the highway like in the US and the cars are driven with continuous higher speed here. So most people in the US won't bother it, because they are travelling with lower speed most of the time.

My other suspicion is, that the manufactures like to send their grade B and C production overseas because the return freight cost would be too much for the poor buyer. So they sell their "Junk-Parts" for full price and don't have to handle with any warranty, because they just tell the customer to send the part back for inspection.

Your 1st paragraph theory is quite interesting!

2nd paragraph theory is a little bit too "out there" for my tastes , but hey, I try to keep an open mind, lol.

[Camaro Dude]

Coming back to the driveshaft discussion, ultimately in the driveshaft debates, it really boils down to how long, is too long, to use a single piece driveshaft?

Trucks use the 2-piece units for good reason.

Super fast, short wheelbased, sports cars and their teams, seem to like using 1-piece.

What is the best for our Camaro then?

Here is one discussion, basically a 1 piece vender vs a 2-piece vender war. http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102113

[Driveshaftshop]

I kinda disagree with this information. Almost all new Pick Up Trucks use a long single 5" aluminum shaft there very thin and need to be upgraded when adding HP, we actually did George Kook JR's (Kook's Headers) Supercharged 2015 F150 during the week, Truck is a double cab short bed with a 70" long single shaft (allot of fun to drive) We made a 5x.125 wall monster so it can be run on the Dyno and safe from breakage at high speed. There is no real solid reason not to run a single shaft in this car or others. SAE has given parameters on Critical speed-Safe factor speed-shaft design and shaft material and as long as the build falls between these parameters there is no reason not to go with a single shaft. We change tires so the car will handle better, we put more power into the engine so it will move faster, we change clutches and suspension parts all to make the car better. Engineering wise there is no reason a single shaft can not be used, it adds to the car and does not take away from it. There will always be a Ford VS Chevy type argument as long as we modify our cars so i believe its more of a personal choice, Both Vendors in that argument sell single shafts now.

Originally Posted by Camaro Dude

Coming back to the driveshaft discussion, ultimately in the driveshaft debates, it really boils down to how long, is too long, to use a single piece driveshaft?

Trucks use the 2-piece units for good reason.

Super fast, short wheelbased, sports cars and their teams, seem to like using 1-piece.

What is the best for our Camaro then?

Here is one discussion, basically a 1 piece vender vs a 2-piece vender war. http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102113

[Merc]

If you have a M6 SS the 2 piece driveshaft is a documented wink link if you launch your car at the strip. I was lucky and found it before it came apart. My buddy not so lucky and his came apart and made a hell of a mess to the under side of the car.

I run a DSS shaft in Pumpkin and launch at 4800 on a 2-step (60' @ 1.63 ) on slicks with no issues. Drives fine on the street or the road course. The 2-piece shaft is a ticking time bomb if you run the M6 SS hard, especially if you don't check for loose or bent bolts in your 2-piec shaft.

No con's with the 1 piece shaft that I know of.

[Camaro Dude]

Originally Posted by Driveshaftshop

I kinda disagree with this information. Almost all new Pick Up Trucks use a long single 5" aluminum shaft there very thin and need to be upgraded when adding HP, we actually did George Kook JR's (Kook's Headers) Supercharged 2015 F150 during the week, Truck is a double cab short bed with a 70" long single shaft (allot of fun to drive) We made a 5x.125 wall monster so it can be run on the Dyno and safe from breakage at high speed. There is no real solid reason not to run a single shaft in this car or others. SAE has given parameters on Critical speed-Safe factor speed-shaft design and shaft material and as long as the build falls between these parameters there is no reason not to go with a single shaft. We change tires so the car will handle better, we put more power into the engine so it will move faster, we change clutches and suspension parts all to make the car better. Engineering wise there is no reason a single shaft can not be used, it adds to the car and does not take away from it. There will always be a Ford VS Chevy type argument as long as we modify our cars so i believe its more of a personal choice, Both Vendors in that argument sell single shafts now.

I hold allegiance to neither side, I'm simply keeping the debate alive with questions that should be asked imho, just a FWIW.

The line I highlighted in black somewhat contradicts your facts. I mean, is this ultimately an emotional decision one must make, or is there a winner of the two, for our application, particularly on a $ per mod/results ratio?

Question: Has your 1 piece driveshaft design, 100% eliminated the "whip" issue that was known in the past, particularly at high speed? I'd like to bring up Cross-Bone's previous post, where he described that 1-piece driveshafted cars were vibrating at Autobahn speeds.

Question 2: Is a 1-piece driveshaft cheaper to manufacture than I 2-piece? If so, wouldn't all OEM's be running 1 piece designs today?

Question 3: Would a long, high speed luxury car, benefit from less NVH with a 2-piece driveshaft? Or is the 1-Piece design finally at par in this department?

Originally Posted by Merc

No con's with the 1 piece shaft that I know of.

Driveshaft Whip? You never heard of that?

Also NVH inherent in some designs.