I know that the diamater for these shafts are
LT1 - 2.5"
1LE - 2.75"
LS1 - 3"

but which is the best for the street? I don't plan on going over 100mph or so, highest would be in the quarter, because it's too scary if you crash at those speeds. And I enjoy the street more anyways. But the LS1 shaft is probably the heaviest, and the LT1 the lightest, right? But what would launch the quickest and hardest. Also isn't someone making a 3.5" driveshaft? What is that good for?

 

from a rotational weight stand point lighter is better, but naturally you lose strength. no expert but i'd guess lighter and thicker walled would be best ,but you may not be able to make that happen in the same piece.

 

The 1LE and LS1 d/s are aluminum. The LT1 is steel (and suffered from bad vibrations). From a performance standpoint, the larger the diameter, the higher the critical speed will be. The thicker the wall, the stronger it will be.

 

I would go with the 1LE shaft because it was developed for our cars and is still being used on later models. So I would say it has something going for it. My opinion, also I am using one.

 

the 1LE is stronger than the LS1 shaft. people with ls1's switch to it.

 

I'd go with the LS1 shaft because a larger rotating axis will generate more torque to the rear wheels.

 

However; less weight and mass will generate a faster speed. So go for the 1LE over the LS1. :hail: :hail:

 

Can you explain this better? I don't see how a larger diameter driveshaft would generate more torque.

 

It's on a point of axis. Torque is measured by the product of force x distance from the point of rotation. So the more distance there is from the point of rotation (center of driveshaft) the more torque that will be generated....

 

That is true, but since the pinion shaft and the tranny output shaft are not changing diameter, putting a larger diameter driveshaft on should not change the torque. Yes, there is more torque at the outside of a larger driveshaft, but then it is reduced at the pinion shaft. If you look at this picture, it doesn't matter what diameter the driveshaft is, since the output shaft and pinion shaft are fixed diameter.

However, a larger diameter driveshaft has more inertia than a smaller, which would take more power to spin it up, but it would retain that inertia between gear shifts.
I'd still go with the LS1 shaft though