OK, I'm worried. I forgot about my driveshaft. I have a built 350 going into my '86 IROC and a T-56. The rear is just the same. I forgot about the D/S...I have a stock aluminum thirdgen driveshaft with a polished yoke and new Super-strength U-joints. I'm afraid of twisting the thing like taffy. I know the 4thgen aluminum shafts are bigger and bolt right in...they also have the damper ring near the yoke. Are they stronger and good enough for 600 HP (street mostly) or should I stick with a stock steel D/S? 3rd or 4thgen? Or maybe save and buy the carbon fiber one ($$$)? Any suggestions? I saw a friend of mine twist up one like mine in his '68 Z28...nothing but a 350 TBI with a LT1 cam.

BTW: I do have a safety loop, just don't wanna get stranded one day...

 

I have an Inland Empire aluminum shaft in my car and it is a very nice piece. I am not sure but I think it is rated to over 600ftlbs if I recall correctly..... Either way, I think you will need to go to an aftermarket shaft of some kind as they are usually (always) a lot heavier duty as far as the thickness of the aluminum, the welds, and the U-joints go.

Edit: Also, aluminum shafts are actually stronger than carbon fiber ones (and usually lighter). People only go to the fiber ones if they are doing a lot of very high speed driving as they are much better at maintaining their balance at high speeds than the aluminum ones.

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1987 GTA L98 MD8
355, TFS Heads, LT4 Hot Cam
My GTA

The Minnesota F-body Club

[This message has been edited by Matt87GTA (edited September 25, 2001).]

 

FYI, the LS1 shafts are bigger then the 1le, but have thinner walls.

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-Justin-

T-Top '86 5.0L LG4 700R4 WS6
T-Top '92 5.0L TBI 700R4
My '86 Firebird Homepage
The F-body Model Kit Pictoral Archive (updated 5/30/01)

There can be only one!!

 

Go aftermarket steel or alum.

Carbon I thought was so if it was going to blow up it would turn into a weed whacker and just clean off the rust from the under side of your car. (safety purposes so it doesn't go through the floor if you forgot your loop)

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1989 Trans Am GTA, L98 5.7L TPI, TH700-R4, T-Tops, dual cats, 9-bolt rear, 3.27,
- K&N Air Filter
- Dynomax muffler

1992 Camaro RS, LO3 5.0L TBI, T-5, T-Tops, 3.08, L69 Dual Snorkel - Sold
- K&N Air Filter

Honda engines ROCK, I have one on my lawn mower but I still have to push it.

 

If you have the money buy the carbon fiber. The cf driveshaft has less wieght so it lightens the car and takes less power to turn. Carbon fiber is much stronger than steel or aluminum.

 

If you're going factory, get the 1LE one, the later 4th gen one has a tendency to break.

Aftermarket, there's a lot of good choices. I just don't see the point in the CF ones, they're not usually much lighter if at all and not as strong, their only advantage is that their harmonic frequency is higher (can spin at more rpm before they naturally flex). I've got a Denny's metal matrix (fancy word for composite aluminum) 3.5" one in my '97 TA, it does it's job well, and have no thoughts of it breaking. Disadvantages, well, it's so big that you have to move the TA to remove it, expensive ($430, I think it's more now), and it's a PITA to order it, since Denny insists on having you crawl under the car and measuring everything so that it's perfect for your car...

If I were to do it again, I'd probably just find a good shop and have a custom steel one made.


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Mark
'87 Formula 350
’83 Crossfire TA
'97 WS6 TA (for sale)

 

either way, i'd say no matter which one you get, put in a drive shaft loop so in the case it breaks, you don't get catapulted....
happened to a dude here awhile back...kinda funny to watch, but the reality is scary.

 

Wrong. The only benefit that a CF shaft has over aluminum is better harmonics as stated above. It can be spun much faster without having vibration issues.

Have you ever lifted a CF shaft and an aluminum shaft side by side? I have and can tell you that a CF shaft is heavier than an aluminum one. And even the manufacturers (Inland Empire in this case) will tell you that they are not as strong as aluminum. And steel is by far the strongest material to build a driveshaft out of but they get to be so heavy when they are built to handle lots of power that they are impracticle for most cars.

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1987 GTA L98 MD8
355, TFS Heads, LT4 Hot Cam
My GTA

The Minnesota F-body Club