im a newb plain and simple but spent countless hours trying to learn everything i can about my 84 z..im kinda burned out from searching for various things at the moment so i will ask, is there an aluminum drive shaft compatible for my t5 ...i only ever see them for 700r4 auto's. i have an lg4 . i do have 3.73's (came with car when i bought) not that that is relevant. if theres info on here already i apologize...maybe just direct me towards that. thanks!

also another note..apparentely a few years back it was changed from a 4speed (assuming standard?) to 5spd. i know little enough as to ask the question, can you change the gears (4to5, 5to6 sp) without dropping the tranny or doing anything major to the tranny? i guess i was wondering this cause it would be sweet to change it from a 5sp to 6sp..if it would make sense..though my car bogs down in 5th till about 75 mph now..not sure what a 6 would do

 

Its just as easy as going from a 4cyl engine to a 6 then a 8, just change some parts.


http://www.inliners.org/Jack/T5tech.html
http://www.inliners.org/Jack/t5_page.html

 

All third and 4th gen driveshafts are interchangable. Except for 82 and maybe 83. Any 700r4/4l60/T5/T56 driveshaft will fit.

The best aluminum shafts are the fourth gen ones. Don't expect it to make much of a difference in performance though. I think I found a chart that said you gain 1-2hp max through the RPM range with an aluminum driveshaft.

 

actually, from what i gather, the 3rd gen aluminum shafts are stronger. They are smaller in diameter, but thicker, where-as the 4th gen ones are paper thin. Either will be a decent upgrade over the stock steel one though.

 

yeah, i wasnt really thinking it would make this huge difference, but maybe just a small part of a larger process to get what i can out of my anemic engine. but thanks for the info, sounds like a 3rd gen would be preferable for strength and maybe the 4th gen for weight, but comparable in performance? but either would be somewhat of an upgrade, thats pretty much what i needed to know! (i think)

 

4th gen ones are easier to find, and unless you are drag racing with sticky tires, you wont be breaking it anytime soon.

 

ok, good to know, i dont think drag racing will ever come up as long as i have a 305 in her. but my theory is i can get "maybe" up to 100 hp more than stock eventually, replacing all the inefficiency of the stock motor and get a little better gas mileage than i could with a 350...that being said, id take a 350 if i had the space to store it and work on it. also i have 3.72's so that wont help either....

 

I've never heard that before, but it may well be true. I've always heard that the 4th gen ones are better because they have the damper on them and balance up better. I've seen a lot of 4th gen shafts pretzel themselves though, but it's hard to say whether that's the ridiculous power those LS1 engines put through them or they're actually weaker. Wouldn't surprise me either way.

If you make 350 power you will have 350 gas mileage. 305's may have lower volumetric efficiency as a general rule due to the bore shrouding issue with cylinder heads, so you may get worse gas mileage at the same power level as a given 350, but that depends on so many different factors that it's hard to really isolate it down.

 

my only source of info is what ive been reading for the last 6 months, so basically i dont know s**t, but i have read quite a bit of articles on builds with people getting "more" power than stock but improving the gas mileage to say 20-25 mpg. im not talkin 350 power necessarily (tho i did say 100 hp increase). my rough idea is improve efficiency of the motor but also improve the performance potential. of course with my pedal buried to the floor it will never get ok mpg, but i just want it to be able to get closer to that 20-25 range when im say highway driving etc. heres one example of an article that got me thinking this way. oh and btw i would totally rather just have the baddest engine combo possible if i could afford the gas and/or could just buy another daily driver. im youngish and brokish and somewhat newly married and would like to stay that way. ha article: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/a...hp/t-1494.html

oh and i also can get this synthetic oil made by this company that makes the oil and grease for tanks and other military vehicles. costs the same as reg synthetic but is amazing stuff. i feel like if i told you some of the claims ya might think its bs, but it definately improves gas mileage by up to as much as 15%. that was the claim made to me and ive only got a quart of it in my car right now and ive seen quite a difference even with the carb needing a rebuild. it also lasts forever..unfortunately im not sure if general public can even buy it yet. im not even sure if i can get more than the quart i already did. if it is avail and i can get more id like to just put that in and see how well it works full strength.

 

The 4th gen shafts from LS1 cars (maybe LT1 too) were thin-wall and damped with cardboard inside. An aluminum shaft when dented can die all too easily so the thinner wall the tubing, the worse it is.

A friend ran in the 10s with a BBC in a 3500lb car naturally aspirated with a Liberty pro-shifted 4spd. With u-joint and yoke change, his driveshaft was an honest to goodness third gen F-body aluminum shaft.

I've had L69s and LG4s with 3.73 gears. Ther'es no reason 20-25 highway mpg isn't attainable if the car is in proper tune.

Don't waste time getting an aluminum shaft if the car doesn't have basic power-increasing mods like headers and mild cam already.

Aaaaand the oil arguments are full of a lot of hot air.

 

well my only reasoning for getting the aluminum drive shaft was i could actually potentially afford it and install it..i will be getting headers and a mild cam (trw #274 cams still around?) and all that eventually...kinda just looking for something to do in the mean time since i like workin on the car. i know its not gonna do much on its own (the alum. drive shaft) other than maybe save me a little weight. i figure its all gonna get done sometime (weight reductions, engine/exhaust improvements etc) the order at which things can be done could be played with a little.

 

I remember reading the aluminum are better balanced and more stable at high speeds. Not sure if it true but I enjoy mine. If you get a good deal go for it.

 

Honestly, if you are just looking to work on the car, start upgrading the bushings to poly, get some SFC, LCAs, a wonderbar, etc. You'll see more of a difference in the driving of your car then you'll notice with an aluminum DS. As for the 25mpg, that really isn't that difficult to achieve on the highway. My LB9 with a 700R4, only mods were headers and air intake pulled down 28 on our trip up to start the HotRod Power Tour.

 

well now that youve given me several more things i know nothing about to look up....i guess the aluminum shaft idea is out the door for now..gotta spend my next 80 hrs of free time trying to figure out what those things mean. but hey got the car, thats half the battle!

 

SFC - Subframe connectors
LCA - Lower control arms
Wonderbar - Ties the front frame rails together at the steering box. http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/ca...wonderbar.aspx

 

thanks. pickin up headers and true duals tom. getting my carb rebuilt, and replacing clutch fan with electric. then onto body work (yay :P) and then maybe those suspension parts...oh after i fab a dual snorkel too if i can find the nec parts!