Axle-Exchange One-piece Aluminum Driveshaft ~ impressions
 

Thank you to Mark and Mike of the Axle Exchange for including me in the development of the new one-piece aluminum driveshafts for BRZ and FRS's, it was a pleasure being a part of the process and bringing these to the market.
The install went extremely smooth and the difference is absolutely noticeable. The car accelerates much more smoothly while revving more quickly and the chassis in general feels more taught during on/off throttle transitions. The OEM Driveshaft weighs in at about 25lbs and the one piece aluminum came in at just about 12lbs.
Intro pricing will be $425 and these driveshafts can be purchased at the Axle Exchange in Fairfield, NJ or by contacting Mark at the shop at 973-808-2800. Pics will be up shortly at axle-exchange.com



Excellent customer service and an awesome product!

Manufacturing:
https://sphotos-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/h...95462147_n.jpg

Next to my OEM driveshaft:
https://sphotos-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/h...43493943_n.jpg

Installed:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...37107233_n.jpg

And a shot of my BRZ in case you see me at a meet and have any questions!
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...62999977_n.jpg

Does this fit fine without any hammering out of the tunnel? On past Subaru models the aluminum driveshafts (which typically are thicker than CF) will need some hammering in certain key areas so they don't rub.

Yup this was literally a 30 minute install, we jack the car up from the rear so that the front end was pointing down, unbolted the old driveshaft/carrier bearing, installed the new driveshaft and we were good to go. No hammering/modifying needed. I took the car out for about an hour after that without any issues at all. Very happy with the results.

oh nj? yes im feeling this upgrade,reasonable price. you go to edgewater thrusdays? id like to talk to u about it

What are the U-joints and shaft rated for power wise?

Intriguing. :thumbsup:

Any NVH issues with the aluminum?

Did you take note of the yoke construction? If so were they machined, cast, or forged?

Great weight savings!

@slates74 Is there any vibration on high speeds?

hows the noise level?

NICE. interested in more info

Just got back in from another drive, very happy with the results of this mod.

No notable increase in NVH and no vibration issues at any speed. Feels as smooth as stock, if not smoother. Shifts feel more positive when engaging into each gear. The only notable change in sound is that the typical noise you hear from the trans at low speed even with the stock shaft, is slightly more audible, likely because of the hollow construction of the driveshaft and the one piece design that removes all of the connecting points of the stock two piece driveshaft. I only noticed it the first time I drove the car and really can't tell the difference now.

I can honestly say I can feel a difference in the way the car accelerates, especially now that I went out for a night drive and I'm not battling heat soak in the 90 degree+ weather.
Is it like adding forced induction to the car? Of course not, but it feels similar to the difference of driving with the AC off verse on in most cars. A very worthwhile and good bang for the buck in my opinion.

I'm not sure of the yoke construction but I'll be sure to ask for you guys when I drive down to pick up my stock anchor, I mean axle :) . I do know that they have MANY high hp mustangs and camaro's running their driveshafts, including a 1400hp mustang that's setup as a street car and have no issues with any of the components of the driveshaft breaking.

I feel this mod, in addition to the forged BBS wheels on my car that weigh roughly 18lbs a piece, do a great job of freeing up some rotational mass and allowing the car to rev more quickly and put more power to the ground. I'd love to do a 1/4 mile run in the car on a nice cool night and see what it does with these two simple mods since my car is completely stock in terms of I/H/E and tune. I think these mods plus 4.55 or similar gears could potentially put me in the high 13 to low 14 second 1/4 mile range but that's just a guess.

For anyone interested in calling the Axle Exchange, speak with Mark and tell him Sean referred you and he'll get you in on the $425 intro price!

Grip Ronin:
I haven't made it to Edgewater in a few weeks because everytime I do I get pulled over for no front plate but I can give it a shot if the weather looks nice one night soon.

UUUgggghhhhhhh, more stuff on my wish list!! You bastard!!

Inquiring minds want to the know the OD of the shaft.

I think their website says 3".

are there more benefits going aluminum as opposed to carbon fiber?

I think just price.....I was looking at cf shafts for my wrx....they were ~25% lighter smaller od and twice the price of aluminum. ( aluminum has to be thicker to equal the strength of cf)

CF will also twist more before it breaks, acting a little like a sprung hub clutch. This can be an advantage as it's more forgiving.

@slates74 what was the highest speed you have gone with the new drive shaft?
The only thing that is holding me now is that I hear that Aluminum drive shaft vibrates at high speed while Carbon Fiber don't.

I like the idea of a single piece aluminum driveshaft, but I keep on coming back to the same question:

On a car that is supposed to be light and inexpensive, why did the factory choose a heavier & more expensive to produce driveshaft?

There has to be a reason they went with a two-piece shaft; such as a destructive harmonic vibration that was damaging the transmission or differential...or some other reason. Twelve pounds is a lot of weight savings in the drive train, but I'm just not sure I want to jump on this band wagon until there is long-term experience with the lightweight shafts.

so it sounds like theres some noticeable noise i remember my 1 piece ds on my 240sx made huge wining noises over time. good price though...

The gears certainly will help. I have a 4.67 in mine and gained a noticeable improvement in power delivery. Lightweight drivetrain parts could hurt your 1/4-mile since revs drop off between shifts, unlike heavier parts that carry inertia. If 0-60 or 1/4-mile is important than you'd want a solid driveshaft more for power delivery than anything.

It's to combat NVH. The same goes for the dual-mass flywheel. Lightweight and/or solid bits cause shakes, rattles, and noise that people would otherwise equate to an issue.

i wont be there this week cause im in VA but next week if the weather is good ill go. police dam near host the meet lol so zip tie a front plate lol

I've had the car near 100 mph so far and haven't noticed any vibration whatsoever. In regards to any extra noise, as I said before I can't discern any difference at this point at all. The only difference I could at first was that I could hear the typical rattle sound that the transmission makes at under 10 mph slightly more clear but even that has been hard to remember the difference of after driving this much. I really can't say enough good about this mod for the price point. The car feels tighter and more responsive overall with no notable downsides.

@slates74, i need to get a ride along one time in the car and see how the car feels with the new driveshaft. I'm debating on getting this...

I like the idea of having a lightweight drive shaft.. But why did the OEM choose to use a 2 piece system? Clearances perhaps? Cost? Maybe a stock part from something else? Would like to know some of the reasons behind the OEM design and choice.

Update from Mark, the yokes are machined from forged pieces and this particular driveshaft is rated up to 700hp.

The two piece construction is supposed to dampen sound more than a one piece but speaking from experience it's not an issue at all. In terms of clearance, after I took the car out for a drive yesterday we jacked it back up and inspected for any points that may have come in contact with the driveshaft and as expected there were none.

I would think its more adventageous for clearances since its angled. The OEM has to consider all scenarios the DS might encounter under extremes. As the DS will flex and move as the suspension and rear end move about. Nice to lose that weight on a reciprocating piece.. Enjoy..

MT, AT or both?
 

I'm assuming that this is for the Manual Transmission only, right?

Ah I could understand that as well. My car is pretty low on coils and so far, so good!

As of now they only have one for the MT model I believe, if anyone is in the NNJ area with an auto model shoot me a pm and I'll see if I can set something up for you.

Op are you still stock exhaust?
I wonder what's the clearance for a full 2.5 header back system.

Still on stock exhaust but I don't think a 2.5 in exhaust would be an issue, if you look at the under car shot the resonator is next to the driveshaft and I believe that is bigger than 2.5 in OD so I'm assuming an aftermarket exhaust would clear as well. Not sure though, just speculation.

You have a pending sale once it is AT approved

Went back and look at the pics
It does looks like you still have 1"-2" clearance 2.5" full exhaust should be fine

Yeah I'd say so. If I were going for an exhaust it'd likely be the perrin 2.5 resonated. If I end up swapping I'll let you know.

If this thing does weight only 12lbs then it's lighter than the 2 carbon fiber drive shafts by 1-2lbs. If it's cheaper and lighter, plus can handle up to 700lbs of torque then I don't see why someone wouldn't buy this for only $425!

saw you at the meet today. Definitely gonna look into this!

Nice meeting you!

wow, super light weight, in for release info!