Quote:
Originally Posted by RallySport Direct
An aluminum shaft will be cheaper and lighter, but it will be larger. I don't know how much room an aluminum shaft would leave for exhaust clearance, but it won't be much if any.
A steel driveshaft is going to be too heavy to for a 1 piece shaft and you need a carrier bearing to support that kind of weight. Aluminum and steel will be quite a bit cheaper, but carbon fiber does have quite a few advantages.
We actually did a writeup that covers both aluminum and carbon fiber driveshafts and the differences between them. I will post a few highlights from our overview.
Carbon and Aluminum Drive Shaft Overview
- CF has a smaller OD, which means direct replacement with no modifications. Some applications require modification to heat shields or transmission tunnels to allow adequate clearance for the larger OD Aluminum shaft.
- CF shafts are capable of higher speeds
- The CF shaft can twist about 2X as much compared to the aluminum counter part before it fails from sheer stress
- When the CF shaft fails, the fibers will come apart and un-wind. When an Aluminum shaft fails…well you have a 14lb sledge hammer spinning at over 1000RPM going to town under your car
Aluminum does have a couple advantages over carbon fiber though
- An equivalent CF shaft will be about 5-10% heavier then a Aluminum counter part
- Aluminum shafts are only about 30-50% of the price of the CF unit
Let us know if you guys have any questions about this
Thanks,
Zach |
How does the shear strength of the CF compare to the Aluminium? You mention that the CF one can twist more before failure, but so would one made of rubber. This isn't really a good indication of it's strength.