DIY: Driveshaft Shop (DSS) Carbon Fibre Driveshaft

[tofurun]

Originally Posted by Panman

Noise Vibration and Harshness.

OP, does the carbon shaft work with a short shift - the DSS Alloy one does not.

I have the kart boy short throw shifter with mtec springs running a once piece dss aluminum driveshaft. Works just fine no problems. Why do you say it doesn't?

[tofurun]

Originally Posted by Norville Rogers

Did we find out whether it made a noticeable improvement?

Honestly... Idk. I don't do track driving. I guess it does feel a bit "tighter/crips" when u let off the gas and get back on. I would say there should be a hp gain to the wheels on a Dyno also because u just cut 10lbs of the shaft that transfers the power. It's a mod you will never see unless you're on a lift but I like the idea a lot more of a one piece design over that heavy factory weird looking oem one. IMO it's a must to do if you are planning on making any power. I'm one that likes the idea of setting a car up to make power before actually making it.

[Mim]

I have the aluminium shaft and it certainly feels like there is less slack in the drive train. Apart from a loudish clunk when throwing the car in reverse I can't really say there was any increased NVH as a by product of going to the one piece shaft. Unfortunately as I performed the upgrade together with an FD gear change I can't comment on the one mod alone.

[Panman]

Originally Posted by tofurun

I have the kart boy short throw shifter with mtec springs running a once piece dss aluminum driveshaft. Works just fine no problems. Why do you say it doesn't?

WIth other short shifters, the increased diameter means the bottom of the shifter hits the DS

[tofurun]

Originally Posted by Panman

WIth other short shifters, the increased diameter means the bottom of the shifter hits the DS

Had no idea. The kartboy has 0 problems.

[Panman]

Common with the TRD and a few others, nice to know the Kartboy isn't affected.

[canyons]

Just swapped in the aluminum driveshaft from Drive Shaft Shop following this DIY.

Clearance is tight. Get the car as high as possible to make this easier. Put some 2x4s or 4x4s under your jackstands if you can. keep the car as level as possible.

Breaking loose the diff bolts with the car on jackstands was the hardest part---Not much leverage. I did it using a 14mm socket and a breaker bar on the bolt side, 14mm wrench on the nut side. Get all the leverage you can ( use the longest tools you can fit). For me the best working position was laying parallel to the driveshaft.

I was able to re-install and torque the bolts with a torque wrench using a 3/8 wobble extension on a short 14mm socket.

The OEM 10mmX1.0 nuts at the Diff are collared for strength, but they are apparently NOT grade 11 like the bolts... the corners were starting to round off during removal with a standard 14mm box wrench. I sourced some grade10 non-collared replacements just because I wanted fresh hardware.

I went with Pentosin MTF2 for the tranny and Royal Purple Max Gear 75W90 for the diff. New crush washers were sourced from Bell Metrics using info elsewhere on this board.

Went together perfectly and runs fine. Tiny bit more noise at 5-10mph, gone by 30mph. No change in vibration or harshness.

Acceleration is noticeably better, not huge but noticeable. RPMs climb quicker, maybe 10% - 15% quicker by seat of pants dyno.
Useful when your driving includes lots of rapid cycles of acceleration & braking ( such as twisty canyon roads, autocross).

Looking forward to swapping in a lightened flywheel some time down the road when I do a clutch.

Edit: if you want to toss the factory spacer washers, these grade 12.9 Allen bolts from BelMetric fit fine with some class 10 nyloc nuts, no spacers required.

[why?]

anyone see any great deals for this carbon driveshaft? I'm trying to convince myself I need it.

[DocRecon]

When installing the driveshaft, should you plan on or be ready to change what I believe is called the output shaft seal? It seems like the OEM driveshaft would have seated to it and formed it a little, and now the new one may not seat all the way when you slide the shaft in.

I don't know and would like some advice on whether I should just buy a new one to be ready or leave the OEM one alone during install and hope the seal stays good.

[86TOYO2k17]

after about the 4th or 5th removal I had to replace it probably scratched it or something at some point.

Use some good lube when putting it in. Never want to go in dry, might tear the walls up.

[gpvecchi]

Not compatible with JDM TRD short shifter, right?

[DocRecon]

So annoyed....so annoyed.
I went to install mine today and when I went to put it up through the space by the rear diff, it wouldn't fit. I tried to fit it in through different ways but my Invidia Q300 is a little large in that area due to a resonator, and it's not going. It ain't happening unless I drop that rear pipe by the muffler, install, then hook my exhaust back up. I would've did that today but I don't have any new exhaust gaskets and my old ones are roached.