MELLOWYELLOW06

OK, here's the deal. Ive been hearing alot about how a new lightweight driveshaft can make a world of difference. I need help from all who have done it and their honest opinions. Ive seen many threads over the last couple of years but some of the old info is hard to find since I lost all my bookmarks with the change over.

I have a GT with a Paxton HO intercooled setup with 440 to the wheels.
I have 4.10 gears.
I am extremely lowered on sportlines.

How is the power difference or at least the feel? What are the pluses? What are the minuses/any drawbacks/problems/annoyances? Ive heard of rubbing underneathe when really lowered with the 4". Is this true? I heard someone mention 3.5" and no rubbing with them. Is this true? Where is the best place to buy? Which brand? How much?

Any and all help will be extremely appreciated.

foolio2k4

Lots of people have been talking about spydershaft. Apparantly they dont rub when lowered. I've been taking a look at the fidanza driveshaft for some reason. I think the spydershaft is also one of the lightest aluminum driveshaft out there. Not much difference between the aluminum and bmr CF.

devin gt/cs

i don't know much about it Joe but i hear about the spydershaft a lot. might wanna check it out. it tapers from 3.5 to 4 though so it might be an issue with a drop like ours

Derf00

http://www.leonardracing.com/drive01.php

That's the company that makes Spyder. The pinion angle and all the other annoyances that can come from installing an aftermarket driveshaft are due to a non adjustable UCA being used that screws up the rear suspension geometry. If you use an adjustable UCA you can get your pinion angle correct and forgo most issues.

Riptide

That and if you aren't lowered no worries on vibration. Or so I've been told.

grampa_stang

I know this isin't what you want to hear..but dude, with the power you already have along with the horror stories we've all read regarding vibration issues, I'd leave well enough alone. I wanted one myself (at first). Lots of $$ for potential headaches and maybe a tenth or 2 at the track.

There are some here that have them just sitting in their garage or have sent them back 3-4 times due to vibration.

On the otherhand...if I had $$ burning a hole in my pocket and had even more $$ to take it to a driveshaft specialist to get it balanced...I'd do it.

Derf00

Something else to consider is that some of the vibration issues are caused by people not indexing their output shaft on the tranny and the pinion BEFORE removing the old DS. In otherwords, whatever clock position your output shaft and pinion flange are at when you pull the old DS, they need to be aligned the same way when putting the new one in.

The rebalancing of the new DS can also play into it but that's unavoidable with ANY DS that is shipped OEM or not.

CutterWolf

Very good point! Joe I'm going to PM you some other info that mite help you out also

iROK24/7

I've heard the stock DS is infamous for being a heavy, weak, P.O.S. that should be replaced ASAP. Do you really think there are more problems with aftermarket DS? I haven't read too many negative reports... did I miss something?

Riptide

The problems with the aftermarket DS are usually vibration related.

The stock DS is about 30 pounds heavier and AFAIK isn't necessarily weak. I've heard it's good up to easily 400whp.