Underdrive Pulleys & Aluminum Driveshaft - Thoughts?
05-21-2008, 10:24 PM
#1
2nd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Illinois
Posts: 269
Underdrive Pulleys & Aluminum Driveshaft - Thoughts?
I have a 2008 GT w/ manual transmission. I have a C&L CAI and Tunes on order from Brenspeed (waiting on delivery!). My questions are:
Isthereenough power to be gained from the underdrive pullys to justify the cost? I am assuming this takes power away from you cooling and charging systems to make available to the driveshaft?
What about aluminum driveshafts - is there enough power to be gained to justify the cost? Also, according to a recent post, there seems to be a lot of issues with vibration.
I've already learned alot from MF in a short timeand appreciate the help!
Isthereenough power to be gained from the underdrive pullys to justify the cost? I am assuming this takes power away from you cooling and charging systems to make available to the driveshaft?
What about aluminum driveshafts - is there enough power to be gained to justify the cost? Also, according to a recent post, there seems to be a lot of issues with vibration.
I've already learned alot from MF in a short timeand appreciate the help!
05-22-2008, 08:16 AM
#2
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Greater Philadelphia area
Posts: 408
RE: Underdrive Pulleys & Aluminum Driveshaft - Thoughts?
Depends on what you want to do with your car. In year one I wanted to eclipse 300rwhp all NA.
I have both. I was not going to do the UDPs but I got some really cheap and I could not pass on them. UDPs by themselves are not noticeable on the butt dyno..unless you have a REALLY sensitive one. Even if you think you will get 'up to 10 hp' on top of the estimated 260 rwhp basehp for a GT manualI think someone would be hard pressed to actually sense the the extra rwhp it frees up. That being said, it does make a difference and a dynojet will show it. WhatI did notice was that the rpms rose slightly across the board. I have not experienced any ill effects (cooling, charging, current draw, etc.)
As far as the one piece DS it doesn't allow the engine to produce more power, rather it takes slightly less force to turn it and thus more power is transferred to the rear wheels. again, when I got it installed I tried to be criticaland unbiasedin evaluating its effects. Even being critical on it, it does have a measurable effect on my butt dyno. Definitely spins up faster. Shifting seems smoother. Reasoning also implies that it takes less force to slow the DSso it 'should' improve braking performance, but I have not heard ofanyone actually testing that. One-pieces typicallysupport higher HP applications (going FI?) so for these reasons it is a good foundation piece if you ever want to build up the car futher one day (me maybe)and/or get the max power to the ground that you can (me.)
I have heard of many complain of a bad 'thunk' when shifting with the2-piece (as did I.) Whilethe stocker is indeed heavier(has more nvh-deadening material in it, primarily rubber I believe)and has an extra joint in it (3 joint total which allgrab/create some parasitic loss,) moving to a 1-piece won't improve shifting habits. IMOshifting at low rpms does not seem to be healthy and it seems like that is a big cause of the thunk. (could be wrong, have been before)
I have had zero issues with the Spydershaft. I too was worried at first so Igot it installed on itsown its own (no other mods) with the perspective thatI could specifically guage the difference. Two weeks later I did a dyno runso the car was up over 130 mph.You can see what the combination of mods and tune produced at the dyno for me. I ran the Brenspeed 87 tune that day.
good luck!
I have both. I was not going to do the UDPs but I got some really cheap and I could not pass on them. UDPs by themselves are not noticeable on the butt dyno..unless you have a REALLY sensitive one. Even if you think you will get 'up to 10 hp' on top of the estimated 260 rwhp basehp for a GT manualI think someone would be hard pressed to actually sense the the extra rwhp it frees up. That being said, it does make a difference and a dynojet will show it. WhatI did notice was that the rpms rose slightly across the board. I have not experienced any ill effects (cooling, charging, current draw, etc.)
As far as the one piece DS it doesn't allow the engine to produce more power, rather it takes slightly less force to turn it and thus more power is transferred to the rear wheels. again, when I got it installed I tried to be criticaland unbiasedin evaluating its effects. Even being critical on it, it does have a measurable effect on my butt dyno. Definitely spins up faster. Shifting seems smoother. Reasoning also implies that it takes less force to slow the DSso it 'should' improve braking performance, but I have not heard ofanyone actually testing that. One-pieces typicallysupport higher HP applications (going FI?) so for these reasons it is a good foundation piece if you ever want to build up the car futher one day (me maybe)and/or get the max power to the ground that you can (me.)
I have heard of many complain of a bad 'thunk' when shifting with the2-piece (as did I.) Whilethe stocker is indeed heavier(has more nvh-deadening material in it, primarily rubber I believe)and has an extra joint in it (3 joint total which allgrab/create some parasitic loss,) moving to a 1-piece won't improve shifting habits. IMOshifting at low rpms does not seem to be healthy and it seems like that is a big cause of the thunk. (could be wrong, have been before)
I have had zero issues with the Spydershaft. I too was worried at first so Igot it installed on itsown its own (no other mods) with the perspective thatI could specifically guage the difference. Two weeks later I did a dyno runso the car was up over 130 mph.You can see what the combination of mods and tune produced at the dyno for me. I ran the Brenspeed 87 tune that day.
good luck!
05-22-2008, 08:17 AM
#3
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Palm Beach to South Carolina
Posts: 1,567
RE: Underdrive Pulleys & Aluminum Driveshaft - Thoughts?
I had the underdrive pulleys and an aluminum one-piece driveshaft installed two weeks after I purchased my 08 GT. The engine definitely revs faster to redline and the clunking sound from the two-piece driveshaft is gone. The car "feels" lighter on its feet and is much more responsive.
I haven't noticed any lack of power to the accessories (the AC cools the same as it did before the UDPs - although I do have 3.55s) and I don't have any vibration from the one-piece driveshaft. These mods are definitely worth it and I picked up 2 MPG (hand calc)!
Irecently installed the Steeda CAI with Brenspeed's 87 tune and all I can say is WOW! You will LOVE IT!!!!!
I haven't noticed any lack of power to the accessories (the AC cools the same as it did before the UDPs - although I do have 3.55s) and I don't have any vibration from the one-piece driveshaft. These mods are definitely worth it and I picked up 2 MPG (hand calc)!
Irecently installed the Steeda CAI with Brenspeed's 87 tune and all I can say is WOW! You will LOVE IT!!!!!
05-22-2008, 04:30 PM
#6
4th Gear Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: West Melbourne, FL
Posts: 1,373
RE: Underdrive Pulleys & Aluminum Driveshaft - Thoughts?
ORIGINAL: jlaurens06gt
Depends on what you want to do with your car. In year one I wanted to eclipse 300rwhp all NA.
I have both. I was not going to do the UDPs but I got some really cheap and I could not pass on them. UDPs by themselves are not noticeable on the butt dyno..unless you have a REALLY sensitive one. Even if you think you will get 'up to 10 hp' on top of the estimated 260 rwhp basehp for a GT manualI think someone would be hard pressed to actually sense the the extra rwhp it frees up. That being said, it does make a difference and a dynojet will show it. WhatI did notice was that the rpms rose slightly across the board. I have not experienced any ill effects (cooling, charging, current draw, etc.)
As far as the one piece DS it doesn't allow the engine to produce more power, rather it takes slightly less force to turn it and thus more power is transferred to the rear wheels. again, when I got it installed I tried to be criticaland unbiasedin evaluating its effects. Even being critical on it, it does have a measurable effect on my butt dyno. Definitely spins up faster. Shifting seems smoother. Reasoning also implies that it takes less force to slow the DSso it 'should' improve braking performance, but I have not heard ofanyone actually testing that. One-pieces typicallysupport higher HP applications (going FI?) so for these reasons it is a good foundation piece if you ever want to build up the car futher one day (me maybe)and/or get the max power to the ground that you can (me.)
I have heard of many complain of a bad 'thunk' when shifting with the2-piece (as did I.) Whilethe stocker is indeed heavier(has more nvh-deadening material in it, primarily rubber I believe)and has an extra joint in it (3 joint total which allgrab/create some parasitic loss,) moving to a 1-piece won't improve shifting habits. IMOshifting at low rpms does not seem to be healthy and it seems like that is a big cause of the thunk. (could be wrong, have been before)
I have had zero issues with the Spydershaft. I too was worried at first so Igot it installed on itsown its own (no other mods) with the perspective thatI could specifically guage the difference. Two weeks later I did a dyno runso the car was up over 130 mph.You can see what the combination of mods and tune produced at the dyno for me. I ran the Brenspeed 87 tune that day.
good luck!
Depends on what you want to do with your car. In year one I wanted to eclipse 300rwhp all NA.
I have both. I was not going to do the UDPs but I got some really cheap and I could not pass on them. UDPs by themselves are not noticeable on the butt dyno..unless you have a REALLY sensitive one. Even if you think you will get 'up to 10 hp' on top of the estimated 260 rwhp basehp for a GT manualI think someone would be hard pressed to actually sense the the extra rwhp it frees up. That being said, it does make a difference and a dynojet will show it. WhatI did notice was that the rpms rose slightly across the board. I have not experienced any ill effects (cooling, charging, current draw, etc.)
As far as the one piece DS it doesn't allow the engine to produce more power, rather it takes slightly less force to turn it and thus more power is transferred to the rear wheels. again, when I got it installed I tried to be criticaland unbiasedin evaluating its effects. Even being critical on it, it does have a measurable effect on my butt dyno. Definitely spins up faster. Shifting seems smoother. Reasoning also implies that it takes less force to slow the DSso it 'should' improve braking performance, but I have not heard ofanyone actually testing that. One-pieces typicallysupport higher HP applications (going FI?) so for these reasons it is a good foundation piece if you ever want to build up the car futher one day (me maybe)and/or get the max power to the ground that you can (me.)
I have heard of many complain of a bad 'thunk' when shifting with the2-piece (as did I.) Whilethe stocker is indeed heavier(has more nvh-deadening material in it, primarily rubber I believe)and has an extra joint in it (3 joint total which allgrab/create some parasitic loss,) moving to a 1-piece won't improve shifting habits. IMOshifting at low rpms does not seem to be healthy and it seems like that is a big cause of the thunk. (could be wrong, have been before)
I have had zero issues with the Spydershaft. I too was worried at first so Igot it installed on itsown its own (no other mods) with the perspective thatI could specifically guage the difference. Two weeks later I did a dyno runso the car was up over 130 mph.You can see what the combination of mods and tune produced at the dyno for me. I ran the Brenspeed 87 tune that day.
good luck!
05-22-2008, 08:57 PM
#7
2nd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Illinois
Posts: 269
RE: Underdrive Pulleys & Aluminum Driveshaft - Thoughts?
Thanks for the detailed information. It looks like you may have cost me some money! I just received confirmation that my C&L Street CAI & 93oct tune shipped today. I'll have to digest this mod and go from there. I'll probably start with the DS since that seems to give the most noticable improvement - followed by the UDPs. (Plus I'm trying to decide if I want to modify the Shaker 500 system..... a whole other post.) Thanks again!!
05-23-2008, 02:44 PM
#8
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Greater Philadelphia area
Posts: 408
RE: Underdrive Pulleys & Aluminum Driveshaft - Thoughts?
yup, sound was another thing that I wanted to address. nailed that with a Brandmotion integration. they are a site sponsor. i think i posted a review there, can't remember. go get 'em!
05-23-2008, 03:00 PM
#9
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Greater Philadelphia area
Posts: 408
RE: Underdrive Pulleys & Aluminum Driveshaft - Thoughts?
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