aluminum vs steel driveshaft

[StricNyne]

after the discussion about mounts and driveshafts, i decided to go with the shaftmasters aluminum driveshaft for 300, i told this to a friend whom drives a dragster and he said thats a BIG mistake, he said for a car daily driven a steel is perferable since it can take the abuse, it wont be dented as easily form rocks and garbage on the street, this make sense to me in a aspect that aluminum is a soft metal and i live near a city with tons of pot holes and debris on the road (not that i will hit the pot holes, but they are usually FILLED with rocks)

[Bluefire]

plus the fact that the aluminum is only like 3-5lbs lighter than the steel, and more expensive...

[FriedEGs]

I jsut had a steel one-peice made for my car... It's really light.. which makes it feel like the majority of the weight comes from teh u-joints and yoke. (which are steel)

I can't imagine an alluminum could be more than a few pounds lighter at most..

[StricNyne]

well steel driveshafts go for 300, and nico sponsor shaftmasters has one for 300 shipped

[Bwana]

I wouldn't worry about it. Pretty much the only way you'll destroy the thing is if you high center on something.

[Fenvy]

allow me to quote from driveshaftshop.com

Stock shaft is 19.8lbSteel Shaft is 16lbAluminum shaft is 12lb

the point is to save weight on rotating mass, why would you pay 300$ to save 3.8lb when you can pay 400$ to save 7.8lb off of rotation mass?

can you get it for 400$ from most places for driveshaftshop product.. phase2, enjuku for instance

[StricNyne]

i think your mis understanding me, i am trying to find out reliability and durability of aluminum driveshaft on a daily driven car, VS a steel driveshaft, i was told aluminum is bad on a daily since its not as durable or as strong as steel, and rocks and small debris could dent the aluminum driveshaft, whereas a steel could take more abuse, i mean money isnt really a factor in my decision, has anyone had any experience in this area ?

[StricNyne]

ohh and shaftmasters is 300 SHIPPED for ALUMINUM

[Fenvy]

that's a good price, I believe I paid 350$ for it a while back.

There is nothing wrong, as far as I can see, with aluminum driveshaft on a daily. I have it for 2 years now and I don't see any dent/debris... hell the driveshaftshop sticker it still impact and looks brand new.

[FriedEGs]

how much power can that aluminum driveshaft handle for $300 bux?

Are the u-joints the bolt type, (like a domestic V8) or are they just like teh standard 240 with teh clip in them?

[Sil240]

Bro on my s13 On have the Aluminum Living on long island with the potholes etc....It was fine.

When I weighed my stock shaft it was 22lbs, the Aluminum was 11. I have not found any dents or dings in the shaft except for the scratches I put there myself.

Plus the amount of Torque you are going to have I don't think will be enough to twist the shaft.

The u-joints were like standard 240 joints.

[Bluefire]

daily driven wise both shafts should be fine... the aluminum is extremely thick. It might actually create clearance issues if you exhaust is very close to the ds already.

functionality wise... I would save the money and stick with steel. The weight saving is so small there is little to gain in that aspect between the two. You gain more in the fact that the shaft is now a 1 pc vs a 2pc.

[uber95]

I drive an '03 Crown Vic with a factory aluminum driveshaft (I know it's not a 240!) for work and beat the living **** out the car, it has 148xxx on the clock and I regulary run the car up to 120++ with not one issue. I have driven over some real bad **** during patrol shifts due to debris from Hurricanes and pursuits through unincorporated areas of my county., no dents or other issues. If it were me I'd go Aluminum.

[StricNyne]

meh its same price for either, so i will just get the aluminum

[sil_eightyRPS13]

after the discussion about mounts and driveshafts, i decided to go with the shaftmasters aluminum driveshaft for 300, i told this to a friend whom drives a dragster and he said thats a BIG mistake, he said for a car daily driven a steel is perferable since it can take the abuse, it wont be dented as easily form rocks and garbage on the street, this make sense to me in a aspect that aluminum is a soft metal and i live near a city with tons of pot holes and debris on the road (not that i will hit the pot holes, but they are usually FILLED with rocks)

THATS THE DUMBEST THING IVE EVER HEARD...the strenth between the two is the same, but metal properties r different, the wall thickness i way thicker on the alumium, so i dont see rocks and such chiping it going to do and real damage...if it even happena at all...and any driveshaft can fail, it all depends what the circumstances r...

[StricNyne]

hey einstein, its a known fact aluminum is softer than steel, i am no metallurgy specialist nor have i owned a aluminum driveshaft, nor have YOU learned to spell, i took a response from a professional driver, and asked for advice here, the dumbest thing ever would of been to just listen to him, instead of asking.....

[l0nestar]

@StricNyne,

Hey man, I have been watching this thread. I am in the same situation as you are -- needing a DS and trying to evaluate between steel and aluminum. From everything that I have seen, I think I will go with the Shaftmasters for $300, but I need to measure and get their shaft diameter dimensions from them. Has anybody used their products before or have reviews?

BTW, I have never heard of a DS getting 'chipped' from rocks or debris, unless you were doing something _terribly_ wrong -- or going mudding in a gravel pit

[Fenvy]

as a owner of such driveshaft and not out of speculation - scratch or dent isn't something you need to worry about...

Objects that can actually dent the driveshaft are too heavy to be lifted off the ground to actually hurt the driveshaft.

it is the LAST thing that you want to worry about.

[Abdo]

haha!i got mine made locally

Drive Shafts Inc.Tulsa, OK

Paid $130 for a Steel 1 piece drive shaft.

[l0nestar]

haha! i got mine made locally Paid $130 for a Steel 1 piece drive shaft.

sheesh, local shop here wants $280 for steel 1pc!

[uber95]

haha!i got mine made locally

Drive Shafts Inc.Tulsa, OK

Paid $130 for a Steel 1 piece drive shaft.

What did they use for U-joints?sorry for the small hijack

[StricNyne]

ya i think i am gunna do aluminum from shaftmasters the guy who said that is a drama queen, i will admit he knows his stuff but he dont kno everything, plus i am sure shaftnasters will have some kinda warrenty provided i dont do something stupid

[Shaftmasters]

You can save 7.8lb and pay $300. Buy a Shaftmasters 1 piece aluminum with free shipping. We have manufactured these aluminum shafts for a couple years now and have sold more than we can count. We have never had a single complaint or failure. If you must have a steel single piece we can make that for you also. Price would be $275 with free shipping to the continental US.Thanks, David

p.s. If you guys are really worried about the durability of an aluminum shaft just look underneath 90% of the pick-up trucks that are made these days. They have aluminum shafts and see alot of severe service. To boot the OEM aluminum tubing is usually .083 wall thickness or even thinner. Our aluminum shafts are .125 wall with 1310 series high performance solid ujoints. Tubing is 3" diameter and the distance across the ujoint ears is 3.75" at the widest point. Keep in mind the ujoints are completely serviceable and replacements are available from us or at virtually any auto parts store.
Modified by db240 at 4:34 AM 9/7/2007

[TheOne]

so do you guys make a bolt-on for the 240sx? or do we have to make measurements and be sure to tell which ujoints are supposed to be on?

[Blackx919xMagic]

I hope I'm discussin this on the board, I'm a first time user, but in any case I was wondering. Where exactly did you find these drive shafts for those prices? Give me a hit on that I'm trying to get an alum drive shaft and would gladly pay 300 for it.

[TheOne]

shaftmasters, nico sponsor.

[StricNyne]

WERD! shaftmasters has me sold, i am gunna get measurements and order mine ASAP, i will take some pics for u guys also !!!

[Abdo]

What did they use for U-joints?sorry for the small hijack

They used the stock KA U-Joint on the differential end, and the stock RB U-Joint on the transmission yoke end. By the way, my motor set came with the yoke in the transmission, but the drive shaft was cut off at about four or five inches. The reason I decided to use the stock joints was because the owner of the drive shaft company assured me that they were in literally perfect condition, with no catches at all. He explained that it would be pointless to replace them at this point. They did really good work, I'll take a couple pics for you guys tonight, if I can find that damn camera..

[Abdo]

I hope I'm discussin this on the board, I'm a first time user, but in any case I was wondering. Where exactly did you find these drive shafts for those prices? Give me a hit on that I'm trying to get an alum drive shaft and would gladly pay 300 for it.

http://www.driveshaftshop.com/

[Darius]

Trust me. You do not want the KA U-joint on the differential end of the shaft. Search for "driveshaft" created by Darius and you'll see why. Get a real rear u-joint like a GM 585 I believe it was. And make sure they don't use pussified steel tubing like my original driveshaft fabricator did.