New vs. used vs remanufactured drive shaft

[redmanfx]

My transmission is on it's way Now I'm working on my drive shaft. I can get one new for $800. I was thinking ok, I'll do that, but then I started thinking why not just search for options. I found this site that will search for you and have salvage yards and autopart places let you know if they have what you need and for how much. Very nice!!

So far I've found a remanufactured 92 Q45a drive shaft for $375 with a $60 core Deposit. I've also found used ones for 175, 100 with 6 month warranty's. NOw I'm not really considering a used one but what is with the 6 months warranty if it's garbage?

I'm liking the remanufactured one at this point, but I wanted some feed back from anyone that has gone that rout. I know new OEM is best, but not all remanufactured stuff is bad. For that matter I'm sure some used stuff is good to although it scares me more and I'm leaning away from that.

So would you go reman or new?

red

[PoorManQ45]

Be very careful when going with a used driveshaft. It has got to be perfect. A friend of mine did what your thinking of doing. He installed the driveshaft. The driveshaft was not evenly balanced. This caused the transmission to fail very quickly. The vibration from the unbalanced driveshaft in turn caused the main seals to fail.

If you can find a PERFECT driveshaft, used, go for it. Otherwise, get a new one.

[MiniMan]

redmanfx, if you're going to be spending $800+ on an OEM driveshaft, you should consider spending another $500-$600 and get a CF driveshaft. IMO, highly worth it. If my Q was still in the running I would easily spend $900-$1000 on a CF shaft even with mine being just fine! another $500-$600 is money well spent. RWHP should be up about 5% or so as the energy is used much more efficiently and that isn't even one of the benefits the driveshaft company brags about! If you've got the extra cash to spare, I say do this and a valve body mod!

Just some food for thought.

Corey

[PoorManQ45]

redmanfx, if you're going to be spending $800+ on an OEM driveshaft, you should consider spending another $500-$600 and get a CF driveshaft. IMO, highly worth it. If my Q was still in the running I would easily spend $900-$1000 on a CF shaft even with mine being just fine! another $500-$600 is money well spent. RWHP should be up about 5% or so as the energy is used much more efficiently and that isn't even one of the benefits the driveshaft company brags about! If you've got the extra cash to spare, I say do this and a valve body mod!

Just some food for thought.

Corey

I agree that the CF shaft does allow more HP to get to the rear wheels.

I don't know if it is actually worth the extra money though. Can anybody that has this mod give some input. Does the CF shaft make a noticable difference.

[AZhitman]

I don't know if it is actually worth the extra money though. Can anybody that has this mod give some input. Does the CF shaft make a noticable difference.

Bah, just make one outta some PVC pipe.

Sorry, that was mean. The CF shaft does indeed reflect on dyno #'s - There's a thread here about it somewhere.

[PoorManQ45]

Bah, just make one outta some PVC pipe.

Somehow, I knew that was coming

[redmanfx]

I considered the CF Drive shaft, but really didn't get that great a vibe considering the money vs. actual HP gain. Even at +5% RWHP gain I haven't been convinced by anyone the extra HP gain justifies the extra expense. I haven't heard from anyone who has had this done, but heard alot of us talking about getting it done. I need a testimonial man... Can I get some positive response??? Do you have an real price figure? Somethin I can still consider it since I'm replacing everything.

I am getting the valve mod from a place in Jersey,... YOU from Jersey??? remember that SAT night LIVE skit...?? I'm aging myself here. The valve job has me excitied..... that didn't quite sond right, but I'm excited. The guy says he can do an great job.. We'll see and you can be sure I'll let you know how it goes.

red

[PoorManQ45]

what does a valve job actually do?

[redmanfx]

You say the CF drive shaft did show on the dyno's?????? Hmmm... That would get my attention...

BTW you are too funny...PVC.... "YOU FROM JERSEY??"

red

[redmanfx]

In short, the valve body modification is designed to increase the performance and durability of your transmission. This is accomplished by replacing the inadequate factory calibration with a proven package of shift quality enhancements to make the transmission better able to handle the stress of heavy duty usage. The result is shifts that are quicker and firmer, operating temperatures at the clutch faces that are reduced, the transmission's lube system is improved and the vehicle will generally feel much more responsive to spirited driving.

Valve width is expanded in other words.

red

[MiniMan]

Red. I extensively researched the CF driveshaft with Rob. I'm too lazy right now... but there was a board member who had it done. We spoke with him and he said he can't vouch for the driveshaft by itself as he added it at the same point in time as he slapped some big 18s onto the car. Afterwards he said he STILL felt a significant difference in responsiveness and power. Take that for what it's worth... but if you want my opinion I'd say you're looking at at least a 5% RWHP gain. Anywhere from 15-25rwhp gain for an extra $500-$600 over OEM, depending on what the current cost of CF is. At the time I was considering it, the chap at ACP quoted us $1400ish individually, but CF prices were extremely high at that time. Keep in mind, about a year before we got that quote you could get them for $900. You may want to search for other CF driveshaft creators as well... though ACP is the only company I know of to have ever made one for the Q. Keep us informed of how your searches go! I wouldn't mind hearing your final decision.

Corey

[PoorManQ45]

You say the CF drive shaft did show on the dyno's?????? Hmmm... That would get my attention...

BTW you are too funny...PVC.... "YOU FROM JERSEY??"

red

Read some of my other threads/posts and you will understand

[Q45tech]

Every aftermarket shaft people had made [aluminum and CF] we tried while seemingly balanced [were not phase cancelled] [why we have 2 piece foam cored expensive precision units...........much high vibration than oem. All 3 were removed [customer paid again for removal and replaced with new oem].

Racing standards seem to be much lower than Infiniti standards.

As to transmission valve body mods whether the quicker shifting improves reliability has never been documented........100,000 full shifts is oem spec.

[redmanfx]

Thanks Q45tech. So in your opinion the CF drive shaft doesn't measure up to OEM either. This is important to know because I'm strongly thinking of getting one. You have actually had to remove them for not being balanced correctly?

I am getting the Valve body mod and will let you know how it turns out.

red

[texasoil]

Infiniti specifications for vibration are extremely tight. The entire drive train,including differential mounts, are optimized to reduce noise and vibration. I really cannot 'buy' an increase in RWHp from a CF drive shaft. The OEM does not absorb/use any Hp--which would show up as heat. Why would the CF shaft be better than 100% efficient? If you need higher torque capacity- then go race quality. For over the road--OEM is the way. Often, the original just has 'tight spots' in th ejoints that will clear up if shaft is removed and joints fully extended to loosen up the tiny rollers in the journals.

[SFBayQ45]

Redmanfx - So what was the ultimate decision? Are you going with a CF drive shaft or reman.? Where specifically did you find that reman.?

[elwesso]

I will sell you my driveshaft cheap... Its still really nice!

[qship96]

i bet is is"perfect"!-just kidding wes!

[redmanfx]

[email protected] is an e-mail address to ask any questions about the reman.

FCP Groton734 Poquonnock RoadGroton, CT 063401-877-634-0063 toll free (from 9-5 eastern time Monday thru Friday)

The reman comes with a 1 year unlimited mileage warranty. They claim they haven't had any problems with one since they started selling them a couple of years ago.

I haven't made up my mind yet as to which drive shaft I want. I'm still checking on the CF prices and have a company searching in Japan to see if they can find one in my price range. Q45tech and texasoil seem to not see the CF as a real choice. I'm doing some research on each company making sure they guarantee their drive shafts are properly balanced. OEM seems the wise choice, but that reman seems to be calling me. Still waiting on my transmission too.

Wes, is that your origional drive shaft?

red

[elwesso]

It is, but there werent any vibrations...

I bet you could take it somewhere, ahve it rebalanced and be good as new for not very much

[redmanfx]

When will you have your car to part out Wes? Your drive shaft scares me after hearing about all these balance issues.

red

[1992Q45A]

Redman,

Please check your email

[1992Q45A]

Redman,

I wouldn't be scared of ACPT CF Driveshafts. Q45tech nor anyone else specifically said they used their brand. They are HIGHLY respected in the Import high hp community. My friend had one on his 500 HP VR4, reported it was smoother then stock, and had noticeable improvements. The person on this forum with it installed on their Q45, has had nothing but good reviews on it. The supra owners I know, rave of them as well. Never heard anything negative on ACPT CF driveshafts.

[rsiwicki]

also...please correct me if I am wrong, but I think the new track 350Z comes with a CF driveshaft vs. the touring Z only comes with a regular driveshaft. So if Nissan is putting it specifically in the track 350Z setup, I would think that there must be some noticeable benefit. Can't imagine just sticking a CF in there for no reason....

[Jeff Williams]

rotating mass, baby! That is why we spent $15,000.00 on super light flywheels, on the Dodge. We saved 7#.