Sedans: DSS One Piece Driveshaft!
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From: Houston
Sedans: DSS One Piece Driveshaft!
Posted this in my build thread, but thought the info may be good to have in a post of it's own:
If anyone has ever tried to find a one piece aluminum driveshaft for the V36 sedan they probably ended up in the same predicament as I did - it doesn't exist! You might ask why not use a one piece driveshaft for the G37 coupe? I did too, but no one has done this and I really didn't want to buy something that large and not have it fit. Drive Shaft Shop wouldn't let me know the length of their one piece driveshaft for the G37 coupe (trade secret?), but I was finally able roughly measure my driveshaft and ask them if they were the same size to which I was only told "Nope it's too long, it wouldn't work."
In the end the proper solution was to completely remove the driveshaft, measure it exactly, and custom order one from Drive Shaft Shop.
About a month after measuring and ordering it finally arrived and today it was installed:
Pro's:
Strength - One piece design means no U joint or carrier bearing which can be a weak link in a two piece design. Also the yokes used are stronger than the stock ones.
Weight - One piece driveshaft weighs significantly less than the OEM two piece steel. We forgot to weigh the driveshafts to compare, but my guesstimate is 1/3 to 1/2 less weight between them.
Performance - Because of the strength and weight aspects, the one piece should be able to handle more torque as well as deliver more torque to the wheels. While it doesn't make horsepower, having less rotational mass should decrease drivetrain power loss (put more power to the ground) and allow for the engine to rev more freely.
Con's:
NVH- Possible vibration issues due to harmonics of a single rotating driveshaft may occur especially at high speeds.
Cost - To some the cost may not be worth the gain, especially if opting for CF which raises the cost even higher.
Failure - If a failure were to occur, having a single rotating driveshaft can possibly cause a lot of damage. Loops are usually a good safety measure to be considered.
The reason I did the switch was mainly for the strength aspect - as I'm aspiring to reach certain times at the dragstrip the concern of breaking the OEM two piece driveshaft has gotten more prevalent. Unfortunately the drag strip was closed last night so I wasn't able to truly test the differences. I think I will have to spend more time driving the car to make a final assessment.
In conclusion, if anyone is wanting/needing a one piece driveshaft the guinea pig work has been done and the specs are now with Drive Shaft Shop!
If anyone has ever tried to find a one piece aluminum driveshaft for the V36 sedan they probably ended up in the same predicament as I did - it doesn't exist! You might ask why not use a one piece driveshaft for the G37 coupe? I did too, but no one has done this and I really didn't want to buy something that large and not have it fit. Drive Shaft Shop wouldn't let me know the length of their one piece driveshaft for the G37 coupe (trade secret?), but I was finally able roughly measure my driveshaft and ask them if they were the same size to which I was only told "Nope it's too long, it wouldn't work."
In the end the proper solution was to completely remove the driveshaft, measure it exactly, and custom order one from Drive Shaft Shop.
About a month after measuring and ordering it finally arrived and today it was installed:
Pro's:
Strength - One piece design means no U joint or carrier bearing which can be a weak link in a two piece design. Also the yokes used are stronger than the stock ones.
Weight - One piece driveshaft weighs significantly less than the OEM two piece steel. We forgot to weigh the driveshafts to compare, but my guesstimate is 1/3 to 1/2 less weight between them.
Performance - Because of the strength and weight aspects, the one piece should be able to handle more torque as well as deliver more torque to the wheels. While it doesn't make horsepower, having less rotational mass should decrease drivetrain power loss (put more power to the ground) and allow for the engine to rev more freely.
Con's:
NVH- Possible vibration issues due to harmonics of a single rotating driveshaft may occur especially at high speeds.
Cost - To some the cost may not be worth the gain, especially if opting for CF which raises the cost even higher.
Failure - If a failure were to occur, having a single rotating driveshaft can possibly cause a lot of damage. Loops are usually a good safety measure to be considered.
The reason I did the switch was mainly for the strength aspect - as I'm aspiring to reach certain times at the dragstrip the concern of breaking the OEM two piece driveshaft has gotten more prevalent. Unfortunately the drag strip was closed last night so I wasn't able to truly test the differences. I think I will have to spend more time driving the car to make a final assessment.
In conclusion, if anyone is wanting/needing a one piece driveshaft the guinea pig work has been done and the specs are now with Drive Shaft Shop!
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Race, repair, repeat.
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Not that I know of, but there are not many G's with high wheel torque doing drag runs. I've already broken two OEM axles and based on my builder's racing experience the two piece driveshaft would be the next weakest link after upgrading the axles. I wanted to be proactive this time instead of reactive.
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Race, repair, repeat.
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From: Houston
^ J when I broke my second axle in early Oct 2015 I ordered the NISSAN 2009- 370Z / G37 1200HP Pro-Level Axles - the wait time was horrible for those as the timing was holidays/SEMA and I went through a vendor instead of directly through DSS. I didn't get the axles in until late December! Hindsight.. 
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I would guess it is because Infiniti is a luxury brand so NVH and safety are probably higher on the list of priorities. On the other hand I believe the Z's have one piece carbon fiber driveshafts.
Not that I know of, but there are not many G's with high wheel torque doing drag runs. I've already broken two OEM axles and based on my builder's racing experience the two piece driveshaft would be the next weakest link after upgrading the axles. I wanted to be proactive this time instead of reactive.
Not that I know of, but there are not many G's with high wheel torque doing drag runs. I've already broken two OEM axles and based on my builder's racing experience the two piece driveshaft would be the next weakest link after upgrading the axles. I wanted to be proactive this time instead of reactive.
Nice drive shaft by the way, how much did this run you? I've been wanting a one piece for awhile but apparently I need to worry about boost first, since your two piece seems to have held up.
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Interesting article on driveshafts from Hot Rod: Two-Piece Driveshaft Technology - Rod and Custom Magazine
^ J when I broke my second axle in early Oct 2015 I ordered the NISSAN 2009- 370Z / G37 1200HP Pro-Level Axles - the wait time was horrible for those as the timing was holidays/SEMA and I went through a vendor instead of directly through DSS. I didn't get the axles in until late December! Hindsight..
Now if you're a real badass, snap one of those!
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DSS Onew Piece Driveshaft
ttv36 I read your post about you're driveshaft and I was searching of the world as well for one of these things and lo and behold I fell upon your post and so I inquired with driveshaft shop (DSS) about getting one of these driveshafts for my sedan and what they told me is they do not make these driveshafts for our make model cars unless we give them the measurements...
So in turn what I did was I emailed them your post and pictures and they said that they could not find anything in their data log about this driveshaft for our make model vehicle...
With that they in turn asked me to ask you for your personal name or your job phone number and I told them that more than likely this guy would be very reluctant on giving me any of his personal information...
If you could do the rest of us G owners of sedans the measurements that you gave them this would help out tremendously.
I've been going back and forth with these guys about how difficult it is for us people who work and have lives to get the measurements for them.
I don't want to bash these guys but I thought they were in the business of driveshafts not telling people to get their own measurements for a part that these guys should carry seeing that they are a drive shaft company lol...
But anyways can you please post or send me a private post with the measurements needed for this driveshaft again it would be truly appreciated...
Thank you.
HIGH JACKER
So in turn what I did was I emailed them your post and pictures and they said that they could not find anything in their data log about this driveshaft for our make model vehicle...
With that they in turn asked me to ask you for your personal name or your job phone number and I told them that more than likely this guy would be very reluctant on giving me any of his personal information...
If you could do the rest of us G owners of sedans the measurements that you gave them this would help out tremendously.
I've been going back and forth with these guys about how difficult it is for us people who work and have lives to get the measurements for them.
I don't want to bash these guys but I thought they were in the business of driveshafts not telling people to get their own measurements for a part that these guys should carry seeing that they are a drive shaft company lol...
But anyways can you please post or send me a private post with the measurements needed for this driveshaft again it would be truly appreciated...
Thank you.
HIGH JACKER
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Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 23
Likes: 4
ttv36 I read your post about you're driveshaft and I was searching of the world as well for one of these things and lo and behold I fell upon your post and so I inquired with driveshaft shop (DSS) about getting one of these driveshafts for my sedan and what they told me is they do not make these driveshafts for our make model cars unless we give them the measurements...
So in turn what I did was I emailed them your post and pictures and they said that they could not find anything in their data log about this driveshaft for our make model vehicle...
With that they in turn asked me to ask you for your personal name or your job phone number and I told them that more than likely this guy would be very reluctant on giving me any of his personal information...
If you could do the rest of us G owners of sedans the measurements that you gave them this would help out tremendously.
I've been going back and forth with these guys about how difficult it is for us people who work and have lives to get the measurements for them.
I don't want to bash these guys but I thought they were in the business of driveshafts not telling people to get their own measurements for a part that these guys should carry seeing that they are a drive shaft company lol...
But anyways can you please post or send me a private post with the measurements needed for this driveshaft again it would be truly appreciated...
Thank you.
HIGH JACKER
So in turn what I did was I emailed them your post and pictures and they said that they could not find anything in their data log about this driveshaft for our make model vehicle...
With that they in turn asked me to ask you for your personal name or your job phone number and I told them that more than likely this guy would be very reluctant on giving me any of his personal information...
If you could do the rest of us G owners of sedans the measurements that you gave them this would help out tremendously.
I've been going back and forth with these guys about how difficult it is for us people who work and have lives to get the measurements for them.
I don't want to bash these guys but I thought they were in the business of driveshafts not telling people to get their own measurements for a part that these guys should carry seeing that they are a drive shaft company lol...
But anyways can you please post or send me a private post with the measurements needed for this driveshaft again it would be truly appreciated...
Thank you.
HIGH JACKER
Posted this in my build thread, but thought the info may be good to have in a post of it's own:
If anyone has ever tried to find a one piece aluminum driveshaft for the V36 sedan they probably ended up in the same predicament as I did - it doesn't exist! You might ask why not use a one piece driveshaft for the G37 coupe? I did too, but no one has done this and I really didn't want to buy something that large and not have it fit. Drive Shaft Shop wouldn't let me know the length of their one piece driveshaft for the G37 coupe (trade secret?), but I was finally able roughly measure my driveshaft and ask them if they were the same size to which I was only told "Nope it's too long, it wouldn't work."
In the end the proper solution was to completely remove the driveshaft, measure it exactly, and custom order one from Drive Shaft Shop.
About a month after measuring and ordering it finally arrived and today it was installed:
Pro's:
Strength - One piece design means no U joint or carrier bearing which can be a weak link in a two piece design. Also the yokes used are stronger than the stock ones.
Weight - One piece driveshaft weighs significantly less than the OEM two piece steel. We forgot to weigh the driveshafts to compare, but my guesstimate is 1/3 to 1/2 less weight between them.
Performance - Because of the strength and weight aspects, the one piece should be able to handle more torque as well as deliver more torque to the wheels. While it doesn't make horsepower, having less rotational mass should decrease drivetrain power loss (put more power to the ground) and allow for the engine to rev more freely.
Con's:
NVH- Possible vibration issues due to harmonics of a single rotating driveshaft may occur especially at high speeds.
Cost - To some the cost may not be worth the gain, especially if opting for CF which raises the cost even higher.
Failure - If a failure were to occur, having a single rotating driveshaft can possibly cause a lot of damage. Loops are usually a good safety measure to be considered.
The reason I did the switch was mainly for the strength aspect - as I'm aspiring to reach certain times at the dragstrip the concern of breaking the OEM two piece driveshaft has gotten more prevalent. Unfortunately the drag strip was closed last night so I wasn't able to truly test the differences. I think I will have to spend more time driving the car to make a final assessment.
In conclusion, if anyone is wanting/needing a one piece driveshaft the guinea pig work has been done and the specs are now with Drive Shaft Shop!
If anyone has ever tried to find a one piece aluminum driveshaft for the V36 sedan they probably ended up in the same predicament as I did - it doesn't exist! You might ask why not use a one piece driveshaft for the G37 coupe? I did too, but no one has done this and I really didn't want to buy something that large and not have it fit. Drive Shaft Shop wouldn't let me know the length of their one piece driveshaft for the G37 coupe (trade secret?), but I was finally able roughly measure my driveshaft and ask them if they were the same size to which I was only told "Nope it's too long, it wouldn't work."
In the end the proper solution was to completely remove the driveshaft, measure it exactly, and custom order one from Drive Shaft Shop.
About a month after measuring and ordering it finally arrived and today it was installed:
Pro's:
Strength - One piece design means no U joint or carrier bearing which can be a weak link in a two piece design. Also the yokes used are stronger than the stock ones.
Weight - One piece driveshaft weighs significantly less than the OEM two piece steel. We forgot to weigh the driveshafts to compare, but my guesstimate is 1/3 to 1/2 less weight between them.
Performance - Because of the strength and weight aspects, the one piece should be able to handle more torque as well as deliver more torque to the wheels. While it doesn't make horsepower, having less rotational mass should decrease drivetrain power loss (put more power to the ground) and allow for the engine to rev more freely.
Con's:
NVH- Possible vibration issues due to harmonics of a single rotating driveshaft may occur especially at high speeds.
Cost - To some the cost may not be worth the gain, especially if opting for CF which raises the cost even higher.
Failure - If a failure were to occur, having a single rotating driveshaft can possibly cause a lot of damage. Loops are usually a good safety measure to be considered.
The reason I did the switch was mainly for the strength aspect - as I'm aspiring to reach certain times at the dragstrip the concern of breaking the OEM two piece driveshaft has gotten more prevalent. Unfortunately the drag strip was closed last night so I wasn't able to truly test the differences. I think I will have to spend more time driving the car to make a final assessment.
In conclusion, if anyone is wanting/needing a one piece driveshaft the guinea pig work has been done and the specs are now with Drive Shaft Shop!
Thread Starter
Race, repair, repeat.
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,323
Likes: 432
From: Houston
...
If you could do the rest of us G owners of sedans the measurements that you gave them this would help out tremendously.
I've been going back and forth with these guys about how difficult it is for us people who work and have lives to get the measurements for them...
If you could do the rest of us G owners of sedans the measurements that you gave them this would help out tremendously.
I've been going back and forth with these guys about how difficult it is for us people who work and have lives to get the measurements for them...
Unfortunately I do not know the measurements off hand. Also, at the moment I would not recommend the switch to anyone as I had major vibration issues when the one piece was installed. The car seemed to drive fine after installing the driveshaft until I got up to 70-90 mph there was an annoying vibration which only got worse as speed increased. By 120mph the car felt like it was going to wobble itself sideways. After removing the driveshaft there were plenty of gouges on one side which meant it was either not true (straight) or it was unbalanced.
Sorry, I have since gotten a new phone and I don't have access to my backup pictures right now to show the gouges as they are on my desktop computer, in a box, in a storage unit.
We are waiting to see if we can get a CF one piece and see if that will fix the vibration issues.