5.0Black

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Hello everyone,

I recently posted in the drive shaft/suspension area on this forum about drive shafts and a ~1 inch lowered Mustang. I pulled the trigger on what I felt was the best drive shaft for my wants and needs. I haven’t gotten the driving/testing time I would like to have had at this point, this is largely due to my Mustang being 3 hours north from where I live in one of my parents garage bays. Still, I have driven my Mustang enough to know the difference made and do a write up for those curious.

Why Carbon Fiber?

There is a huge price difference between aluminum and cf, so why did I go with cf? The reason why is threefold. For starts, keeping nvh to a minimum was most important to me. I find my mustang to not be a quiet car by any means and I wanted my drive shaft choice to help with drive train nvh. Second, CF is more torsional than aluminum so it should provide smoother revs and transfer of power under load. Smoother transfer of power can result in smoother shifts and power delivery. Finally, I did not have to buy a drive shaft safety loop when going with CF for track days.

First Impressions:

First off I wanted to give a shout out to the shop that installed my Ford Racing Suspension Kit, Michelin 4s tires and the DSS CF DS. If you want a shop in the NoVa area that has good hourly rates and does great work, check out Auto Solutions in Leesburg. I am extremely meticulous with my cars, and they treated my Mustang with great care.

The unit had some marks on the aluminum portion of the drive shaft when I unboxed it, but I assumed this was ok. It is also worth noting that this unit really doesn’t feel like the advertised 18lbs. It could have been how the weight is displaced, or that I was expecting it to be lighter. It just felt heavier than anticipated and not much lighter than stock. Regardless there are many people that show it to be spot on with weight.

Taking my Mustang out for its first drive with the new drive shaft and all of my concerns about dropping over 1k on a drive shaft went right out the window. I immediately noticed it revved quicker over the stock two piece unit. Even driving normally I notice it seeming to rev a smidge bit quicker than before. Under WOT the CF unit shines even more in how quickly it revs. I never thought the 5.0 Coyote engine to lack in the rev department, but it certainly screams quicker to red line now with the one piece CF drive shaft than the stock two piece.

It wasn’t just how quickly it revved but how smooth it revved at all times. Regardless of throttle input it revved smoother than the stock two piece by a wide margin. This smoothness also translated over well into shifting between gears, especially under load. As far as speed goes it certainly seems quicker to me, though I am sure the suspension kit and tires made a difference as well. Regardless, you can tell the difference the drive shaft makes in speed. Quicker revs and smoother transfer of power means you are going faster.

Speed aside I was able to achieve one of the main reasons why I went CF over Aluminum, nvh. The unit seems quieter than stock to me, and I haven’t been able to get it out of sorts like I could the stock two piece. The stock 2 piece had a clunky noise to it. The one piece CF has no NVH that I can tell and the clunky noise from the two-piece is gone.

Lowering your Mustang with a one piece DS

For those of you looking to lower your Mustang, I had the drive shaft installed the same time as my Ford Racing adjustable suspension kit for approximately a ~1 inch drop, and have noticed nothing negative in that pairing. When talking with DSS they stated a 1 inch drop is no cause for concern with the pinion angle, and it seemed like pinion angle isn’t a thought unless you are doing an aggressive drop beyond 2 inches from what I was told. As always it is recommended to call DSS, or your drive shaft manufacturer to confirm your drop height to see if you need adjustable upper control arm for the pinion angle.

CF vs Aluminum

To touch on the cf vs aluminum one piece ds I will give my two cents. I would highly recommend CF over Aluminum if you fall under one of the criteria points below:

1. You have the money to justify the large price gap.

2. NVH and making your mustang quieter/stock like noise levels from your drivetrain is important to you.

3. You track your car regularly and want the little extra cf will give you over aluminum (more torsional, couple pounds lighter etc etc) because you are chasing et’s.

I am not saying cf is for everyone because it isn't. If you don't fall into one of the categories above than you may want to look into Aluminum. Aluminum is the king of performance per dollar in the drive shaft world. From a pure performance standpoint (leaving nvh out of it) aluminum will give you 80-90% the performance of cf so that is something that most potential buyers should consider.

Conclusion

End of the day though I really can’t think of anything negative to say with the DSS one piece carbon fiber drive shaft, well outside of some scratches on the aluminum piece of the drive shaft. I was skeptical about spending a little over $1k on something like a one piece drive shaft, but the difference is night and day to me. My Mustang is quieter, revs smoother and quicker than stock. A little over $1k is nothing to snuff at, but if a part makes my Mustang more enjoyable to drive and a better driving car, I call that a win in my book. Now onto phase 2 for my Mustang.
 

Norm Peterson

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Why Carbon Fiber?
Second, CF is more torsional than aluminum

CF vs Aluminum
... want the little extra cf will give you over aluminum (more torsional,
What are you trying to say when you talk about CF being "more torsional" than aluminum?

Serious question, as I have no idea what you're getting at, not even enough to guess.


Norm
civil/structural engineer (now retired)
 

5.0Black

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What are you trying to say when you talk about CF being "more torsional" than aluminum?

Serious question, as I have no idea what you're getting at, not even enough to guess.


Norm
civil/structural engineer (now retired)
One thing I had read up on with CF was that it was more torsional, and what I mean by that is it has the ability to twist more under load than aluminum. This can give you better transfer of power from a launch or between shifts= smoother and more consistent launches.
 

Norm Peterson

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So you're talking about torsional flexibility, where the driveshaft is doing a bit more 'cushioning' of harsh clutch engagement than an aluminum driveshaft would.

I hope your information source is giving you the total picture. Driveshaft torsional flexibility is only partly due to the stiffness properties of the material that it is constructed from. Shaft diameter and wall thickness also matter.


Norm
 

SVOGT302

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Very nice write-up Thank you.....
Sounds like a nice upgrade. Did it eliminate any driveline slop? I'd like to clean up mine.
 

5.0Black

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Very nice write-up Thank you.....
Sounds like a nice upgrade. Did it eliminate any driveline slop? I'd like to clean up mine.
Yes it helped cleaned up some of the clunk and slap from the two piece unit that I hated so much. Overall my Mustang is a better driving car from this unit/upgrade.
 

96gt02

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I had both CF and Aluminum DSS shafts on my FBO 13 GT, didnt notice a huge difference in any of the above between the two materials, the weight is only about a pound different between the two. I had a pretty stiff suspension setup and didnt notice NVH being any better with the CF shaft, maybe marginally but certainly not anything to be used as a selling point. If you find a good deal on a CF shaft I guess its worth it but personally i went with a aluminum one on my GT500 now and have no plans on changing it out.
 

5.0Black

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I had both CF and Aluminum DSS shafts on my FBO 13 GT, didnt notice a huge difference in any of the above between the two materials, the weight is only about a pound different between the two. I had a pretty stiff suspension setup and didnt notice NVH being any better with the CF shaft, maybe marginally but certainly not anything to be used as a selling point. If you find a good deal on a CF shaft I guess its worth it but personally i went with a aluminum one on my GT500 now and have no plans on changing it out.
Huh interesting to say the least. A lot of people reported CF is quieter than Aluminum, and some of my info came from the source as well as forums. I have no nvh in mine, nonetheless it is good feedback to know.
 

96gt02

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Yeah I mean im sure the suspensions plays into a lot as well, that car had a fairly noisy stock 3.73 rear so with the poly upper and lower arms there wasnt really a whole lot that would have calmed it down lol. I think a lot of the reports are also placebo effect or those who have not had both material shafts in the same car so anything seems more smooth then the stock two piece.
 

5.0Black

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Yeah I mean im sure the suspensions plays into a lot as well, that car had a fairly noisy stock 3.73 rear so with the poly upper and lower arms there wasn't really a whole lot that would have calmed it down lol. I think a lot of the reports are also placebo effect or those who have not had both material shafts in the same car so anything seems more smooth then the stock two piece.

Lol I don't doubt that. Still on the fence about upgrading my upper and lower control arms, but I will cross that bridge after I get my blower installed lol. Mustang was never a quiet car to begin with and anything that can tame its noises is appreciated. I think it comes down to opinion and various factors of the car. Some people hear things differently, some people don't hear things as well, some people just have noiser supporting mods than others etc etc. In my research I had read about it all lol. People saying Aluminum had no nvh, others stating it had nvh over stock levels. People that swapped from Aluminum to CF and favored CF over Aluminum, or aluminum over CF. Obviously some reports were fewer and farther in between, others had greater frequency of consistent effects/results. I just tried to report my experience with the DS I bought with the majority of what I read from users as well as my talks with DSS. To a certain degree it is maddening lol.
 

SS lol

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Image1555228401.706697.jpg
I have a DSS carbon fiber driveshaft that I’m willing to sell because I now have a Tremec magnum xl.


Sent from my iPhone using the svtperformance.com mobile app
 

Macabre

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Been thinking about a one-piece DS for a while. The clunk everyone's always referring to: are we talking to that jolt/clunk when getting off the gas/on the gas? I'm assuming that's slop in the driveline, just not sure how much is the DS vs any slop in the MT82.
 

Riptide

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The clunk I got with the DSS aluminum was apparent going into reverse and back into drive. After I put the stock upper and mount back in the car though it became much harder to hear it.
 

2014gtcs

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Was hoping more would chime in on DS selection. Ford Performance, MMR, DSS, Dana Spicer, Dynotech, some have a boot the DDS unit doesn't, all claim to be the best, etc. Does Dana Spice make the Ford Performance unit? Dynotech claims to be the best, 80 years of balancing experience and currently builds driveshafts for IHRA, NHRA, Nascar, and Busch racing series vehicles. Which of these balance their shafts at high rpm? Probably gonna go the aluminum route, don't track the car, really for just peace of mind when hammering on it.
 
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oldstv

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I like the idea of the carbon for all the above but also if I break a u-joint I won't beat the bottom of the car to death.
 

2014gtcs

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Just picked up the aluminum Ford Racing driveshaft for my 14. $655 with tax from Summit, can't wait to install it.
Does Spicer make these for FR?
 

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