Any advantage to aluminum driveshaft--'94 Mustang 5.0

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My brother just got a '94 5.0 Mustang with only 40,000 miles and it has a 5 speed stick. He is wondering if an aluminum driveshaft would be an advantage. Think he said about $185. Specifically he wonders if there is a rear wheel horsepower advantage, but any advantages are worth expounding on. Bottom line, is it worth the price?
 
No power gain at all. About all it will do is possibly help with vibration issues at higher speeds, since the aluminum shaft has a higher lateral critical speed.

I put one in my '95 Mustang GT, ONLY because I had developed a vibration issue, and I had suspected driveshaft / u-joint problems. At the time, they were even cheaper (~$150), so I figured it would be a good idea, since I had 95k miles on my stock u-joints. The driveshaft helped cure the vibration problem, but it did not solve it completely. I replaced the tailshaft bushing it the trans, and it is much better now.

If he is looking for a power gain, he will see NONE... not even a little bit. If he has vibration issues, it is worth trying, IMO.
 
Only benefit will be weight savings, which wont be enough to make a difference. About the same as having a salad for lunch as opposed to a big mac. Not worth the price, unless a new driveshaft is needed for other reasons.
 
Just slap in some 3.55 gears, some 2 chamber Flomaster mufflers, an H pipe, a cobra intake, some roller rockers, and you will be good to go.
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You could compare it to a competition pistol trigger..lightweight..eliminates some of the mass in the overall mechanical system. Each componant contributes some mass and consequently some mechanical loss/resistance to motion (course that mass helps keep it moving as well)
As stated above, it is a theoretical benefit, but a reeaall sttrreettch to see any real benefit..
it would be shiny though
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Just relayed all your messages to him. He going to skip the driveshaft idea. Says it came with Flowmasters, K&N filter, Hypertech chip, and a 2.73 rear, but that the gearing is such that it moves out very nicely. He may get headers as the factory pipes are pinched and maybe underdrive pulleys too.

Thanks.
 
If he wants acceleration performance the best choice is going from the 2.73 gears to 3.55.

Aluminum driveshafts show gains when you are in the 10 second quarter bracket, when .001 seconds matters. Otherwise I wouldnt waste my money.

Dan
 
Headers are a waste! Sure, the stock parts LOOK like they would really hurt flow, however, people with stock engines seldom see ANY gains by replacing them with aftermarket "shorty" headers. Longtubes are worth something.

Having messed with one of these cars for the past 4 years, here are the BEST bang-the-buck mods I would do if I was starting over. They are listed the order I'd do 'em.

1. Underdrive crank pulley. 75% of the gains of a full 3-pulley system with none of the headaches (charging system problems). Got mine through ASP for ~$40.

2. Gears. 2.73s are just too tall. 3.55s would make a HUGE difference in the "feel" of the car. Mine is an AODE car with 3.27s. IF he had an AODE, I'd say get a Torque converter before or instead of gears. My torque converter gave a better reduction in ET than any other single part I have added.

3. Tuning. 94/95 EECs have a lot of problems with the OEM calibration. Rumor has it that hypertech chips and the like make it worse! Look up a company called "SCT custom tuning". These are the guys that burned my chip, and it worked wonders to help eliminate the part throttle pinging. They also did lots of stuff on the chip to help the AODE work better, but that does not apply in your case.

4. Atfermarket H or X pipe. The OEM 4-cat pipe is the most restrictive part of the exhaust... not the headers, and not the catback. I am running a Magnaflow catted H-pipe (gotta keep the feds happy).

5. Intake manifold! Yes, that's right... intake manifold. The OEM GT lower intake is very restrictive. I am running a ported lower on mine with the stock upper manifold. Gave noticable SOTP gains. The Cobra or Edelbrock Performer manifolds would likely work even better.

6. Heads. Huge gains to be had from aftermarket cylinder heads.

After that, I would then start considering Headers, Throttle Bodies, and MAFs. Honestly, I do not feel that these parts are worth it on a stocker, as the heads and intake are the real bottlenecks.

Tell him NOT to waste his money on any of the Cold Air Intake kits... they are more hype than anything.

My 104k mile car went 14.49 @ 95.2 last November with nothing more than the following mods:

1. Pulley
2. H-pipe
3. Catback (FRPP)
4. Ported lower intake
5. 2600 rpm stall tq. converter

Everything else was 100% stock, including the airbox and paper filter.

Hope this helps.
 
Don't waste your $$$ on the drive shaft. Spend your $$$ on simple bolt-ons. I had an Off road H pipe, mufflers, Mac 1 5/8 headers, pullies, 3.55 gears, Cobra intake, bumped timing, Crane 1.7 roller rockers, adj FP regulator, K&N air filter and went 13.12 @ 102 MPH. I had a 1990 LX 5.0 and wished I didnt sell it.
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[ February 16, 2005, 04:56 PM: Message edited by: LT4 Vette ]
 
It'll be rough to get a '94 to run as good as your LX... mine was 3544 lbs race weight!
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I'll bet your LX had a 400-500 lb advantage.

The recipie posted by LT4 vette is a proven way to go... I'd start with the stuff I mentioned above, and work your way up to the full list in LT4's post.
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BTW... Adj FP regulators are a waste on a 94/95 too. The EEC is different enough that all the old school tricks don't always work.
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Thanks again for the additional info. Looks like a lot of great advice. I will print the thread tomorrow and mail it to him (he doesn't go on the net).
 
Driveshaft's don't "gain" any hp, but they do reduce the drivetrain loss of such components.

Much in the same way that underdrive pulley's, lightweight flywheels, and lightweight wheels do.

My father recently did a before and after dyno on his 91 dodge stealth with a stock and CF driveshaft. The CF driveshaft was 30 lbs lighter then stock (single unit instead of 3 piece) and showed about a 25-30 whp gain on the dyno (depending on run). Its about a 1 lb = 1 hp recovered.

Anything involving rotating mass or unsprung weight always pays much larger dividends then it appears to at first glance. They don't "add" horsepower, but they greatly reduce the overall drivetrain loss from allowing the engine to do less work to turn the components.

Here's the latest dyno if anyone cares (91 dodge stealth, this is to all 4 wheels).

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Sorry to go against the grain...but thats my experience. 1 lb off the driveshaft = 1 recovered whp.
 
Hmm, my '96 A4 has a carbon fiber driveshaft (propeller shaft). A year later Audi stopped using it and installed a regular steel drive shaft from then on. The carbon fiber driveshaft is a lot lighter, but much more expensive.
 
What color is the '94? My '94 has 45,000 miles...and looks great. I have a 3.73 (from a 3.08) and get vibration at highway speeds...an alum driveshaft is said to cure that. I had every performance part I could accumulate for this car...ready to install. Then I bought the WS6.
 
I switched from 3.08s to 3.55s in my 91 5.0. At 80+ mph, the 3.55s caused a slight vibration in the center tunnel. Installed an Al driveshaft, problem solved. I give it the thumbs up.
 
Aluminum driveshafts do reduce very small vibrations, but if the gears in the rear end are incorrectly installed, you will get bad vibrations regardless.
 
quote:

The carbon fiber driveshaft is a lot lighter, but much more expensive.

Also, CF driveshaft will flex more when a higher load is placed on them which is slightly better for the components they are attached to.

When they end up failing, they throw shards of carbon everywhere though.
 
I had a 1989 F150 Supercab with a 2 pieces steel drive shaft. It was fine and vibration free. I now have a 1 piece aluminum drive shaft in my 2002 F-150 Supercab and it's vibration free also. Maybe they went to 1 piece aluminum drive shafts to save on vibration plus mpg. As far as the car goes, as long as the drive shaft is balanced properly, I don't see any advantage to using aluminum over the factory steel drive shaft

Whimsey
 
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