LS7 (2) v.s. IRS Half Shaft (0)

[PhillipM]

Well... I guess it is time to order those stronger alloy half shafts!!!! :dunno:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2006/10/DSC01732Small-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2006/10/DSC01736Small-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2006/10/DSC01734Small-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2006/10/DSC01738Small-1.jpg

[Rybar]

Love your car man, can you get some custom shafts made out of steel?

[chet]

ouch! that looks more like a weld failure to me though?

[6'9"Witha69]

Holy crap!! Time for new axles indeed. Good to see a nice PT car getting used though!!

Condolences and Congratulations are both in order.

[ProdigyCustoms]

So did the 4 link bars keep the tire vertical?

[PhillipM]

Yes the tire did toe in a little bit but other than that everything was fine. I think that we are going to order some from Mark Williams or Denny's drive shaft once we find the measurements that were written down.

[Reckn8]

The wheel was vertical. You can see the full weight was on the wheels while it was one the skates.

[Renner]

Cant u git some solid steal ones?

[ProdigyCustoms]

Our aluminum shafts have held up to 700HP. They are no rocket science, just some built by the local driveline shop. We have run aluminum driveshafts (driveshafts, not half shafts) in higher powered cars then either of these that are dead hooking drag cars. Steel should not be needed.

I am glad to see the tire stay up, i wondered if they would cave in if this happened. Thanks for the test.

[jeff s]

Looks like they were shortened with a crap weld, no penetration.
I agree with Frank, the material isn't the problem.

[PhillipM]

We too had wondered what would happen if that link ever broke. We took as many precautions as possible building the car as we could think of, but the questions always lurked. Knowing know what happens is a little comforting. Well since we have discovered that our local driveline builder seems to not be able to get it done, I think it is time to step up for some nicer welding and we will just go ahead and step up the material while we are doing it because this while fun, is slightly annoying and really ruins your day.

[zo66]

hey that looks real familiar,fixed it with hardened steel from fla. power train, i also left the dana 33 on the pavement too.:rotfl:

[PhillipM]

Hopefully i will have some updated shots soon. The new chromoloy shafts should be here either tomorrow or monday.

[LSRS7]

Hey Phillip, Not to hijack here but are those spin techs your using?
I have a LS7 too and trying to decide what muffler to run.

Jason

[PhillipM]

I like the spintech mufflers, they are pretty aggressive sounding though. I am not sure what other mufflers you are thinking about but with the Grand Am Cup camshaft it sounds pretty awesome.

[LSRS7]

I was planning on using spintechs, they look like they package well under the car. A local shop here said he liked them also I just wondered how they sounded on a LS motor. Thanks for the input

[PhillipM]

We ordered them without holes so that we could put them exactly where we wanted to. Just a thought. -phillip

[DJW32]

*****Off topic question*****
Phillip,
Do you have any video of the car running? We(everyone at pt.com) would love to see this car in motion.
David

[PhillipM]

I do have some from a track day we did but that is about it. And the problem is that I have it on High 8 film and need to convert it to digital. Maybe I can do that some time in the next few weeks. I was waiting for HotRod to do their track day so we could bring the car out and show what it can do but that hasn't seemed to materialize. But I would love to go out to a track day some time before January with it.

[PhillipM]

Well I just droped the car off to have the rear aligned. Somebody couldn't read a measuring tape and the shafts came out about 1/16-1/8th to short. This threw out the entire alignment in the rear. The only other problem that we will have to wait to see is if the tires now rub on the inside of the wheel well??? :hand:

[formula98]

Man I can't wait to see the progress on your car. Did you take pictures of the new shafts, the installation and what problems 1/16 - 1/8 in causes? Wow 1/16 - 1/8 in and the tire may rub boy were you close. What size tires on the back?

Good Luck! keep up the great posts!

[PhillipM]

Well we got the car back from getting it alligned and we have a bigger problem then we thought. Come to find out the shafts are 1/4 in too short per side and has caused the dog bones to now run into the rear subframe. The rear tires are 335's and we are talking feeler gauge here. Tomorrow we will call Inland Empire and see what they say about the shafts being too short. Here are a couple of shots of the new chromoloy shafts that I took late last night after installing them. In the last picture you can see that the tires are already up against the inner wheel well. Though the tires are hanging they still shouldn't be hitting that hard already.:hmm:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2006/10/DSC01746Small-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2006/10/DSC01749Small-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2006/10/DSC01752Small-1.jpg

[formula98]

Wow I'm real sorry to hear about them being 1/4 in too short. I hope you get it sorted out soon. I can't wait to hear how the car runs with the new shafts and what it feals like to get out of 2nd gear.

Keep the posts coming.

Ron

[PhillipM]

Well this morning we called Inland and let them know the news. They are sending a call tag to pick these up and send us some new ones that are a little bit longer. :cheers:

[formula98]

That's great news! When will you get the new ones?

[PhillipM]

I think that the first of next week shouldn't be too much to ask. They insisted on sending a call tag, which will slow the process down by atleast a day or two.

[PhillipM]

Well we received the new set of halfshafts that are the correct length last night and got them installed, then this morning took the car down to have the rear aligned again. The guy who aligns it for us was not excited to say the least about doing it again! Should be up and running this afternoon though. For anybody in town I am headed to the Pavilions cruise tomorrow night with it if you want to come out and join in the fun. Phillip

[olds87]

Where at in Scottsdale Pavilions? I will try to make it. Also what time to?

[PhillipM]

Yeah at the Scottsdale Pavilions. I will probably be there around 4:00.:smoke:

[olds87]

I will meet you there.

[PhillipM]

Cool.

[ProStreet R/T]

How are the new ones holding up? I know quite a few guys run the MW stuff on their 7-8sec vipers and they hold up reasonably well if you keep wheel hop to a minimum.

BTW for pete sake put some half shaft loops on that thing.

[PhillipM]

First of all we have decided that we shouldn't power shift the 1-2 shift anymore :) but that seemed to go right out the window within a half hour of picking it up from the alignment shop when my dad handed it to a fourth gen TransAm... Oh Well. They didn't break though! We ended up getting these from Inland Empire Driveline. They were helpfull but it cracks me up that even the second set isn't the exact measurement we sent them. Oh well, at least they went long this time and we did have a little room to give up that way. I don't think I have ever seen half shaft loops? How do they even mount, with the whole set up moving at all times?? I am interested!

[ProStreet R/T]

I don't think I have ever seen half shaft loops? How do they even mount, with the whole set up moving at all times?? I am interested!

Never looked for a corvette setup, but on the vipers they mount to the frame rail and are located about 3" from the inner U-joint. It's very handy to keep things from getting ugly, and possibly locking up a wheel. I'll see if I can find some pics of them mounted.