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.
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.