How much do after-market half-shafts cost? Anyone have experiences running their cars really hard and long with them to see how well THEY hold up? Thanks.
Experiences w/ Heavy Duty Halfshafts- in here
- Thread starter BlownCobra
- Start date
I have had some time to research this, since I started the thread one month ago. I have spoken to several people, including some who race their IRS's and have more seat time then us new Cobra owners. The following seems to be true:
1) Automatics, unless equipped with a transbrake, do not leave as hard.
2) While we hear about people who have there stock shafts, run sticky tires, and have no problems; its either all in the way they launch (very soft and bog out of the hole) or as Uncle Meat said "its not IF but When" they will fail.
3) Tricks sometimes backfire. Some guys can get away with slipping the clutch out of the hole. Other's try it and smoke there clutch on the first run.:bash:
4) You DO NOT need wheel hop to break a shaft. In fact a soft compound sticky DR or slicks will stop the hop instantly. HOWEVER, you have just increased the amount of load on the shafts by 10 fold. Can someone say…Snap
Question: Are aftermarket shafts the right idea?
Answer: It's a step in the right direction. Understand you have now strengthened one part, so attention must now be placed on other parts. The outboard stubs and/or the differential for example.
At what cost: So now we beefed up or IRS's. The half shafts are $700 to $1000, not installed. Custom aftermarket outboard stubs??? Then installation.... And will hook as good as a straight axel???? Not sure but looking at the 60’ times turned in by expert drivers running modded Cobra’s and IRS’s, probably not!
And what about Straight axels??? Not a cheap proposition after you replace the stock 8.8 posi unit and axels. (8.8 in stock form is weaker then our IRS's) Plus a host of other parts... And guess what… the car hooks, but does not ride as good, plus has less resale value and zero trade in value.
So what’s the answer for people that want to drag race with the IRS, still drive the car on the street and do not want to de-value there ride… Time will tell. There are a lot of professional aftermarket driveshaft/cv companies out there that are making strides everyday. Mustang Magic in NY is working with an aftermarket manufacturer, as well as Amazon Racing, just a name a few. I am hopeful (even through practical) that we will have answers soon.
1) Automatics, unless equipped with a transbrake, do not leave as hard.
2) While we hear about people who have there stock shafts, run sticky tires, and have no problems; its either all in the way they launch (very soft and bog out of the hole) or as Uncle Meat said "its not IF but When" they will fail.
3) Tricks sometimes backfire. Some guys can get away with slipping the clutch out of the hole. Other's try it and smoke there clutch on the first run.:bash:
4) You DO NOT need wheel hop to break a shaft. In fact a soft compound sticky DR or slicks will stop the hop instantly. HOWEVER, you have just increased the amount of load on the shafts by 10 fold. Can someone say…Snap
Question: Are aftermarket shafts the right idea?
Answer: It's a step in the right direction. Understand you have now strengthened one part, so attention must now be placed on other parts. The outboard stubs and/or the differential for example.
At what cost: So now we beefed up or IRS's. The half shafts are $700 to $1000, not installed. Custom aftermarket outboard stubs??? Then installation.... And will hook as good as a straight axel???? Not sure but looking at the 60’ times turned in by expert drivers running modded Cobra’s and IRS’s, probably not!
And what about Straight axels??? Not a cheap proposition after you replace the stock 8.8 posi unit and axels. (8.8 in stock form is weaker then our IRS's) Plus a host of other parts... And guess what… the car hooks, but does not ride as good, plus has less resale value and zero trade in value.
So what’s the answer for people that want to drag race with the IRS, still drive the car on the street and do not want to de-value there ride… Time will tell. There are a lot of professional aftermarket driveshaft/cv companies out there that are making strides everyday. Mustang Magic in NY is working with an aftermarket manufacturer, as well as Amazon Racing, just a name a few. I am hopeful (even through practical) that we will have answers soon.
IMHO, listen to Joe, he knows what he is talking about. Sticky tires+ high rpm launch + IRS = parts breakage. I should know as well, I broke three (3) sets of halfshafts in my 99. Two sets of factory ones and one set of Raxles. You want to drag race? Ditch the IRS or have a trailer, it's that simple. What am I doing you ask? Silly question, the built live axle is in the garage on jack stands waiting for the weather to break. Seriously though, if you're careful the IRS may be ok. But, if you want to let it all hang out I think the live axle is the only way to go. Peace, snakecharmr99.
JOE LYnch wrote:
You can break halfshafts when there is absolutely no hop. Anyone who puts in aftermarket halfshafts will need to check the outboard stub shafts periodically for the beginning of a failure.
Joe please elaborate for the less knowledgable about the outboard stub shafts and what the issue is we are supposed to be safe guarding against. Thx
You can break halfshafts when there is absolutely no hop. Anyone who puts in aftermarket halfshafts will need to check the outboard stub shafts periodically for the beginning of a failure.
Joe please elaborate for the less knowledgable about the outboard stub shafts and what the issue is we are supposed to be safe guarding against. Thx
Silver 03 Cobra
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I know I may be buying time but I think the 03 HS's are a lot better than previous years. I may not be the best drag racer to ever get on a track and I may not know anything about high rev-dump the clutch launches but I think my 60 ft times indicate I'm getting off the line pretty good. I am starting to hit 1.59's pretty regularly now and I have over 150 passes down tracks with over 100 on ET Streets. I'm going to Mooresville Dragway tonight and it's the best hooking track in W. NC. Knock on wood.
Check the top links on the page below. These were written over a year ago and are based on the 99-01 halfshafts. But I think the '03 wheel hubs and outboard stub shaft dimensions are the same for the '03. Also note that the problem with the outboard stub shaft applies to AFTERMARKET half shafts which have a stronger intermediate shaft than stock, thus moving the weak points out to the CV joints and to the stub shaft. I hope Ford would not increase the strength of the inboard parts enough on the '03 to move the weak point out to the stub shaft due to the safety issues. In other words, from an engineering standpoint, you want to keep the weak part between the wheel bearings, so that, when a failure occurs, the wheel doesn't fall off.
Silver03Snake--Your experience is great!! I am happy and surprised. But go check your outboard stub shafts and make sure there are no signs of impending failure. If there are, replace the outboard CV joints periodically and you should be OK. But we need to know how your outboard stubs are holding up. YOU need to know!! A failure out at the stub in 2nd or 3rd gear could put you into the wall at the worst, and ruin a knuckle at the best.
http://www.lx.net/jlynch
For those of you who haven't seen it, here is a video from a couple of weeks ago of my little rev limiter launcher with a live axle, the short version.....
http://www.anythingcars.com/users/jlynch/pen0314launch.mpg
I've done 1.43 best 60' with a 1.46 average on a 100 shot with this setup. A 99-01 IRS car wouldn't last one pass like this. I have nearly 40 nitrous passes on the live axle so far.
That said, the '03s are amazing and I am very impressed with the results folks are getting with them. Keep it up.
Joe Lynch
Silver03Snake--Your experience is great!! I am happy and surprised. But go check your outboard stub shafts and make sure there are no signs of impending failure. If there are, replace the outboard CV joints periodically and you should be OK. But we need to know how your outboard stubs are holding up. YOU need to know!! A failure out at the stub in 2nd or 3rd gear could put you into the wall at the worst, and ruin a knuckle at the best.
http://www.lx.net/jlynch
For those of you who haven't seen it, here is a video from a couple of weeks ago of my little rev limiter launcher with a live axle, the short version.....
http://www.anythingcars.com/users/jlynch/pen0314launch.mpg
I've done 1.43 best 60' with a 1.46 average on a 100 shot with this setup. A 99-01 IRS car wouldn't last one pass like this. I have nearly 40 nitrous passes on the live axle so far.
That said, the '03s are amazing and I am very impressed with the results folks are getting with them. Keep it up.
Joe Lynch
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Joe, everything I see those pictures of my '99's shaft I cringe.:uh oh:
Snapped without hop....
When I added the complete K-member ,chassis,coil overs and all the IRS braces my car hooked up great but snapped the shaft like a twig.We are working with a guy that has done some work with our 4wd customers.He has done mine and we are going to drive it now and take it to Ennis tonight for the real test!!
:burnout:
When I added the complete K-member ,chassis,coil overs and all the IRS braces my car hooked up great but snapped the shaft like a twig.We are working with a guy that has done some work with our 4wd customers.He has done mine and we are going to drive it now and take it to Ennis tonight for the real test!!
:burnout:
Stan, can you bring an extra stock rear axle tonight?
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