Aluminum driveshaft ??

The best aluminum driveshaft to get is the one by FRPP in my honest opinion. I have it on my 01 GT. Though I have an automatic, I still bought the one for a five speed. All I had to do was swap yokes. As for "robbing horespower by increased weight of rotational mass", allow me to explain. The "drivetrain" is what transfers the power from the motor to the wheels of the vehicle. The Drivetrain on our cars consists of the transmission, driveshaft, rear differential, and rear axles. The heavier these pieces are, the more power it takes to turn them and thus, less hp at the wheels. The lighter weight they are, the less hp it takes to turn them, thus that extra power "freed" will reach the wheels. The difference between the stock driveshaft and the aluminum d/s from FRPP is about an 8lb difference. You won't see a difference really in raw hp but you will notice less vibration from the drivetrain and if the car is highly modified, you might notice a bit better acceleration.

If you get the d/s, get the safety loop with it. Its only about 30 or 40 dollars more and well worth the money. Seeing these prices on aluminum makes me glad I bought my driveshaft when it was only 150 bucks. Now, they're all 250 and higher.

the safety loop is a piece of metal that will contain the driveshaft in the event that the shaft/u joint/etc breaks. Plus most tracks require it if you run slicks.

Newbie143 said:

thank you so much "Dark night GT" for the info. one more thing though. you said "safety loop"...okay can you explain what that is , and what it does .
by the way i got a manual tranny.

thanks

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Sure. The "safety loop" is a loop that goes around the drive shaft to keep it from going through the floor of the car should it pop out of place. Usually, this won't happen but in some instances, it has happened. Its more or less a "peace of mind" kinda piece to have. Especailly beings its rather inexpensive. If you have two sets of hands, you and the other person with you can install it. You'll need to remove both the drivers and passengers seats as it does bolt through the floor board.

Its only 35.00 from Stangstore....http://www.stangstore.com/Merchant3/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Product_Code=M5478C2

Its also the same price from www.gefracing.com
http://www.gefracing.com/Merchant2/...e=G&Product_Code=M5478C2&Category_Code=46REAR

I wish they had a picture of it so you can see what it looks like.

to add to what dark knight was saying, keep this in mind, he said that the weight of the d/s was about 8 lbs less.....thats when its sitting still. a rotating object has a weight 4 times that of one that is at rest....i.e. that 8 lb weight loss turns into 36 lbs while youre driving!

for example, say the stock steel d/s weighs 20 lbs, thats 80 lbs on the road, now lets say the alum. d/s weighs 8 lbs less(12 lbs), that is now 48 lbs on the road! that means a lot in terms of drivability, might even save you some gas....

Dark Knight GT which driveshaft part # did you purchase? Are they both the same length just different yokes?

Newbie143 said:

and what is the best aluminum driveshaft i can get??
i think 03-04 cobras have them. are they good enough, or should i get something else? please tell me where to find a good one?

Thank you

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since the 03/04 cobras have a T56 in them, they utilize a shorter driveshaft. therefore it wouldn't bolt up to your T3650. best bet is to get the FRPP piece and be done with it.

jeffnoel said:

Dark Knight GT which driveshaft part # did you purchase? Are they both the same length just different yokes?

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I ordered mine through www.stangstore.com There is only one from FRPP that they carry. Its meant to fit the 96-04 GT's equiped with five speeds, but it will work for an automatic as long as you swap transmission yokes. It is the same length, yes.

Aluminum drive shaft is 8x stronger than the stock steel one, and lighter, it will help with weight reduction and will improve acceleration because it takes less inertia to rotate the shaft so it will spin easier and will reduce hp drivetrain loss. I just recently got an ram clutch, aluminum flywhell, aluminum driveshaft and 373 gears, talk about faster acceleration!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://mustangtuning.com/96gtand96coa.html