LG Motorsports

We have been testing our Carbon Fiber Driveshaft for about 9 months now and the results are in. We have been using these on both high powered street cars and Race cars also. They have passed everything that we have thrown at them. We also use them on our World Challenge Race car now.

The stock drive shaft will deflect and "Whip" like a jump rope at higher RPMs. The drive shaft will spin at engine rpm because it is in front of the transmission. And it will spin up in each gear. The plastic ring attached to the stock driveshaft is there to limit how much the shaft can deflect by rubbing on the inside of the torque tube. If this plastic ring breaks, which they do, then the stock shaft will deflect and bend and cause a vibration.

Our Carbon shaft will not deflect, and thus needs no plastic ring attached to it. In addition it is slightly lighter, but the stiffness is the real plus. With the stock shaft, you will spend power by rubbing the inside of the torque tube. Plus the rubber connectors inside the torque tube will break due to this deflection.

The carbon shaft that we have made exclusively for us will cure this problem.

These are now available to the public and we have special pricing for the Corvette forum. Contact me via IM or call if you are interested.

Thanks Pics to follow.



This is what happens when the shaft "whips". Notice the cracked rubber coupler.

Lou G

Here is a link to a thead that went on last summer. It is a real issue Remember that Sway bars are made of steel, and they twist. Steel has a twisting modulus, and better steel only raises the yeild point. Aluminum has the same kind of twisting modulus but a much lower yeild point where it takes a set after the twisting.

LG

Link: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=610949







[IMG][/IMG]


[Modified by LG Motorsports, 5:24 PM 6/10/2004]

Yibbutkeen

Anything that is stronger AND weighs less than stock is a good thing. What kind of ball park price and what kind of weight benefits are we looking at?

LG Motorsports

Corvette Forum price is $1195, regular pricing will be $1295.

It replaces the aluminum shaft only. you will probably not need the the aluminum coupler but if you want one, I would only use it at the rear. The rubber ones go bad precisely because the original shaft flexes so much.

For now, we only have the newer type shaft replacements. We are having the earlier type built but the only difference is the size of the bolts that hold the rubber couplers to the shaft. Also the newer shafts have a larger rubber coupler.

Weight= ? I will check.

Remember that the driveshaft will spin at engine rpm in each gear. So the benefits are realized in each gear. The torque that it sees is equal to the engine torque without transmission gear multiplication.

Thanks
Lou G

Umrswimr

Lou-

Since I'll be getting a new clutch and AL flywheel here in the next few months, I might as well look into the driveshaft "While I'm in there"...

I guess the biggest difference for me would be the mass- both rotating (I) and total mass. As you stated- since this thing spins at engine speed, it really makes a difference if you can shave some pounds off...

Any guess as to how much more the driveshaft would cost to replace (labor) if I were to be doing the clutch/FW at the same time?


Another race car product for the masses. Thanks Lou!

LG Motorsports

Since you are going to do the clutch the extra labor is minimal. We just have to take the torque tube apart and switch the shafts. Probably just another 1.5 hrs labor.

thanks
Lou G

Karl_in_Chicago

Lou - when you say you only have the "newer type shaft replacements" what does this mean? I have a '99 coupe. Was there a change made to the shafts by GM? What are the differences and when would this have been implemented. I'm going to assume that with a '99 I have an "older type" shaft, but just want to understand the implications. BTW - way cool on the carbon fiber shaft. Let's see, if I add that to the list of stuff I want, it's now AFR heads, camshaft, output shaft, clutch, and now driveshaft!

LG Motorsports

Karl,
You have to start somewhere.

there were early Torque tubes that used 10mm bolts in the rubber connectors, and the rubber connectors were smaller than the current version. the new version uses 12mm bolts and a larger rubber coupler.

You have 2 choices..... If you want to keep your current size drive shaft, we are having some CF shafts made with the 10mm bolt holes. that is the only difference in the shaft. OR, you can find a new or used Z06 torque tube and start with the larger set up. It all depends on how you were going to use it.
I don't think that you would want the small rubber couplers unless you use the aluminum coupler on one end.

Thanks

Lou G

LG Motorsports

I am checking on a supply of the newer stock internals. They will fit in the normal torque tube.
The very early torque tubes had the driveshaft assembly held in with about 10 bolts. The next version had the assembly held in with one large circlip. then finally GM went to the beefier internals but still held in with the large circlip.

Thanks
Lou G

Here is a link to a thead that went on last summer. It is a real issue Remember that Sway bars are made of steel, and they twist. Steel has a twisting modulus, and better steel only raises the yeild point. Aluminum has the same kind of twisting modulus but a much lower yeild point where it takes a set after the twisting.

thanks
LG

Link: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=610949








[Modified by LG Motorsports, 8:58 AM 6/3/2004]

66ImpalaLT1

http://www.zerohp.com/photos/clutch/...rain%20008.jpg

The black specs you see in the picture linekd above are the "donut" wearing against the inside of my torque tube. I replaced it with the newer 2000 version because the donut was only worn on one side, meaning the shaft was slightly bent.

My car had never been quicker than 2.0 60ft, and only drive on drag radials and street tires.

There are 3 assemblys. 97-99 has the bolt-in rear bearing assembly, 00 has the clip in assembly, and 01+ has the clip in rear bearing assembly AND a larger diameter driveshaft.

Next time, I'll be looking at using LG's driveshaft.


[Modified by 66ImpalaLT1, 4:02 AM 6/4/2004]

WhiteDiamond

Lou, or anyone interested, type in propshaft critical speed on an internet search engine and you will get a ton of information on composite driveshafts and why they are better than heavier aluminum or steel counterparts.

Todd

LG Motorsports

We have some great photos to put up that we took during an install. Should be up today.

LG

LG Motorsports

Photos are up at the top post. the diameter of the stock Aluminum shaft is
2 3/16" and the carbon shaft is 2 1/2"

The weight is only about 1 pound lighter. But it is very stiff.

Thanks
Lou G



This is what happens when the shaft "whips". Notice the cracked rubber coupler.





[Modified by LG Motorsports, 5:28 PM 6/10/2004]

EFI-1

Hmmmmm........I likey!

John Shiels

I came off the track at VIR after doing 150 and then hearing a clunking

0Sales@MVPAutoParts.com

John,

The same thing happened to me last month. The bushings let go after four hard (30-min) sessions at Texas World Speedway.

However, I was lucky. Except for the bushings, everything else (torque tube, input shalf & drive shaft) was still in great condition.

The front bushings disintegrate into million pieces


The front bushing disintegrated into million pieces.


The rear bushing has several visible cracks.


Question for John: How did you fix yours? Did you just drop in a brand new torque tube assembly? Or did you just replaced the bushing with the aluminum ones? (I assume front bushing is the same exact dimension as the rear bushing, correct?) Is there anything I need to know before going with the aluminum bushings? Thanks John.

0Sales@MVPAutoParts.com

John, are you there?

LG Motorsports

Tuan,

The 2000 has a smaller rubber joint than the Z06, and 2001 and newer cars.
Did you get a new drive shaft? We have the carbon shaft for the larger bolts but we are having a carbon shaft made to replace the ones with the smaller bolts soon.

LG

69

Hello All,

I was able to trace your generation TQ tube here is what I found out...

In May of 2000, GM sent out a parts advisory indicating to dealers that P/N 12561082 was the new part number for the torque tube assembly. Starting in model year 2001 production Z06's were fitted with P/N 12564457 {Improved Torque Tube & Drive Shaft Assembly-Torque Tube Assembly } and these P/N's were slowly introduced into all model corvettes that year. My contact at GM could not give me specifics but as of today all replacement Torque Tube Assembly's have P/N 12564457.

Stronger Driveshaft
The driveshaft is upgraded from a metalmatrix composite to aluminum alloy 6061, and it is increased in diameter from 55mm to 63mm. Driveshaft couplings have also been upgraded on manual-equipped models for additional strength and durability.

Lou> Do you sell just the couplings?


Kevin



[Modified by 69, 7:08 PM 6/28/2004]

JakeL

Lurking here...

My torque tube makes quite a bit of noise, especially on cold mornings - I'm just waiting for it to fail here at some point

What does it take to retrofit an early car to the late style? What are the wear items that might need to be replaced? Looks like there are couplings with rubber bushings at the front and rear of the driveshaft, which resides inside the aluminum "torque tube"?

Does it just make the most sense to replace the 2 rubber bushings, and then replace the stock driveshaft with one of Lou's?

-Jake
gearing up for what seems to be the world's most expensive clutch/driveshaft/transmission job...

GTC

Interesting. Is there any difference between manuals and automatics? Thanks!