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It's time..Driveshaft selection/purchase is imminent. 3 or 3½" ?? Strange says 3" good to 7,500

I'm not looking for top speed, just 1320 speed, at around 139-149 MPH which I may see the 139 mph end of that (roughly high 9's)

Doing a few calcs for ya and I can't see you going past 7k trap speed in 4th with a 28+" tyre and 4.10's...assuming your@3700lbs all in (all ally motor) and say 700hp it'd be 6388rpm in the traps. At 800hp=6679rpm and@850hp at 9.60's/140mph=6815rpm. And say at 900hp you'd still only trap@6947.
All this rpm theory is of course with the hp no's being there from the hit to the line which won't be the case for most of them?....@149mph and 1000hp you'd be going 7195rpm and 9.00's.
@440rb thanks a lot! I've posted a few places that the easiest and "most likely to happen" way, because of needing a tire better suited to a manual transmission "hit" and a sidewall that has a little taller profile to have a little "more wrinkle" or "give", the best way for me to reduce my driveshaft RPMs is a taller tire...
BUT having said that, I've had the same pair of Toyo Proxes TQ drag radials on my car since I first got the 9"x17" Aluminum Rallye wheels. I took a wild assed guess and selected the 315/35/17 Toyos because I needed to get 4 new tires for my 4 new wheels. They fit so perfectly the factory should have made them optional! (I know, tire technology wasn't like that then) My point is that these have served me extremely well, with the exception of traction at the launch at the track,
BUT
Rather than lay blame for all of the traction deficiencies on my tires, I suspected and have seen confirmation of:
**Weak factory leaf springs. I thought the rear of the car was "a little low" and the real indicator of their worn OUT status was when I put Mancini's TOP of the line pinion snubber on it, and on the FIRST run, which didn't impart any extraordinary forces on it given the modest mods to my current motor, and the rear axle wrapped up so badly it BENT the beefy part of the snubber bracket that mounts to the diff snout! With the addition of the Calvert split mono leaf springs and sliders, the rear of the Roadrunner has risen about 2½" !! I also haven't ever heated the Toyos properly, only spinning them up before the starting line. NOW I'm going to have a line lock, so I can do a better job of heating them up. I've added the Assassin bars and the HitMaster launch control.
My point is that I may find my 315/35/17s that I've enjoyed in so many other ways do a good job with all of these other additions. I'm thinking ahead though, and the stroker is going to need better tires, even if it's the 345/40/17 Toyos, or one of the offerings from Mickey Thompson. Just about ALL of those tires, including the 345/40/17 Toyos are a inch or two or more in diameter than the 25.8" tires I have in the 315/35s, so I'm all set with the 3" driveshaft.
THANKS TO ALL OF YOU! Order to Strange being placed Monday!!
:thumbsup: :bananadance: :thankyou:
 
Strange makes a good product. I use their axles and spool.
Doug
 
Strange makes a good product. I use their axles and spool.
Doug
Thanks again Doug.
Mike Gaines posted the part numbers for the pinion yoke and caps, which came in Thursday so I could install the yoke for a true measurement for the driveshaft. Looking at it, even the feel of the part screams precision and strength.
I knew that Strange had stood out as being reasonably priced when I first started looking at a driveshafts, but it took me a while to find going to Strange direct got me what I was looking for. Another case where going to the manufacturer got me the best price and everything I needed. I've had that happen with medical equipment, where usually the aftermarket or 3rd party dealers have the part in stock and/or the best labor rate, but after no luck there, I found the manufacturer had the part and the lowest labor cost.
 
Mark Williams 3-1/2" Cromoly Driveshaft (Blue) with 1350 U-Joints for new Strange S-60 rear axle.
Original (black) driveshaft for the 8-3/4 rear axle.

The original driveshaft had a bunch of high RPM vibration. The Mark Williams has none, even at over 6,000 RPM

MW-CM-Driveshaft.jpg
 
I was just about to give Mark Williams the go ahead, but once I had a detailed conversation with Strange, looked up what they were offering, I was done.
MW did have a good offer though.
One big thing that came from this exercise is I asked American Powertrain to refund our "driveshaft credit" amount that was part of the purchase price of the TKO600 for the GTO. They quoted the highest price on a driveshaft for my Roadrunner, over $800, and it wasn't any better than any other one I had proposed to me. Looks like Strange is going to get that business too, and I "prepped" the Strange sales tech for a discount on that sale when we are ready, which will be soon...
 
The obvious answer is you need more clearance (like an inch) no matter the shaft size you pick. That will be the perfect time to get rid of the x-pipe and have a proper H-pipe installed :poke:.

I saw your other thread. I would go with the larger diameter aluminum shaft and re-do the exhaust as needed to provide more/adequate clearance.

Nevertheless, use reputable suppliers and installers and discuss everything with them thoroughly. You seem to be in a rush. Don't rush.:)
I have to DISagree with you on the X pipe.In the higher HP cars that run an exhaust the "H" pipe doesn't cut it.
I have a 4 inch stainless system with an "X" pipe and have been 9.3 @ 147 with RPM 6700 over the stripe.Also @ 3700lbs.
IMO the X sounnds better too!!:thumbsup:
 
I have to DISagree with you on the X pipe.In the higher HP cars that run an exhaust the "H" pipe doesn't cut it.
I have a 4 inch stainless system with an "X" pipe and have been 9.3 @ 147 with RPM 6700 over the stripe.Also @ 3700lbs.
IMO the X sounnds better too!!:thumbsup:
Yes, to be clear, my friend Delta V posted that "H pipe post". I'm with you! I did research before I had the X pipe installed, and even chose one particular prefab X pipe over another.
I replied to Delta V with:
I prefer the superior:bananadance: performance of the X pipe to the "correct" but :poke:outdated H pipe..:D
 
Part of selecting MW is they are pretty close to where I live. Supporting local business
 
Mark Williams has an excellent product, good pricing, and good customer service and tech support. MW was my #2 choice.
I ordered the driveshaft from Strange Engineering today.
 
I have to DISagree with you on the X pipe.In the higher HP cars that run an exhaust the "H" pipe doesn't cut it.
I have a 4 inch stainless system with an "X" pipe and have been 9.3 @ 147 with RPM 6700 over the stripe.Also @ 3700lbs.
IMO the X sounnds better too!!:thumbsup:

I was just messing with @biomedtechguy
:luvplace:
 
Hope you will make the exhaust fit the drive shaft that can meet your requirements. Drive shaft reliability sure trumps exhaust.
 
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