Bending drivehsafts

[skidmarkz]

i have a slight issue with the Long drive shaft, i have now managed to bend 2 of the chris astly style thick drive shafts? any ideas on how or why ??


J.

[Gareth87]

to be fair how the feck have you managed that!?

what engine you running?

[Steve]

too much power!! lol lol

[skidmarkz]

Throttle bodied xe in a nova.....

i have now bent 2 shafts and twisted the spline bit on the little 1??

any help would be great :(

[mowgli]

a good guess is sticky tyres, big horsepower and maybe crap heat treatment...

either fit traction control or smaller tyres or just don't do such massive starts, once its moving, then welly it.

[Gareth87]

hmmm. your spec aint massive so i can't see it being purely power

[skidmarkz]

a good guess is sticky tyres, big horsepower and maybe crap heat treatment...

hey mate, im talking like bent so bad it hits the chassis now :( dunno how to stop it happening its bloody exspensive lol

[skidmarkz]

hmmm. your spec aint massive so i can't see it being purely power

not massive no, but still at 200bhp mark.. a reason as to why its happening would be cool...

[Gareth87]

not massive no, but still at 200bhp mark.. a reason as to why its happening would be cool...

best person i'd say to PM is Rick Draper

he ran 440bhp and didn't bend shafts to my knowledge

[mowgli]

get some from a different supplier as I am purely guessing here, but i think they simply aren't strong enough & are deforming under power. if they had been heat treated properly, they'd probably snap, but under huge power transmission..

[skidmarkz]

get some from a different supplier as I am purely guessing here, but i think they simply aren't strong enough & are deforming under power. if they had been heat treated properly, they'd probably snap, but under huge power transmission..

both shafts are from different suppliers!

i am going to try the Equal shaft setup, see if that helps at all....

[Gareth87]

which shaft is bending?

[skidmarkz]

i have bent the long 1 twice, and twisted the outer splines on the short shaft.

[Gareth87]

try equal lengths then imo.

[burgo]

both shafts are from different suppliers!

i am going to try the Equal shaft setup, see if that helps at all....

ive got an equal length set up for sale that was on ricks nova so proven to take 400bhp

[jimbob-mcgrew]

your car lowered alot skidz ?

[skidmarkz]

ive got an equal length set up for sale that was on ricks nova so proven to take 400bhp

I have a Cav setup in the garage, all i need is the new shorter shaft to make it work.....



your car lowered alot skidz ?

I dont think its low no, i dont have issues with speed bumps....
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f49/kwackers636/Nova%20Trackdays/XSP_0430.jpg

[Ernie]

same sort of set up as mine but im still running the baby hub set up.
The only differance is im running Dars old shapts which were made to take 300bhp so are a bit bigger than standard.
There fine i would ask him where he had them made maybe a start.

[Welsh Dan]

You are using nova shafts not corsa ones? It sounds obvious but I thought I'd check :)

[skidmarkz]

im using the 2.0 Cav CV's inner and outer, with motorsport hubs from mr astley, and the Big shafts...

All i have ordered have stated Nova.. are the corsa ones longer ??

[Welsh Dan]

Yes, the corsa ones are slightly longer.

[skidmarkz]

Yes, the corsa ones are slightly longer.

do you know the lengths off hand, i can measure mine and see.. i know they are bent but it will give an indecation..

[Welsh Dan]

I don't sorry :(.

[GRUNT 16V]

Is The Engine Sat In There In The Right Position?????

[Pistol Pete]

^ good point. Gearbox mount spaced? Drivers side mount in right position? sounds like an LSD would be a wise investment? Or would this not help?

[Rick Draper]

I ran griffin autosport drive shafts but i believe they no longer supply them anymore. IIRC they used the same supplier as chris astley uses and i never had any issues with them. I ran a equal length setup and it was fine.

[skidmarkz]

^ good point. Gearbox mount spaced? Drivers side mount in right position? sounds like an LSD would be a wise investment? Or would this not help?


i have a Quaife LSD allready,

Im running the First edition Solid engine mounts from mr astley,

the gearbox has spacers installed im sure,....

[Sloth]

corsa shafts dont fit, it wont let you put the balljoint into the hub. id suggewst the equal length setup, tbh

[Mike]

What bottom arms are you using? Nova or Corsa ones.

[R1CH]

Can't see it being a problem with the shafts tbh, there'll be a hell of a lot of folk running more power than you are with those shafts, i've never heard of folk bending / twisting shafts !
I ran one of Chris's equal length shafts and had no probs.
Have you been intouch with Chris, returned the shafts to him under warrenty ??
I'm sure from time to time folk will break shafts but wouldn't have thought it would be a regular thing ?
Any pics of how the engine sits in the bay ?
Are you running super sticky slicks ? Does the car run mega low ? whats it used for, Track ? 1/4 mile ?

[skidmarkz]

What bottom arms are you using? Nova or Corsa ones.

Nova.. with plates welded tot he bottom..

[skidmarkz]

Can't see it being a problem with the shafts tbh, there'll be a hell of a lot of folk running more power than you are with those shafts, i've never heard of folk bending / twisting shafts !
I ran one of Chris's equal length shafts and had no probs.
Have you been intouch with Chris, returned the shafts to him under warrenty ??
I'm sure from time to time folk will break shafts but wouldn't have thought it would be a regular thing ?
Any pics of how the engine sits in the bay ?
Are you running super sticky slicks ? Does the car run mega low ? whats it used for, Track ? 1/4 mile ?

Im on the normal long n short setup at the mo, was going to move to equal length to see if it solves the problem..

chris is being great and also confused as to why its happening..

the engine sits dead flat, i measures the distances either side to my 2 mates 2.0l nova they are exactly same..

I run R888's most of the time now..

It is not low, in my eyes, there is a pic on the previous page..

Mainly track use and the odd blat tot he beach and back for fun n chips :)

[R1CH]

any pics of the shafts ? just out of interest really.

[skidmarkz]

as soon as i get the CV's off ill post up pics

[novaxe235]

this has to be a alignment problem between the box and hub shorley do you do alot of burn outs lol or something ,when do they tend to bend .

[skidmarkz]

nope, hate shredding tyres! Dont see the point in a burnout unless im at santapod.. then its different lol

[let_nova]

What bottom arms are you using? Nova or Corsa ones.

shouldnt make any difference as they are both the same.

[skidmarkz]

Engine Bay

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f49/kwackers636/broken%20bits/shaft002.jpg


Shaft on its side

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f49/kwackers636/broken%20bits/shaft010.jpg

Shaft Bent

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f49/kwackers636/broken%20bits/shaft011.jpg

[let_nova]

have you contacted the supplier

[skidmarkz]

i have yes, and he is being great but this is the 2nd long shaft its bent... i would like to fix it rather than keep relacing them. if you get what i mean?

[let_nova]

you got adjustable tie rods? whats your setup?

[skidmarkz]

standard tie rods on polly bushes

[let_nova]

whats the total front end setup? suspension, tie rods, top mounts etc etc

how much its loweres by./

[skidmarkz]

Spax Rsx Coilovers on Adjustable top mounts, Polly bushed standard tie rods, dont know how much its lowered by, but my drive shafts are not level or going up they still have a downward plunge angle on them..

[vx kev]

I have seen on nova running hi power and torque but relatively no upgrades to the suspension etc. but really low that under hard acceleration the long shaft espescially hitting the chassis leg......

[skidmarkz]

I have seen on nova running hi power and torque but relatively no upgrades to the suspension etc. but really low that under hard acceleration the long shaft espescially hitting the chassis leg......

now that is intresting! but surly it would leave a mark on my drive shaft ?

[vx kev]

now that is intresting! but surly it would leave a mark on my drive shaft ?

Suppose it should be quite obvious once your under there if there is any contact at all either on the driveshaft or the chassis leg but it may only be slight....... Who knows????

[Rich]

More likely to notice marks on the body if its hitting, do you get alot of engine movement??

[Lee]

I cant see a shaft bending uder power, they normally shear at the weakest point. I agree with Kev, it must be coming into contact with something.

And how long have you been in the IRA? lol

[Dinoman]

Throttle bodied xe in a nova.....

i have now bent 2 shafts and twisted the spline bit on the little 1??

any help would be great :(
Hi, Either wrong Material, or incorrect Heat treatment, did you get a spec sheet with them as if they are specials you should, Regards DM

[skidmarkz]

ira ? eh?

[skidmarkz]

Suppose it should be quite obvious once your under there if there is any contact at all either on the driveshaft or the chassis leg but it may only be slight....... Who knows????

as far as im concerned no it dont move much as i have solid mounts!

[skidmarkz]

Suppose it should be quite obvious once your under there if there is any contact at all either on the driveshaft or the chassis leg but it may only be slight....... Who knows????

iver had a look and cant see any obvious contact, the bend in the shaft is way to far back to be a chassis leg... its nearly in the middle..

[kenny_afh]

just a though, what amount of plunge do you have in the CVs?

often too much plunge can cause weakness in the CVs under power and they fail, not enough plunge could at some time result in the shaft acting as a strut between the hub and the box maybe? which im fairly sure is a force the shaft will not be designed to take.... altho i would still have thought the CVs would be the weak links and would fail before the the shaft would deform.

anybody in agreeance with this theory?

[vx kev]

just a though, what amount of plunge do you have in the CVs?

often too much plunge can cause weakness in the CVs under power and they fail, not enough plunge could at some time result in the shaft acting as a strut between the hub and the box maybe? which im fairly sure is a force the shaft will not be designed to take.... altho i would still have thought the CVs would be the weak links and would fail before the the shaft would deform.

anybody in agreeance with this theory?

Good point!
Driveshafts are solid, CVs are made up of different bits and so should fail before the shafts :wtf:

[matthew172]

use gte 22 spline shafts, hard as nails

[spanishfly]

I use Griffin autosport shafts and never had a problem, as Rick said I don't think he's around now:(
Mine are fine and have been well tested on 1/4 miles, 0-60's and trackdays.