Another Gem from The Driveshaft Shop

[NGOT8R]

Yep, I read that thread and there are a number of other really good threads on M6G that @GregO pointed me toward as I was doing research and spending time under my car noting runout, angular offset, etc. I really wanted my Steeda shaft to work, because as it is, my car looks like Steeda threw up on it (every upgrade on my car is from Steeda), so in the beginning, I thought it had a good chance of working, which it did until I did a burn out. Problem is, there are inherent issues from Ford, which they "solved" with the two-piece, non-balanced shaft that a lot of us have worked hard to replace.

In my opinion, your Steeda shaft stands a far greater chance of being successful if:

• you use transmission spacers to deal with the angular offset
• either remove your current pinion flange (will need a new install kit), or purchase a new pinion flange kit (M-4851-M8A)
• take your Steeda shaft and pinion flange to a reputable drive shaft shop and have it balanced as an assembly. This means your shaft and pinion flange will be indexed properly, no different than the two-piece is now.
• Prior to balancing the assembly, the faces of the drive shaft flange and pinion flange will need to be trued perpendicularly to the axial centerline so these parts run true as a mated assembly.

Of course, this won't deal with the inability of the material used by Spicer to handle torsional loads, so to keep it all running true, you'll have to grandma the car around town.

MB

Yes, good info.! I do have .250 spacers to compensate for the angular offset, especially since I lowered my engine 1/4” with the Steeda adj. motor mounts. That’s also a reason why I installed the Hitmaster clutch slipper system on the car. Taking as much shock out of the drivetrain as possible is always going to be helpful.

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[Duece McCracken]

Well, my QA1 carbon fiber has been fantastic, lmao!

Never really thought about balance issues with aluminum fabrication/torsion. This thread has been very informative!

 

[RAVAGE88]

Yes, good info.! I do have .250 spacers to compensate for the angular offset, especially since I lowered my engine 1/4” with the Steeda adj. motor mounts. That’s also a reason why I installed the Hitmaster clutch slipper system on the car. Taking as much shock out of the drivetrain as possible is always going to be helpful.

Ah, gotcha, so you're a bit ahead of me but I'm on the same path. I'll likely do the same amount of spacer for the transmission and will be dropping the engine slightly using the same mounts, but ditching the OEM K Member for the Steeda member. My '21 GT is my first automatic Mustang, and fortunately, haven't had to walk around with a bag on my head around my former manual brethren.

Another Dude that has put a lot into this driveshaft debacle is @Lo Pony. He made a lot of headway but I think may be close to working through some final details as well.

MB

 

[RAVAGE88]

Well, my QA1 carbon fiber has been fantastic, lmao!

Never really thought about balance issues with aluminum fabrication/torsion. This thread has been very informative!

Dude, I saw some of your comments in a different thread about how satisfied you've been with the QA1 CF and I was leaning ever so slightly in that direction for a bit....we'll see how this Chromoly venture works out though.

MB

 

[NGOT8R]

Ah, gotcha, so you're a bit ahead of me but I'm on the same path. I'll likely do the same amount of spacer for the transmission and will be dropping the engine slightly using the same mounts, but ditching the OEM K Member for the Steeda member. My '21 GT is my first automatic Mustang, and fortunately, haven't had to walk around with a bag on my head around my former manual brethren.

Another Dude that has put a lot into this driveshaft debacle is @Lo Pony. He made a lot of headway but I think may be close to working through some final details as well.

MB

That new Steeda K Member is gonna be really nice!

 

[RMoeslein]

The steeda K member came with my hellion street sleeper kit. It is nice!!

 

[RAVAGE88]

That new Steeda K Member is gonna be really nice!

Yep, tons lighter, stronger and gobs more room. I have more planned after it goes in; headers, exhaust system, driveshaft, etc.

MB

 

[WildHorse]

Both the DSS axles i installed last summer failed within 2 weeks of install.

Exact same happened to me ! They wouldn't honor the warranty. Said abuse
So I chucked them. Put the stock axles back in, 4 years later zero issues, and
I abuse the fook outta them ha-ha.

 

[Duece McCracken]

Dude, I saw some of your comments in a different thread about how satisfied you've been with the QA1 CF and I was leaning ever so slightly in that direction for a bit....we'll see how this Chromoly venture works out though.

MB

For my use case it's been great. I should be around 500whp on E85 right now. Still have to get the Bullitt on a dyno to see how she does.

No drag strip, just spirited driving. Some red light launches, some good 1st-2nd burnouts. High rpm hard shifting. Mostly highway.

I did drop the engine via BMR mounts and engine brackets. Car is lowered on FRPP magneride upgrade kit's springs. Bunch of other stuff that shouldnt affect driveshaft angle.

Chromoly should be stout!! I'm excited to see these driveshafts, hopefully it treats you proper!

 

[NGOT8R]

Yep, tons lighter, stronger and gobs more room. I have more planned after it goes in; headers, exhaust system, driveshaft, etc.

MB

Sounds like the Mod Monster has acquired another victim, lol. Mod up and build it to your liking. There’s more I’d like to do too, but I’m trying to be good at the moment and that’s not an easy thing to do.

 

[RAVAGE88]

Sounds like the Mod Monster has acquired another victim, lol. Mod up and build it to your liking. There’s more I’d like to do too, but I’m trying to be good at the moment and that’s not an easy thing to do.

My NA Mod Monster. It's not a daily, so working on weight reduction and getting as much NA HP as I can muster through balanced and tuned systems approach. Working out well so far. If I was staying around the 500 mark, I'd go the route of @Duece McCracken with the QA1 CF.

MB

 

[DaveB]

Had a DSS aluminum driveshaft installed on my 2022 mach 1 last may. Never balanced correctly, drove me nuts. Got considerably worse last week so i took the car to a shop to get it checked out. Bad U Joints. They wouldnt reinstall the ds stating it was not safe. So i took the OEM ds up and they reinstalled that one. Care was smooth as silk with the OEM DS. I called DSS to ask for options. Approx $300 for them to rebuild and rebalance the ds. It has less than 2k miles on it.
$1000 to buy the DS
$300 to have it installed
$300 to have it uninstalled.
Then
$300 to have it rebuilt.
$300 to have it reinstalled.
I dont think so.
Both the DSS axles i installed last summer failed within 2 weeks of install. I replaced them with G-force axles.
$2000 to buy the axles(lethal performance accepted a return on these and helped me out on the price of the gforce axles, thx to lethal)
$400 install.
$400 remove and install the G-force axles.
DSS has cost me so much money installing and uninstalling the Junk they sell over the past year.
They of course would not refund me the money when i asked to just return the bad driveshaft. And they dont reimburse for costs of uninstalling and reinstalling. I dont want it rebuilt and reinstalled on my car. I will never have any DSS parts on any of my cars ever again. Im throwing the DS in the trash where it belongs.

Everything I have seen from them is absolute junk! From 5th gen Camaro “1000 hp” half shafts to carbon fiber ds on a 12 boss 302 and everything else

 

[DeadSpool]

DSS is junk and will hopefully go bancrupt someday soon so people stop getting gouged. Had the same issue with my old DS. Put in a qA1 cf 3 yrs ago and it’s been absolutely perfect, even at 1440rwhp on sticky tracks! My DSS 1400hp half shaft just gave out last month so just changed to gforce outlaws with exotic ends.

 

[Cobra Jet]

People should really research DSS before buying…. There tons of threads all over the internet (including here) of nothing but complaints and failures of various product.s sold by them (and not just S550 either)…. It’s all out there for the public to read and see, because it’s been going on for a while now.

With any product, buyer should always research the product for reviews from customers or what can be found on XYZ forums.


On a side note:
For axles - GForce axles is where it’s at for a Mustang with an IRS rear, period. They were the original solution and company to solve the half shaft axle breakage on the 2003/04 Cobras when under extreme load for drag racers. They are the leader in the industry with years of experience and have a huge following in the Mustang community.

 

[Joshinator99]

People should really research DSS before buying…. There tons of threads all over the internet (including here) of nothing but complaints and failures of various product.s sold by them (and not just S550 either)…. It’s all out there for the public to read and see, because it’s been going on for a while now.

With any product, buyer should always research the product for reviews from customers or what can be found on XYZ forums.


On a side note:
For axles - GForce axles is where it’s at for a Mustang with an IRS rear, period. They were the original solution and company to solve the half shaft axle breakage on the 2003/04 Cobras when under extreme load for drag racers. They are the leader in the industry with years of experience and have a huge following in the Mustang community.

Agreed 100%. I’ve been running the GForce Outlaw axles on my Camaro for 4 years now, all of that time in the 927-1059 WHP range and a stack of mid 9 second time slips. They’ve been absolutely perfect.

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