Broken CF drive shaft (DSS) I8 GT

[olaosunt]

This is the second drive shaft I received from DSS.
First one was replaced under warranty due to bad drive line vibration .
I received the second one about 4 weeks after returning the first one .
I had it installed at the same time as the stage 2 whipple . I am down to a 3.625 pulley which helped improve my 60 ft times from 1.85 to 1.77
Car has been a best of 10.5@137 so it’s not making crazy power ...probably low to mid 700.
I had made about 6 passes supercharged before it let go yesterday after I had made one pass .
I had to do a burnout manually with the brake as the line lock has only worked intermittently since the whipple drive shaft/install. I had attributed that to the tune . Sometimes the advance track light would come on at full steering lock but go off by just restating the car .
I don’t have a a 2 step and had stalled the car to 2000 rpm . Heard the noise (I am
quiet familiar with the sound after breaking 2 on my 12/TVS car when it was a manual ) before I launched .
I had to get a tow home but was pretty sure it was the DS (ther was a lot of white foam underneath the car ) . I could not see the the middle of the drive shaft but could see it was still attached to the rear . I did have a safety loop and thank God it let go at the line (usually does) and not during the previous pass .
I fully expect them to warranty it but honestly don’t want to mess around with another one. I put the stock one back in but considering ordering a G Force alluminum one . If they warranty it I could keep the one they send as “back up “ or sell it but I would not recommend for FI use .

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[olaosunt]

Note I had run drag radials previously but wanted to see how the car would do with slicks since it was spinning the 1-2 shift . I expected the slicks to be easier on the drive train and safe some weight.

 

[Barrel]

I broke a DSS carbon one as well. Had it replaced under warranty and sold it. Bought a QA1 CF driveshaft and have been very happy with it.

 

[steph93lx]

That's not fun at all!!!

Another vote for a qa1 if you want to stay with a carbon driveshaft.
Qa1 is the only carbon shaft I would be willing to try! Also lighter than the dss carbon!

 

[olaosunt]

I am not sure if QA1 makes one for the 10r80.
They said the issue was with the 3.8 inch shaft hitting the bottom of the car and they now only sell the 3.25 .
It would have been nice for them to have done a “recall” on the 3.8 ones they sold if they knew there was a problem with it .
I sent the broken one back and they are going to send me the 3.25.
I was going to to get the g -force alluminum shaft but they said they are made to order and will take 6 weeks .
It’s amazing how much he smoother the car drives with the stock shaft I have back in .

 

[olaosunt]

Looked on their website and they do .
It’s little more $$ but I bet it’s worth it . I anticipate there will probably be a wait as well so going to give DSS another chance if they can turn it around quickly.
I am going to make at least one supercharged pass with the stock one so I can see if the one piece is worth any ET .

I do have a QAI CF I had bought earlier this year from summit (there was not wait ) for my GT 350 in anticipation of the whipple install but it’s still sitting on my garage floor as I put that on hold while I was doing an oil consumption test .

Hoping to get the whipple done before winter but not a priority now . I may just go ahead and have the drive shaft installed to see if it makes any difference to the NA drive or improve ET before the supercharger

 

[Pulpit]

Looked on their website and they do .
It’s little more $$ but I bet it’s worth it.

LMR has it for 1299.00 for QA1, next on my mod list.

 

[olaosunt]

I must say DSS is a stand up company .
They received the broken drive shaft today ....and they shipped out the new one - 3.25 same day .

 

[dausmus]

Steeda has the QA1 for $1200ish.

 

[olaosunt]

Well lightning strikes twice and broke the second one (well third one but two have broken )

I had just said “so far so good” on my latest CF drive shaft on another thread ....well... famous last words . Lol
It just broke again this evening testing my new Whipple tune on the street .
Luckily for me I was the shop where I have another car parked so I did not need a tow this time . I was foot braking the car trying to see how high it would hold ... I think I was only at 2200 when all hell let loose under the car .lol
Pretty sure it’s the drive shaft as I can see the fiber pieces underneath and I must have got some on me while looking, as I now itch like crazy .lol

May be there is something wrong with my car or something but until I know for sure I would avoid the DSS CF .
I hate to say that,as their customer service so far (and in the past )has been top notch . This would be my third one . First one was replaced due to vibration issues and had to be shortened .
I can’t find any of the non CF ones in stock anywhere (so little time left this year !) so I pulled the trigger on the QA1 - LMR has them in “stock” -I hope- and it’s cheaper than anywhere else .

I expect DSS is going to give me some flack about replacing it and it would take some time to get a replacement( they had to receive the broken one first the last time before sending a new one ) .

I think I am just going to ask for an chromoly one if they replace it and refund of the price difference

If they won’t, and only have the option of another CF I will use it only as a “spare “ or sell it . They said they did not make the alluminum as the 10 speed was breaking them so may be the CF is not that much stronger .

I am wondering now if the problems I am having is due to the shaft being “shortened” when the first one had vibration issues . The amount shortened was based on some on car measurements - I can’t remember what not .
I am not a mechanic but I am assuming if it’s “stretched” due to the shorter length them it’s is more likely to pull apart under stress.
I am also wondering if the limp condition I had been experiencing (throttle closes after what appears to be rpm spike on 1-2 shift ) may have been related to the drive shaft - may be spinning on itself .

 

[Stroked89coupe]

Man sorry to hear all this. I was on the fence between dss and gforce. Ended up going with a gforce aluminum which is half the weight of the carbon fiber one according to the dss website. Glad i did.

 

[olaosunt]

I noticed the weigh difference on the G Force too .
Has it arrived yet ?
If it has any driving impressions ?

When the last one broke I ordered the G force but cancelled after I was told it would take 6 weeks .

DSS were able to get me a replacement as soon as I returned the broken one

I always like keeping spare stuff to minimize down time when shit breaks so may be I should not have cancelled . Lol
Well if DSS replaces this one I will have that spare .

LMR says the QA1 is in stock and should ship tomorrow so hoping I don’t have too much downtime as the strips close this month around here .

 

[Stroked89coupe]

I have not received it as of yet.

I just find it crazy that the DSS chromoly driveshaft weighs 37lbs. The DSS Carbon Fiber and aluminum weighs 30lbs. Then the QA1 Carbon fiber weighs 21lbs.

The Gforce website claims a weight of 17lbs for their aluminum.

The stock shaft weighs 24 to 28 lbs. I just can't grasp why a carbon fiber shaft is weighing in at 30lbs. lol.


Looks like the QA1 will be a better choice for you. Kinda swaying that way myself due to the hp rating.

 

[Burkey]

@olaosunt
Where did you end up with all of this?

 

[Dominant1]

Seen alot of these dss carbon fiber ds’s breaking .. do yourself a favor get a g- force and call it day..

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