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:Most carbon fiber driveshaft manufacturers use adhesive to secure the
yoke to the carbon fiber tube. High loads can cause the adhesive to fail,
causing the yoke to spin inside the carbon fiber tube. Kuah had issues
with this on his race car.
:From their site:
:[ HREF="http://www.bactechnologies.com/shafts.htm">http://www.bactec
hnologies.com/shafts.htm ]
:
:"Carbon Fiber Driveshafts
:BAC's U.S. Patented design is a mechanically integrated one-piece
design where the aluminum yokes are filament wound into the shaft. Wet
composite material sinks into knurling on each yoke and encapsulates it
during the manufacturing process. Therefore, each yoke is permanently
locked into the shaft when the epoxy composite is cured. This
revolutionary design does not rely on adhesives to transfer the torsional
load from the aluminum yoke to the carbon fiber composite.
Independent laboratory tests have revealed BAC's Carbon Fiber
Driveshaft has significantly higher torsional strength and less weight over
popular aluminum shafts and all other carbon composite driveshafts."
:
:I'd like to have a CF driveshaft for the NVH reduction, but didn't want to
deal with the slippage issue that Kuah encountered. This may be the
answer. I don't know how much they cost, but do know they are a lot
more expensive than a std CF DS. I emailed them for a quote.I happen to have a carbon fiber drive shaft in my track only Z. I have
had it for at least three seasons running 430 RWHP and 400 pound feet
of torque. I have not had any problems of any kind and certainly not
any with slipping. I also happen to have discussed this subject with Kuah
at some length. His car has a special set-up with the underside of his car
sealed off as part of his aerodynamic kit. Because of this arrangement,
a substantial amount of heat is trapped from the engine and exhaust
between the underside of the car and the sealing plates. Kuah told me
he thought the reason for the failure was due to excessive heat softening
the epoxy. I think the main advantage of a carbon fiber drive shaft is not just the
obvious weight savings, but the safety factors as well. Carbon fiber is
stronger than steel at the same weight and they will also shatter into
splinters if broken instead of jacking up the car at speed or have the
busted tube end rip into the passenger compartment should a failure
occur.
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