Drive shaft angle
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 300
Likes: 3
From: kempton park Gauteng
Drive shaft angle
Hi Guys,
I was just going through the forum and saw Gunthers pictures of his awesome black vette
He asked about lowering the rear of his vette, but i saw that the drive shafts were almost horizontal, which i would think would be the best angle for the least amount of stress on the joints e.t.c .
I have overhauled the diff and rebuilt the trailing arms , new bearings and so on . My engine and auto box are outat the moment , both of them are being overhauled . The rear end is all back in the car with a cardon fibre spring .
Here is the thing i am concerned about , after seing pics of Gunthers vette, my half shafts are far from horizontal , how is that achieved ? Or am i worrying before the rest of the components such as the box and engine are back in the car ? Can the trailing arms be shimmed and set properley without the engine and gearbox being in the vehicle ?
Thanks Guys
I was just going through the forum and saw Gunthers pictures of his awesome black vette
He asked about lowering the rear of his vette, but i saw that the drive shafts were almost horizontal, which i would think would be the best angle for the least amount of stress on the joints e.t.c . I have overhauled the diff and rebuilt the trailing arms , new bearings and so on . My engine and auto box are outat the moment , both of them are being overhauled . The rear end is all back in the car with a cardon fibre spring .
Here is the thing i am concerned about , after seing pics of Gunthers vette, my half shafts are far from horizontal , how is that achieved ? Or am i worrying before the rest of the components such as the box and engine are back in the car ? Can the trailing arms be shimmed and set properley without the engine and gearbox being in the vehicle ?
Thanks Guys
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,353
Likes: 72
From: Graceland in a Not Correctly Restored Stingray
Ideally 2-3* angle is better for proper U-joint dynamics, as that keeps the needles lubed better than if completely straight. With rear suspension travel, the angles do vary, so that isn't as big an issue with the half-shafts as with the C3's fixed drive shaft orientation.
Not to be overlooked is that the half-shafts play a significant role in rear suspension geometry. Any time the half-shafts move beyond level into an orientation with the outer ends higher than the inner ones (in bump or squat), the resultant toe-steer is progressively (cosine function) towards and/or into toe out. The further below level the half-shafts travel (inner U relative to outer U), the more compensatory toe-in may be necessary to stabilize the rear; which increases rear tire scrub. Raising the diff in the chassis is the recommended approach to help offset this issue in lowered C2/C3's.
In any event, it's best IMCO not to worry about setting up ride heights and alignment until it's all together.
TSW
Not to be overlooked is that the half-shafts play a significant role in rear suspension geometry. Any time the half-shafts move beyond level into an orientation with the outer ends higher than the inner ones (in bump or squat), the resultant toe-steer is progressively (cosine function) towards and/or into toe out. The further below level the half-shafts travel (inner U relative to outer U), the more compensatory toe-in may be necessary to stabilize the rear; which increases rear tire scrub. Raising the diff in the chassis is the recommended approach to help offset this issue in lowered C2/C3's.
In any event, it's best IMCO not to worry about setting up ride heights and alignment until it's all together.
TSW
Last edited by TheSkunkWorks; Sep 10, 2011 at 05:35 PM. Reason: correction
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 300
Likes: 3
From: kempton park Gauteng
drive shaft angles
Hi Tsw
Thanks for your reply , really appreciate it.
The angle which my drive shafts are sitting at, at present are lower on the outboard sides of the shafts, than on the differential sides of the shafts.
I will wait until all the car is assembled and check it all again. I do have pictures i took of the rear suspension before i stripped it, but that does not mean it was correct when i bought the car.
In fact it most probably was not !!
I saw on the on Gunthers post that a comment was made about spacer blocks on his carbon fibre spring being installed wrong . Mine are exactly the same , but that was how the unit came out of the box and it even had a label around the blocks saying do not remove, which i did not do , have i put this in wrongly? The post said the sanwich should be split with the thinner wedges either side of the spring and the thicker one in the centre, but this info is contrary to the installation sheet and the sticker around the blocks. Which is correct?
John
Thanks for your reply , really appreciate it.
The angle which my drive shafts are sitting at, at present are lower on the outboard sides of the shafts, than on the differential sides of the shafts.
I will wait until all the car is assembled and check it all again. I do have pictures i took of the rear suspension before i stripped it, but that does not mean it was correct when i bought the car.
In fact it most probably was not !!
I saw on the on Gunthers post that a comment was made about spacer blocks on his carbon fibre spring being installed wrong . Mine are exactly the same , but that was how the unit came out of the box and it even had a label around the blocks saying do not remove, which i did not do , have i put this in wrongly? The post said the sanwich should be split with the thinner wedges either side of the spring and the thicker one in the centre, but this info is contrary to the installation sheet and the sticker around the blocks. Which is correct?
John
