99 Torque Tube Upgrade?
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From: South Carolina
99 Torque Tube Upgrade?
Hey guys. Just had a diff built not too long ago and installed Monster level 2 clutch and 18# flywheel, new slave, etc. but planning more upgrades for the winter. Got a trans at Tick Performance right now being built to a level 2 and will be building an iron 408 this winter. So the only thing really left down there is the torque tube. For all I know nothing has been touched on the torque tube so now would definitely be the time to do it. Wondering what's the best way to rebuild it for the money? Tryin to put about 550 down to the wheels so looking for input from those of you that have rebuilt or upgraded. Any input would be great. Thanks in advance...
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I've put down well over 550 through my stock 12mm driveshaft with dss poly couplers for a couple of years with no issues yet... I will be doing a tr6060 swap pretty soon and I have a 3" billet dss driveshaft on the way... I figured since it's coming back out I might as well upgrade it... it also depends how you drive... I don't drag my car very often and when I do I leave easy, most of my hard driving is rolling starts or highway pulls which is less stressful on the drivetrain parts... the initial shock from launching at the dragstrip on sticky tires is what usually does the damage
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Cool. Nice man. How much strength difference is there in the 12mm and my 10mm? I'm the same as far as driving...dont ever really launch the car and just play around from rolls. Just wondering should I go back stock or one billet and one rubber or what the best combo/brand is for the money?
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that I can't answer since I have never had any experience with the smaller driveshaft... I can tell you though that even the 12mm driveshaft is dinky looking once you get it out of the torque tube... you will wonder how it has even survived in the first place
... I believe driveshaft shop offers a billet 3" driveshaft for 10mm couplers if you would rather do that and not have to upgrade the torque tube... when it's all said and done you would probably be looking at around $1200 total for the driveshaft and couplers, ~$800 for the driveshaft and ~$200ea for the couplers
... I believe driveshaft shop offers a billet 3" driveshaft for 10mm couplers if you would rather do that and not have to upgrade the torque tube... when it's all said and done you would probably be looking at around $1200 total for the driveshaft and couplers, ~$800 for the driveshaft and ~$200ea for the couplers
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I would check with the DSS. It's possible you could drill out and re-tap the bolt holes on the flanges at each end of your setup to 12mm threads and that would allow you to install a shaft with 12mm couplers. Basically, the difference between the 2 shafts is the 12mm thread and it's a little shorter because the couplers are thicker.
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Cool. Nice man. How much strength difference is there in the 12mm and my 10mm? I'm the same as far as driving...dont ever really launch the car and just play around from rolls. Just wondering should I go back stock or one billet and one rubber or what the best combo/brand is for the money?
Like Neutron, I also previously had a "12 mm" (a complete torque tube assembly) upgrade, but after my last round of "improvements", I also went with a DSS 3" shaft with stock GM couplers and new 12 mm bolts.
With your planned increase in HP and torque, the old saying about "bigger is better" has a LOT of truth here. I'd recommend the DSS with GM (specifically) couplers.
HTH
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"Strength" is pretty much a subjective term unless something gets comparison tested/measured to failure (for example), but for a basic comparison, the "10mm" driveshaft is smaller in diameter than the "12 mm" (55 mm vs 63 mm), so you can make your own judgement. IOW, it's not just a difference in coupler bolt size.
Like Neutron, I also previously had a "12 mm" (a complete torque tube assembly) upgrade, but after my last round of "improvements", I also went with a DSS 3" shaft with stock GM couplers and new 12 mm bolts.
With your planned increase in HP and torque, the old saying about "bigger is better" has a LOT of truth here. I'd recommend the DSS with GM (specifically) couplers.
HTH
Like Neutron, I also previously had a "12 mm" (a complete torque tube assembly) upgrade, but after my last round of "improvements", I also went with a DSS 3" shaft with stock GM couplers and new 12 mm bolts.
With your planned increase in HP and torque, the old saying about "bigger is better" has a LOT of truth here. I'd recommend the DSS with GM (specifically) couplers.
HTH
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curious why you went with oem couplers over the dss poly?... like I said, I already have the dss poly on my stock driveshaft and was planning to reuse them... if it's just a matter of using oem to lessen vibration I don't think I will be too worried about it personally, my car is fairly aggressive anyway
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Got sick and tired of NVH (noise mainly) issues, etc. The GM couplers (specifically) are actually quite strong and far better than the BMW or Dorman so-called "equivalent" guibos. They're used behind LS7s and LS9s for example, and I've had no issues with them at all. I've also got Pfadt polyurethane offset diff mounts with my C6 Z06 diff, so that also was increasing my NVH as well.
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So since I'm dumping all the money in the engine and trans right now, if I wanted to just change the bearings and couplers right now, what would be the best way to go? 2 of the GM rubber, 2 polly, 1 billet and 1 rubber/polly, etc?
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alrighty that makes sense and I will probably just deal with it lol... that's actually why I chose the 3" over the 3.5" with no couplers, that just seems like it would be overkill as far as vibration goes and mainly focused towards a dedicated drag car which mine is not... I have offset mounts from rkt56 that are going in with my tr6060 and c6z diff so we will see what happens haha!
OP, as far as couplers go, it depends on your tolerance for vibrations and/or noise issues. I've tried both, including the DSS polys and I chose to go back to GM couplers in the end. Maybe I'm just getting old, but hey, that NVH stuff also eventually gets old too, especially on a street driven car.
I also modified my motor mount brackets to lower the engine and be able to use the stock motor mounts. The polys were just another contributor to NVH issues, etc. If I were you, I would give serious thought to finding a complete later model (12 mm) torque tube assembly, and then refresh/replace what's needed inside. There's lots of good used ones out there so shop around, plus you can always bolt in a DSS 3" DS later if/when your budget permits or you just need it.