Recently I've read a few posts and talked to a few forum members about drive train issues they've had with their high HP cars (I am defining high HP as 500+rwhp, although I think AnteVenom just posted that he broke his drivetrain up on 415rwhp).

First off, good luck on a swift and painless repair to those who have had these issues. :grouphug:

Second, is there anything good on the horizon to help bulletproof the drive train? It seems that even with hardened output shafts and severe duty differentials available from DTE, people are still breaking things. From what I can tell, the common thread among all of them is that the breakage occurred at the track with something other than street tires (DR's, slicks, etc.)

I pulled the trigger on a forged 383 motor with A&A Corvette's ATI D1SC single intercooler setup recently, and the few battlefield reports I've been hearing about breakages has me really worried. I only have street tires for the car and rarely take it to the track, but it would be really disappointing to sink all this money in motor/blower mods to the car, then end up broken on the side of the road one day because I obliterated my tranny.

Any advice for me? Should I maybe ask that my car be "detuned" a little bit to reduce its power until better/cheaper drivetrain components become available? My guess is that the 383 with A&A stage II heads, a mild cam, and 10psi should do 600rwhp easy. Maybe I should take it real easy on the boost for now?

 

I have been having this same concern. I like the idea of the 383 with the blower seems great for a mostly street car that will kick **s! :cheers:


[Modified by Bigben, 9:02 PM 3/22/2004]

 

Just a few notes:

Nothing is truly bulletproof. When you race, things will break, sooner or later. The higher power/traction levels you go, the more often things break. A blown 383 has tons of power, if you put some sticky tires on it, things in between the two are going to break eventually. A good aftermarket clutch, built tranny and diff, perhaps add some stronger halfshafts (if they make them?) and a DTE brace, and you should be pretty damn strong. Don't hear too much about broken driveshafts, except for the couplings that seem to go after a while.

I think reducing your power is kinda silly. Why not just stay stock then? Fixing things when they break is half the fun (at least, thats what I tell myself).

Do the things I mentioned (over time maybe, or as things break?) and you'd have a pretty reliable 10 sec car easily. Not many cars can pull that off.

If you wanted more dead nuts reliable, go with an F-body. They have better options for bulletproof drivetrains than C5s do. A built TH400, CF or metal matrix driveshaft, 9" with spool, etc will take pretty much anything.


Dope

 

Tony,

I would suggest that you consider the following upgrades:

1) Purchase and have installed the Dyno Tech Engineering Differential Strut and their heavy-duty L.H. output shaft.

2) Purchase and have installed the Breathless Performance Torque Tube Bushing Kit.

3) Purchase and have installed an Exedy dual-disc flywheel and clutch assembly.

4) Have your ring and pinion gear set Cryogenically treated and micro-polished.

Those items are on my 'To Do' list for next year.


Good luck with your decision. :seeya

 

This is a good point. I fully understand the "if you play you have to pay" sentiment. I don't really expect the car to be 100% bulletproof, but I am hoping that I can get it to a point where it's at least bullet resistant :D

I know DTE does the diff and output shafts, but is there a good tranny out there that's reasonably priced? I already have a Spec III clutch on the car but it sounds like people here really prefer the Exedy clutch.

I like to fix things too, but I hate fixing things unexpectedly. If there was a magic number that the stock components broke at on street tires and hard launches, it wouldn't be a bad strategy to stay below that number until such time as you could upgrade your components. Getting more power out of this car is easier than an unboosted car since it really would just need a pulley swap and retune. If I hit 550+rwhp on 7psi chances are I will not try to get more power out of the car until I can upgrade the drivetrain.

Thanks for the advice -- I guess that's what I was fishing for. All my FBody friends talk about ridiculous HP numbers and it seems fewer things break on their cars than on the C5. For now I'll keep the Vette and keep things on the sane side. I really just want a nice street car I can kick a little butt with, I am not looking to turn this into a drag car that "beats everything".

 

If you are primarily on the street then you have nothing to fear--with all the power you have no street tire will hold and as long as the tires are spinning nothing breaks, when the tires stick the problems start--street tires will never cause you a problem you will be able to break loose the biggest at a 100mph--However the plan above is what I am consering to the letter in addition I have a Rodney (crashed 94) tranny--G-force makes a severe duty tranny but with all the options it is about 7500 bucks--a couple of guys are coming out with a more or less straight axle setup but no limited slip and would be miserable to drive on the street--

 

what about if you get wheel hop on those street tires ;) your drivetrains not gonna like that. we will be working on putting a straight axle in a c5 in the next month or so with small tires, that will be a street driven high hp car.. oh yeah and it will have the tranny bolted to the engine where it should be :) jay

 

Rodney aka Crashed94 (I think?) has an excellent reputation around here for building killer T56s.

I don't think 550rwhp will be a hard number to acheive at ALL, especially with 7psi on a 383. Unfortunately it's pretty much impossible to predict what will fail. For instance, my old automatic 2000 Camaro SS broke the driveshaft on the DYNO, on my 2nd pull. It put down 311rwhp (it was basically stock). The driveshaft took out the tailshaft of the tranny, the exhaust, the torque arm, and the floorpan. Sheet happens ;)

Sure. I am a Camaro guy at heart, I just happen to own a C5 too. I know where your friends are coming from, I kinda wish we had the same options for the C5. My current fbod is a 98 SS, and my dream car is a 69 Z28.

Keep the car on street tires and about the only thing you'll NEED to replace is the clutch. I upgraded my rear too but mainly because I was upgrading to 3.90 gears, I figured why the hell not? I doubt you'll break anything anytime soon unless you screw up. The tranny may go south eventually but then you can use that as an excuse to get a heavy duty unit.

Dope