My trans is already built by Crashed94, plus a new race clutch. Soon I will be swapping to 4.10 gears. This means most of my drivetrain is upgraded. Since I will be under there, and it will accessible, what is there to do to upgrade on the torque tube? Anything as far as preventive measures? I plan to autocross this coming year, so I want to prep it right. Thanks

 

I am assuming that you checked the rubber bushings on the "drive shaft" between clutch and tranny when the clutch was replaced. If they are fine, then I would leave it alone.

If you upgrade to a new drive shaft, then I would try to do the torque tube as well. The Z06 drive shaft is bigger in diameter. Rubber bushings are bigger as well and not swapable with old shaft. New bushing and shaft have to be done together. Newer Z06 torque tube is also less pieces and lighter than older unit. Torque tube is straight swap also.

These parts new are very expensice from dealership. I would find them used and replace. Expect to pay about 1K or so for used parts.

 

LG motorsports sell a carbon fiber drive shaft that may be what you're looking for. I don't have one myself, but I've heard good things about them



http://www.lgmotorsports.com/shop/pr...6c50be26315f46

 

interesting... first time I've heard that.

 

I'm upgrading to teh Z06 Tube as we speak. What you want to do is check those rubber bushings!!!! If you see cracks (and that is the only problem), then you need to get rid of them. You then have 2 choices.

1. Switch them out with aluminum couplers sold at LG Motorsports (I have 2 other sources if you want them) so that cracks will never happen again

2. Upgrade to the Z06 TQ Tube (I just did this).


You will get a mixed bag of opinions for #1. For starters, you will hear the signal being trnasmitted down the Tube tunnel. Some say it hasn't bothered them. Others say they would never put the couplers on because the noise would be annoying. Try to find someone who has replaced the rubber ones with the aluminum ones and then tell us what they said.

As far as #2 goes, you will get stronger Tube and shaft and stronger bushings. But remember, the bushings are still rubber.

With the above said, the owners that have the biggest and fairly immediate problems with the bushing failure are the owners that have both, high TQ Cars AND (with emphasis on AND) also do roadracing where there are constant high RPM's.

I'm not sure if owners that have just stcok cars and do not Roadrace have had bushing failures.

Anyway, also check GMPartsdirect.com for price on the upgraded Z06 TQ Tube assembly. I will try to get you the part #

 

from 53 to 65mm I believe

 

People autocross stock Corvettes all day and year long with no issues. That being said, just because you are autocrossing should not necessitate all that kind of work unless you are putting down some serious nonstock power.
DTE sells some sort of differential support brace that is supposed to help keep the rear end together and highly recommended with 4.10 gears. I have no experience here, just read postings.
LG has the CF driveshaft as stated. It is more meant for high RPM stuff to prevent vibrations in the driveline whiplash from my understanding.

 

interesting, i learned something new today
they really did upgrade the Z06 vs C5 in more areas than just heads

 

Well......I am pretty certain the torque tube for the Z06 and the Coupe and Vert are the same starting in 2001. I do know that the TT was made better in 2001......for all C5's. I am almost certain the TT from 2001 and up are the same.....................

 

hmm... interesting (again)

I guess the way to determine is for someone to check if they are the same GM part number for 2002 and newer.

 

This is what I was told...................I do know that the TT, for a Coupe let's say, was improved from 2000 to 2001 model year.............

 

Thats right.

97-99 had 55 mm shaft and 10mm" bolts. They started using a circlip in 2000. And in 2001 is when they started using the Z06 Tubes on all cars, which was a complete beefy upgrade to the 63 mm shaft, a stronger and lighter tube and thicker couplers with the 12mm bolts.

 

Thanks for the confirmation. I didn't know the specifics other than it was upgraded.......

 

WOW, thanks for the info !!!

 

Starting in model year 2001 production Z06's were fitted with P/N 12564457 {Improved Torque Tube & Drive Shaft Assembly-Torque Tube Assembly } and these P/N's were slowly introduced into all model corvettes that year. My contact at GM could not give me specifics but as of today all Manual Trans replacement Torque Tube Assembly's have P/N 12564457.

Tq Tube P/N 12564457.
The driveshaft is upgraded from a metalmatrix composite to aluminum alloy 6061, and it is increased in diameter from 55mm to 63mm. Driveshaft couplings have also been upgraded on manual-equipped models for additional strength and durability.

Kevin

 

Kevin, I'm just curious but would the shaft in the Z06 assembly whip in a similar fashion to the 97-99 shafts?

 

We now have the larger carbon shaft for use in both the early and late model cars. We have both 10mm bolts and 12mm bolt versiions.

We also have the race quality aluminum couplers to replace the rubber ones. But we do not recommend using aluminum at both ends. The manufacturing tolerances are not quite good enough to insure perfect fit, and there needs to be some give in the shaft. We use the Aluminum coupler on the rear of the shaft.

We have a package deal on now, with the shaft at $1195, and the coupler at $125 but we are giving a $25 credit for one of your old rubber couplers if it is in good shape.

Thanks
Lou G

 

Shaft whip….

I believe that all OEM shafts will whip under certain conditions. The carbon shaft the LG has will definitely reduce whipping but unfortunately the weak link in the shaft is the couplings {in my opinion}. I agree with LG regarding the use of aluminum couplers on both ends of the shaft. If you were to install both aluminum coupling on the shaft, it would be just matter of time before the pilot bearing (for the clutch) and the TQ tube bearings fail because of increased shaft vibration levels.

Note the drive shaft assembly (input shaft, coupling, coupling bolts, etc) is high speed balanced at Uni-Drive prior to shipping to GM, resulting in not being able to buy individual parts such as the couplings.

Solution to the coupling issue. If I had the time, I would explore this> http://www.kamatics.com/kaflexpage1.html

Kevin

 

To all that plan to replace your clutch. When the Trans is out, take the extra 1 hour and remove the TQ tube from the Trans and remove the drive shaft from the TQ tube for inspection.

Inspect the drive shaft for broken or loose coupling bolts. Inspect the coupling for damage. Inspect the TQ tube for spun bearings.

Resist the urge to use bone yard parts unless you can confirm they are serviceable prior to spending your hard earned money…..

 

With all the hard track time my car has seen, I have had no problems with the TT or couplers. I have had problems with the diff shattering and taking the trans with it. I have also had wear on my CV joints on the rear axles. My best advice would be to purchase the DTE brace and run the OE TT until something breaks. You might as well wear it out first before replacing it, because you already paid for it.

When my TT goes, I will purchase the LG CF TT.

VR