I would go with the steel one piece drive shaft. Its cheaper and the aluminum one has a bigger diameter so the rotational mass is the same. Your only saving weight at that point and its not worth the extra 100$ for it. Plus if you ever boost your car and get really serious that aluminum drive shaft will have to be replaced as the aluminum ones don't hold nearly as much power.

Aluminum Drive shaft vs. Stock Drive shaft.
Pro's:
Lightweight
Removal of carrier bearing.


Con's:
More rotational mass (stress on components)
More Expensive
Have to do some minor modification on the under body shields to make it fit (Atleast I had to)

Steel one-piece driveshaft
Pro's:
Cheaper
Lighter than stock
Removal of carrier bearing
direct swap (Except for removal of carrier bearing)

Con's:
Heavier than the aluminum shaft.

As a recommendation when buying something always do a pro's and con's list to see if the benefits outweighs the con's.

-Nyke

 

thanks nyke. yeah I usually do pro/con lists under most mods....didn't realize the steel would be lighter than OEM so I didn't really consider it, though 1 piece would certainly be lighter than 2 piece

as for going boosted, maybe if I ever win the lottery & move to a smog exempt state or someone comes out with a CARB legal kit(finding illegal ways to pass smog aren't worth it anymore) but in all seriousness I only plan on adding/changing: an intake, getting a figs heatshield & changing the catback power wise.

 

I have the aluminum driveshaft for a 5speed. To answer your first question, yes the auto and manual are different sizes. The weight savings is probably around 15lb-20lbs. The driveshaft swap is a direct fit with easy installation. I removed 1 heat shield because it was rattling and making noise. The driveshaft makes some noise while i drive around which is annoying but w/e it's usually at low speeds or when i start from a roll. The driveshaft seems to help out the low end performance of the car. If you are planning to stay NA go with it but if you are planning to boost i would not recommend it because you most likely will snap it (which can be very dangerous).

I'll show you a dyno chart that shows the differences in power i made with adding the driveshaft and a bigger intake.

View attachment 31569

 

Thanks younggun. What other supporting mods do you have to get those numbers and what kind of dyno was it? Looks like an intake and driveshaft really smooth out and enhance the powerband till 5k. Other than the noise any other downsides?