5/5
Installation Time: Less than 1 Hour
July 21, 2012
The imortant things are what it doesn't do...
For all it's terrific attributes (especially at the price), the current V6 Mustang is not without its engineering compromises. There were two that were of greatest concern to me, and this driveshaft addresses both.
The first is vibration. For some reason the V6 MT Mustang can get a funky driveline vibration while decelerating in any gear at about 2500rpm, and I noticed it in mine from the day I got the car. A quick perusal of the forums indicated that this is a relatively common quirk that doesn't seem to have an easy fix.
Since aluminum is much better at dampening vibrations than steel, I was hoping that the new shaft would help settle it down. And indeed it did. It didn't eliminate it entirely, but it is far less intrusive - and unless I have my hand on the shifter I don't feel it at all now. The difference is very noticeable.
The second is, of course, the reputed weakness of the stock driveshaft at high rotational speeds. Rumor has it that this is the main reason for the factory speed limiter, and whether or not it's true many of us have heard stories (and seen the video) of shaft failure at 130mph and up.
I don't know if this is really a design issue or merely a story that took on a life of its own after one failure. But I DO know that the worst place to put the slip-joint in an unsupported shaft is in the middle (where it is on the factory one). And this aluminum shaft puts it on the end (the rear in this case) where it should be. So I have no trouble believing that this shaft is the better design.
I, for one, don't believe all these stories about the shaft being worth so-much hp, or that it makes a noticeable improvement in acceleration. The relatively small weight savings and small diameter of the shaft means that we're just not dealing with that much rotational inertia.
But that's beside the point. The shaft gave me a smoother driveline and some peace of mind if I ever change that speed limiter. That's what I bought it for, and that's exactly what I got out of it.
Year: 2012
Submodel: V6
Swedesboro, NJ 08085, USA
Helpful (33)
Thanks for your input!
