[RyzRT]

I really did not consider going to a one piece driveshaft to be a performance upgrade until I swapped out the OEM two piece driveshaft for a DSS (The Driveshaft Shop) one piece 4" Aluminum driveshaft, but after a few days of driving and every time I drive now, I discover something different in the performance realm.

The engine output to rear end response is pretty much instantaneous now, and the resistance of an extra CV joint and carrier bearing is gone, so there is less drive line resistance being applied to the operation of the drive line. The car does not respond like it did before the change, it is like a completely different car, you would have had to drive before and after the change to fully understand, but there is a noticeable difference.

There is more unrestricted power reaching the rear end, which translates to more tire spin, which of course adds to the dilemma of getting off the line with a good launch, but that consequence is most welcomed to me. But the fact that suddenly increasing throttle in 3rd gear and not to the floor, got tire spin put a smile across my face, that had never happened in the past.

When I went from an open differential to a limited slip, I got the smile from both tires laying down solid rubber. When I added the 93 octane tune written by Sean at Hemifever Tuning I got the smile as well. But I honestly was not expecting the smile going from the OEM 2 piece driveshaft assembly to a one piece Aluminum, but the smile is there!

What led to me getting the one piece driveshaft was the carrier bearing failure that led to replacing the OEM two piece assembly, but IMO, because of the cost did not warrant getting a single driveshaft of 1,000+HP rated on a 5.7L HEMI, that cost me a little over a thousand dollars. Unfortunately after the carrier bearing failure I could not get completely comfortable running the two piece OEM anymore, as the mental picture of the failure was permanently burned into my mind.

So I made the decision to go to the one piece driveshaft, but did not need the Carbon Fiber on an engine probably at 400HP now, so a 1,000HP rated driveshaft is way overkill. Increased performance was a really good side effect when all I was really after was peace of mind, and increased confidence in the car! Only those that are actually running the single driveshaft in their Challengers, whether Aluminum or Carbon Fiber, can co-confirm any differences they have noticed, so I invite them to add their 2 cents in this thread.

Thanks and be Safe everyone! Ry

 

[ArchGE]

Any high speed vibration?

 

[RyzRT]

Any high speed vibration?

No

 

[Rob Hall]

I really did not consider going to a one piece driveshaft to be a performance upgrade until I swapped out the OEM two piece driveshaft for a DSS (The Driveshaft Shop) one piece 4" Aluminum driveshaft, but after a few days of driving and every time I drive now, I discover something different in the performance realm.

The engine output to rear end response is pretty much instantaneous now, and the resistance of an extra CV joint and carrier bearing is gone, so there is less drive line resistance being applied to the operation of the drive line. The car does not respond like it did before the change, it is like a completely different car, you would have had to drive before and after the change to fully understand, but there is a noticeable difference.

There is more unrestricted power reaching the rear end, which translates to more tire spin, which of course adds to the dilemma of getting off the line with a good launch, but that consequence is most welcomed to me. But the fact that suddenly increasing throttle in 3rd gear and not to the floor, got tire spin put a smile across my face, that had never happened in the past.

When I went from an open differential to a limited slip, I got the smile from both tires laying down solid rubber. When I added the 93 octane tune written by Sean at Hemifever Tuning I got the smile as well. But I honestly was not expecting the smile going from the OEM 2 piece driveshaft assembly to a one piece Aluminum, but the smile is there!

What led to me getting the one piece driveshaft was the carrier bearing failure that led to replacing the OEM two piece assembly, but IMO, because of the cost did not warrant getting a single driveshaft of 1,000+HP rated on a 5.7L HEMI, that cost me a little over a thousand dollars. Unfortunately after the carrier bearing failure I could not get completely comfortable running the two piece OEM anymore, as the mental picture of the failure was permanently burned into my mind. So I made the decision to go to the one piece driveshaft, but did not need the Carbon Fiber on an engine probably at 400HP now, so a 1,000HP rated driveshaft is way overkill.

FYI: Any of you not aware of the carrier bearing failure here is the link to it: Replacing My Drive Shaft! WARNING!

Increased performance was a really good side effect when all I was really after was peace of mind, and increased confidence in the car! Only those that are actually running the single driveshaft in their Challengers, whether Aluminum or Carbon Fiber, can co-confirm any differences they have noticed, so I invite them to add their 2 cents in this thread.

Thanks and be Safe everyone! Ry

God bless you RyzRT for sharing this information with us. It's strange how after watching Motorweek install a driveshaft from The Driveshaft Shop last week I got into the concept of an aluminum single piece driveshaft upgrade on my 2009 R/T. My only concern was/is that they are rated for 1000+ hp engines, so, if it's working out for you, awesomeness! I may do it once I get $898 saved so that my mechanic son can get to it for my Thunder! Does it feel a litle twitchy off the line or when driving normally? I cut off my resonators, have a cai, flowmaster exhausts but still have the stock manifolds. I will forgo the headers and go with this mod.instead. Thanks again.

 

[RyzRT]

God bless you RyzRT for sharing this information with us. It's strange how after watching Motorweek install a driveshaft from The Driveshaft Shop last week I got into the concept of an aluminum single piece driveshaft upgrade on my 2009 R/T. My only concern was/is that they are rated for 1000+ hp engines, so, if it's working out for you, awesomeness! I may do it once I get $898 saved so that my mechanic son can get to it for my Thunder! Does it feel a litle twitchy off the line or when driving normally? I cut off my resonators, have a cai, flowmaster exhausts but still have the stock manifolds. I will forgo the headers and go with this mod.instead. Thanks again.

It is not twitchy at any speed especially off the line it is so smooth, and it is definitely less drive line resistance, that off the line tire spin is worse, so I am having to relearn doing my 0 ~ 60 runs. After I replaced the OEM with the failed carrier bearing support, I had 2 months earlier installed a new OEM, and was consistently running 4.7 second 0 ~ 60 times. I actually ran 3 in row launching off of concrete. After installing the DSS Aluminum Driveshaft I was getting 4.6 and 4.5 with off the line tire spin even though it was kinda hot outside. When I ran the 4.4 my best 0 ~ 60 it was 53 degrees outside so I'm looking forward to seeing those temperatures again to see if it will beat that time with this driveshaft. But man it is smooth, no vibrations, I keep saying it is like a completely different car, feel like a broken record!

 

[Nightbringer]

Great info Ry, this is going to be my winter upgrade for sure now. I have 140K on my stock shaft, probably giving up a lot of performance at the track!

 

[RyzRT]

Swapped out the Pirelli P-Zero 275s for Pirelli P-Zero 295s in the rear, still spinning, there is no doubt this single piece driveshaft is less resistance to the drive line vs the 2 piece shaft. I guess it is also a testament to the 5.7s actual output torque there is more power to ground than many realize coming from the 5.7 especially with performance upgrades done to it. Now it is a relearning process of how much throttle to apply to get off the line with as little tire spin as possible but that is a small price to pay and not unexpected. She ran a 4.5 second 0 ~ 60 with tire spin at 80 degrees outside so it should do a lot better when the temperatures are around 50 outside, we'll see. Ry

 

[RyzRT]

I discovered the rear aluminum heat shield was touching the driveshaft even though I had pushed it up as far as possible in the driveshaft tunnel when I installed it and was confident it was clear. Unfortunately on the bottom side of the heat shield there is 2 aluminum patches that are adhesive applied to the heat shield covering the 2 mounting areas. Those patches specifically the one towards the front was down further than the shield and was touching the driveshaft. Just as steel can cut steel, aluminum can cut aluminum, and I noticed a ring around the driveshaft when I had the 295 tires installed that the paint was missing on the driveshaft. I borrowed a tool from the tire guy and pushed the aluminum patch further up and thought all was well.

At the same time of getting the 295s installed on the rear I noticed the fronts were close to the wear indicators on the tires and ordered new 245s for the front. When they arrived I went back and had them installed and did a re-inspection of the area of concern at the driveshaft rear heat shield, but this time the ring from the aluminum rubbing was more visible and you could actually feel it. So yesterday I put it on my ramps and removed the rear heat shield, which by the way is a job with the driveshaft bolted in place. Above the aluminum heat shield is a formed plate but it is not metal, it looks like some kind of ABS/Fiberglass compound so above the mufflers some type of heat shield is required.

I ordered this to put on the plate above the mufflers to protect the formed plate, the heat shield I've linked is adhesive backed and can be applied directly to the plate itself, to protect from the edge of the driveshaft tunnel all the way to the side. Any of you with the one piece driveshaft please check this out on your Challenger. Ry

Floor & Tunnel Shield II™ - 21" x 24"

 

[RyzRT]

Above the rear OEM heat shield this is the surface I am referring to, some type of hard formed panel.

This is the drivers side with the thermal shield installed I did not allow it to go past the curve towards the driveshaft on both sides, the shields keep the heat coming from the mufflers from cooking the upper cover. You have to be very meticulous and plan every aspect of installing the thermal shield, get it cut and pre-bent as close as you can before you remove the backing from the adhesive surface. It is super sticky adhesive absolutely designed to stay where you put it, and set it up so you can only remove the film from a little over half of it, leaving the film to pull off a little at a time after the first section has made contact. If you let this stuff touch, it sticks instantly!, so get it lined up before you allow it to make solid contact. From there you press it into place pulling the film revealing more sticky as you go and it is Easy Peasy! IMO, what I covered with the shield is all that is needed because the Magnaflow glass packs have a glass fiber inner packing and a stainless steel outer packing around the perforated core. The purpose of the second outer stainless steel packing is to keep the outer shell from getting too hot, which works very well as I was able to lay my hand on the muffler after warming it up and driving it up on the ramps to work on it. I have to say Kudos to Magnaflow for that design, it works!

If the mufflers you have on your Challenger get very hot outside you may need to go further into the tunnel area, but you will need a larger piece of adhesive backed heat shield than what I linked in the above post.

This is the driveshaft area that the OEM heat shield touched the shaft, I caught it before it did any real damage to the shaft, but it did clearly cut through the paint. If you look closely there is evidence of 2 other contacting points of the aluminum shield touching the shaft. But that is resolved completely there is nothing touching it anymore.

Now obviously the perfect solution is to install the adhesive heat shield all the way across and up into the driveshaft tunnel, but you would have to do that with the driveshaft out, and since I used blue thread locker on the bolts I was not going to drop the driveshaft, but if you are installing a new, then that would be the best way to do it.

Do not trust that OEM heat shield with the 4" diameter Aluminum driveshaft, or the Carbon Fiber, the OEM heat shield was designed for the OEM 2" driveshaft, not 4".

I hope this information helps! Ry

 

[Mopar_NoCar]

I am getting a Wiles 4" 1 piece installed in May, along with a torque converter and electric exhaust cutouts. Can't wait!!!

 

[RyzRT]

I am getting a Wiles 4" 1 piece installed in May, along with a torque converter and electric exhaust cutouts. Can't wait!!!

What year is yours?

 

[Mopar_NoCar]

2015 R/T Plus

 

[RyzRT]

2015 R/T Plus

Same as mine!

 

[RyzRT]

I am getting a Wiles 4" 1 piece installed in May, along with a torque converter and electric exhaust cutouts. Can't wait!!!

What rating torque converter are you getting?

 

[Tape]

I considered doing a one piece DS but I hear too many complaints about a one piece DS, and all those complaints can't be wrong.

 

[CaptScat345]

I considered doing a one piece DS but I hear too many complaints about a one piece DS, and all those complaints can't be wrong.

For sheer curiosity sake, what negative things have you heard? I, myself, have heard nothing negative about the one piece driveshaft.

I'd appreciate if you could share what you've heard so that others, including myself, could make an informed decision.

I plan on installing this on my 2016 come April/May of this upcoming year.

 

[HemifeverAZ]

I considered doing a one piece DS but I hear too many complaints about a one piece DS, and all those complaints can't be wrong.

Mines working great.

 

[RyzRT]

I considered doing a one piece DS but I hear too many complaints about a one piece DS, and all those complaints can't be wrong.

I'm sure you've also read about the OEM driveshafts being ripped in half by Hellcats running higher performance levels, and drag slicks at the drag strip? I don't have the horsepower to rip the OEM in half but I did rip the center carrier bearing completely free of it's housing, with it flopping around like a dying fish under the car.

So It is a really good thing that the drive shaft shop took those earlier complaints and made a better product, it would be nice for Dodge to do the same, and seriously improve the center carrier bearing support. But unless you've experienced this support bearing failure yourself you think all is well. This only has to happen to you one time to change how you look at the OEM 2 piece driveshaft.

Dodge through the years has been constantly testing and modifying the 2 piece driveshaft since the first Challenger inception and changing the way it has been bolted up to the transmission output shaft and the differential. So understandably the 1 piece after market driveshaft had to follow Dodges OEM changes along the way but Dodge did not actually get trusted consistent to make a product for until 2015 when the Hellcat was released.

Finally Dodges consistence now allows after markets to be able to produce an acceptable duplicate solution, and as for mine was a perfect fit, so we'll see how it holds up to time. And if it doesn't, I'll be the first to complain, but from all I've read regarding the negatives, like the vibrations and such as that, it is not happening with mine, and IMO, it should have come from the factory like this. Ry

 

[RyzRT]

@CaptScat345

The earlier releases of the 1 piece driveshaft used universal joints, and adapter plates, now they are using CV joints and balancing on a high speed machine, custom direct fit needing no adapter plates.

I researched it myself before I decided to spend over $1K on a one piece driveshaft, I had also investigated 2 piece racing solutions, as they had a much better center bearing support, but cost 3 times what I would even consider spending.

So I actually called the Driveshaft Shop and asked all my questions about earlier complaints of vibrations, and the guy I talked to told me they did have those problems earlier, but since going to CV (Constant Velocity) joints and balancing on a 1900 rpm high speed balancer, those past problems are gone.

I suggest you call the Driveshaft Shop yourself and talk to them, they know what they're talking about. Ry

 

[CaptScat345]

@CaptScat345

The earlier releases of the 1 piece driveshaft used universal joints, and adapter plates, now they are using CV joints and balancing on a high speed machine, custom direct fit needing no adapter plates.

I researched it myself before I decided to spend over $1K on a one piece driveshaft, I had also investigated 2 piece racing solutions, as they had a much better center bearing support, but cost 3 times what I would even consider spending.

So I actually called the Driveshaft Shop and asked all my questions about earlier complaints of vibrations, and the guy I talked to told me they did have those problems earlier, but since going to CV (Constant Velocity) joints and balancing on a 1900 rpm high speed balancer, those past problems are gone.

I suggest you call the Driveshaft Shop yourself and talk to them, they know what they're talking about. Ry

I absolutely will be, my friend. Thanks for the great info, as always!

Dave