Before we start slapping twin turbos on our Z's, do you think someone will be able to tell us what HP it is able to handle before we turn it into a bunch of splinters?

 

only one way to find out... hehehehe. Im sure greddy tested the car to make sure. if it breaks it breakes. good news is that its carbon fiber as you know, so it will just splinter, no harm done except that you need a tow truck and a new driveshaft.

 

I would guess it to be a couple thousand dollars to replace.

 

no no no. its just the drive shaft. couple hundred yes, not couple thousand. it might cost as much as a grand since now I guess were talking about something stronger than your typical shaft. not sure if you could stay with carbon fiber, thatd be nice, but maybe it cant be made any stronger, Im not sure.

 

Carbon fiber is very strong. Some garbage trucks use a carbon fiber driveshaft so they can withstand some serious torque and weight.

 

Did you guys get the promo kit from Nissan when you got your cars?-- One page of the thing compares carbon fiber to steel, the tensile strength/modulus, specific strength and density. In all categories carbon fiber is vastly superior and it is extremely lightweight to boot, as you all know! I my field (artificial limbs) we work with carbon fiber laminations on a pretty regular basis. Other than being messy and bad to inhale , carbon fiber is a durable and appropriate material for heavy duty applications.
Just my .02
Rizz

 

The masts are 125' tall americas cup boats are all Carbon Fiber. They support thousands of pounds of load. www.americascup.com

 

Just remember, as in all engineering projects there are always tradeoffs. The type of material is just as important as how much of it you use. Even though carbon fiber is much stronger, stiffer, tougher, per unit mass than steel, if you don't have enough of it you will still have a weak driveshaft. My guess is that the driveshaft is probably as strong as it would have been if it were steel, but lighter weight, and with less inertia. This would make it easier to balance, quicker to rev, and obviously reduce the weight of the car. I have no idea how much HP it can safely take, but I just want to make sure no one is thinking that since it is the same material used in the America's Cup sailboats or the Stealth Bomber, that it is indestructible.

On a related note, I once worked on a solar car that was primarily carbon fiber, and once of the honeycomb suspension mount panels was trashed when the car hit a curb at 25 mph during the parade at the very start of the race. The fancy schmancy CF was replaced with plywood, which lasted the remainder of the event (although it cost us significant weight).

-D'oh!