the Drive Shaft Shop in North Carolina and I were asking "what if".

For my '79 300SD Turbo Diesel, a carbon fiber drive shaft would cost approximately $1,500.

Stronger, lighter, proven to 2,800 horsepower.

If there was a group buy ...

What company offers this?

I would need to see more technical data, before considering this as a valid option.

.

__________________
ASE Master Mechanic
asemastermechanic@juno.com

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
1984 190D
2003 Volvo V70
2002 Honda Civic

https://www.boldegoist.com/

+1

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I would GLADLY donate a W201 driveshaft assembly to mock up a CF one... 1500 is a reasonable price if it's bolt in ready...

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

My interest (at the moment) would be for the OM617 manual transmission conversion, W123, w116 and W126 chassis..

.

__________________
ASE Master Mechanic
asemastermechanic@juno.com

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
1984 190D
2003 Volvo V70
2002 Honda Civic

https://www.boldegoist.com/

It's not like the stock shaft is that heavy...

Are we talking the main or the half-shafts? The two half-shafts are probably heavier than the whole main shaft.

__________________
'85 300TD "Puff The Magic Wagon" - Rolling Resto
'19 Mazda CX-9 Signature - Wife's sled
'21 Morgan 3-Wheeler P101 Edition
'95 E300d - SOLD
'84 300TD "Brown Betty" - Miss this one
'81 240D "China Baby" - Farm grocery getter

Whatever for? If it's go-fast there's lots of other things I'd look at first. Only reason I'd do it if I was developing sufficient power to accelerate quickly enough for the rotational inertia of the driveshaft to matter, and as a consequence, I had twisted a stock driveshaft.

__________________
CC: NSA

All things are burning, know this and be released.

82 Benz 240 D, Kuan Yin
12 Ford Escape 4wd

You're four times

It's hard to

more likely to

concentrate on

have an accident

two things

when you're on

at the same time.

a cell phone.

www.kiva.org It's not like there's anything wrong with feeling good, is there?

Why? I sincerely doubt you are going to every come close to destroying the driveshaft and its pretty light. Maybe 30lb? The half shafts are far far heavier.

__________________
http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

It sounds cool, but I agree with winmutt and moon161. If I'm going for power, I'd rather spend the $1500 on a built-out pump and big turbo.

There are some high-HP W123 builds in Finland -- 400-600 HP out of 606es, I believe. I wonder what they are using.

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

For a 35 year old, 3781 lb. car, powered by a basically obsolete 125 HP engine?

And they twist the driveshafts up as well as the rear axles.

__________________
http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

While a steel tube can withstand a few rock dings and even some bending from road debris and still get you home, a CF shaft will fail catastrophically. I have used them on Lotus race cars. Great for racing, silly for the street.

Seems incredibly pointless....the only MB that has such a shaft that I know if is the SLR McLaren....and it was sealed inside a "power tube" between the engine and rear mounted trans to protect it. I don't think any of us here risk damaging or twisting a shaft anytime soon with the power levels we are making. Even M120 powered cars have normal shafts...and they make close to 500HP.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I was under a E430 recently, and I could have sworn it had a carbon fiber driveshaft...

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Sounds silly. I have picked up many driveshafts. Most of the weight is in the end pieces and U-joints, and you would still have that weight. Perhaps one reason racers use them is that carbon fiber is stiffer, which is good at very high rpm - less torsional deflection and transverse oscillations.