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Sierra Sierra Evo 8 Testing : 2010-02-11

1:44 at Buttonwillow and likely to drop…

Quickie: ACPT Carbon Driveshaft : 2010-02-03

Intro

53 days after order, my ACPT carbon driveshaft arrived (well packaged).

Saturday morning I jacked up the car, removed the stock driveshaft, and found that the ACPT driveshaft’s differential flange was the wrong specification.

Today is Wednesday, and I received the proper flange and a spare u-joint via overnight UPS.

After a late afternoon 19 dollar visit to Pyramid Auto Parts and Machine to have the flange swapped, I went ahead with the install. As has been mentioned several times before in previous owners’ write-ups, the driveshaft is a good inch or more shorter than the stock driveshaft for some reason. I’ve never heard if there is a reason for that, and although it seems odd, I’ve also never heard of anyone having any trouble down the road.

By my scale, the stock driveshaft was roughly 22lbs and the ACPT piece was 13.5lbs.

Impressions

Obviously it’s factually a better performing part with regards to reduced rotating mass (albeit with an extremely small diameter as far as those gains go) and getting power to the ground. And obviously it dropped ~9 pounds of static weight from the car. And it’s a better material for dampening drivetrain harmonics and handling torque. Those things are great and the car does seem to push through the RPMs a bit more eagerly, but I was expecting more based on some (now known to be) overzealous reviewers.

In my opinion, for the $1200 it cost, I consider an ACPT carbon driveshaft to be a nice finishing touch for the well-funded and well-sorted ride. This is not something for the budget-minded with expectations of being blown away.

Video: BMI Racing 4-rotor RX-8 : 2009-12-19

Cosworth Big Valve Heads for Evo X : 2009-12-17

Newly released — Got deep pockets?

Buy: High Performance Fasteners and Plumbing : 2009-12-10

This is an excellent book. It’s the best money I’ve spent in a long time. Feel free to ask me any questions about it by commenting on this post.

Title: High Performance Fasteners and Plumbing: A Guide to Nuts, Bolts, Fuel, Brake, Oil & Coolant Lines, Hoses, Clamps, Racing Hardware and Plumbing Techniques

Author: Mike Mavrigian

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Threaded Fasteners
Chemical Thread Lockers, Lubricants and Sealants
Torquing Fasteners
Thread Repair
Creating Threads with Taps & Dies
Engine Studs
Wheel Fasteners
Rod Ends
Rivets & Clecos
Clamps
Pipe Threads
Fluid Plumbing
-AN Hose and -AN Hardware
How to Make Hard Line Tubing Assemblies
Sources

Latest Porsche 997 Turbo Engine : 2009-12-03

This thing is fantastic. Direct-injected, twin VGT turbos, 3.8L displacement, 9.8:1 static compression ratio = bliss.
porsche-997turbo-engine

Cork Forestry Rally 2009 InCar Stage 9 : 2009-10-29

As one YouTube commenter put it: “i would love for this guy to follow me around my daily life and give me directions. would make life awesome.”

I don’t think I would be able to drive from laughter if this guy was my co-driver.

Science! Save your wheel bearings : 2009-10-02

If you know anything about us around here, we like us some good old experimentation and datalogging. The nerds over at Turn-in Concepts (who, by the way, blew minds in the Redline Time Attack “Street AWD” class this year on the East Coast), donned their lab coats and got to work on the topic of heat transfer from brake rotor to wheel bearing/hub.
Read More »

EJ’s Boxing Shirts: $10 until the end of October : 2009-09-29

We’re blowing out our EJ’s Boxing t-shirts at $10 a pop (normally $13) until the end of October or until all stock is gone.

Original Ash Grey

White

Rachel Rules : 2009-09-25

A story of car love.