Which solid driveshaft conversion?

[jono]

Can anyone explain the relative merits of the Spyder versus Sue Miller conversion and hopefully recommend which ones to go for!

My Plus 2 will be purely a road car and the main consideration is reliability and ease of maintenance.

Cheers

Jono

[miked]

Jono,

If you do a search you will finds lots written on this subject. As I recall, it was discussed a few month ago.

Mike

[bcmc33]

I went with Mick Miller shafts - no real problem except having to change the outboard studs as they were about 5mm too short.

I've done a lot of work on the rear suspension this year, and hindsight being the wonderful thing that it is, I now know I should have gone the TTR route.

There is no problem with the MM shafts - they drive perfectly, but for ongoing maintenance when you have to strip the hubs down, simple U/J's would be much easier.

Whatever your choice you will be pleased to get rid of the donuts.

[john.p.clegg]

I am completely happy with the Performance Unlimited "pair of u/j's with a sliding spline" which have served me well for many years,just had to renew one of the u.j's last month and have made them even better by fitting rubber boots over the u'j's to keep the road crud off them....

John

[ceejay]

Hi Guys.

Check this one out to, this conversion has been installed into numerous lotus elan's around the globe.
http://www.elantrikbits.com/
Col.

[bcmc33]

Col,

They look exactly like the MM shafts. The only real difference is probably the CV joint manufacturer - GKN vs VW.

[ceejay]

G'Day Brian.

Looks are only "skin deep", and that's where the
similarities end, the tweaks and refinements we
make to our drive shafts are too many to list
here. Better to read the web page. Our drive shaft
kit is also probably about the lightest on the
market... now much less than 10KG.

Another pet subject of mine is preventing oil
surge in the twin cam, if you want to read more
Visit: http://www.elantrikbits.com/baffle.html

Forget about expensive fixes, if you can fabricate,
use an Oxy welder, and do your own engine work,
then this project is for you.

Col.

[Gopherit]

I have fitted the R D Enterprises CV kit to my +2. I looked at everything I could find on the market and this one won out for me because it integrates the diff output shaft into the drive line, rather than retaining what becomes a redundant joint between o/p shaft and first cv joint. The output shaft itself is uprated and therefore the overall cost was very much the same when totalling all up - the pound against the dollar helped. It all fitted well with a tiny bit of reaming of the hub drive shaft holes needed.

I have also used Protech rear damper inserts that have been modified to reduce the extension stroke by 1 1/4" (thank you Protech!). This prevents any bind in the joints on full droop. With TTR 2 1/4" springs I am very happy with the overall setup. Ray at RD was very helpful throughout.

[elansprint71]

Hi Guys.

Check this one out to, this conversion has been installed into numerous lotus elan's around the globe.
http://www.elantrikbits.com/
Col.

Col,
If you are selling these things, I think maybe you should declare an interest.

[ceejay]

Thanks for the invite.
Yes, that is OK, I think I have stated in previous postings that the elantrikbits.com is our web site, and yes, the drive shaft conversion is our product. (All Australian designed and built) we've been producing these for more than two decades, countless Australian small elans & plus 2s are running our drive shaft conversion.

They are: Very reliable, easy to fit, wont lock up on full droop, a unique feature is the on-board lubrication... no need to remove/dismantle shafts from the car to repack CVs when the time comes.

We have also exported the conversions all over the globe.

What more can I say: Col
Read more here>> http://www.elantrikbits.com

[stonks]

For my Ha'pennth worth I have just found a second hand set of Spyder joints which have a sliding joint but retains one Doughnut ring, still you pays your money........

[davidj]

Do you have a contact phone/web info for RD Enterprises? All things being equal it must be better to get rid of the additional joint, and you also get some new free diff o/p shafts which are prone to failure.

I guess another advantage would be the drive shafts must be longer so the angular movement of the CV's must be less, which must be a plus.

David

[CBUEB1771]

Do you have a contact phone/web info for RD Enterprises?

http://www.rdent.com/

[chrishewett]

Jono,
Don't forget to fit uprated diff output shafts if they don't come with the driveshaft conversion. Old standard output shafts will eventually break without the cushioning effect of the rotoflex couplings.
These uprated shafts are a considerable extra cost.
Chris

[jono]

...how much of an issue is output shaft failure likely to be in practice?

My new engine will be about 140-145bhp and for road use only. I'm not into thrashing my cars (that's what an Elise is for ). Is ouptut shaft failure a real possibility with this scenario do you think?

Incidentally having considered the above responses I am sold on the Sue Miller shafts - they seem proven and come at a reasonable price.

I like the look of the Aussie ones (which of course will cure any kangarooing effect in the Rotoflex driveline) but would rather stick with a homegrown product in terms of spares availability etc.

Jono